NEWS - Africa Link

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NEWS - Africa Link

Tunisie Une histoire
de plus de 3000 ans
Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari Govts
Ordered to Account for Recovered Loot
www.africalink.ch
Racial Discrimination
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THE VOICE OF AFRICA IN THE DIASPORA LA VOIX DE L’AFRIQUE DANS LA DIASPORA
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March/April 2016
CONTENTS AND
CONTENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
Editorial4
From Halliburton to Dasukigate
De Halliburton au Scandale Dasuki
Religion 8
The Parable Of The Rich Fool
Photonews9
African Ambassadors New Year Gathering
Swissline10
Apprenticeships for refugees get a reboot
L’apprentissage pour les réfugiés
renaît de ses cendres
page 10
Une Visite d'Etat historique du Président
de la République Tunisienne en Suisse
page 14
INSEAD – AWR 2016:
Way Forward to Addressing Nigeria’s Economy
page 27
I’m Living My Dream – Dabota Cosmetics Boss
page 33
FIFA Infantino Carries The Day
page 37
L’apprentissage pour les réfugiés renaît de ses cendres
News13
Diplomacy14
Tunisia’s President Paid Two-day
Historic State Visit to Switzerland
Une Visite d'Etat historique du Président de la
République Tunisienne en Suisse
Celebration15
Tunisia 3,000 Years of History
Tunisie Une histoire de plus de 3000 ans
"When there is the will to live, destiny surely responds"
Politics18
Year of Implementation
Integration20
Racial Discrimination in Switzerland (Baselland)
Rassistische Diskriminierung in der Schweiz (Baselland)
Forum27
Way Forward to Addressing Nigeria’s Economy
Sustaining the Momentum on Nigeria’s Agriculture Economy
“South Africa Pleased To See Other Countries Flourishing”
Fashion33
I’m Living My Dream – Dabota Cosmetics Boss
Why More Take To Wearing Wigs
AU News
35
Diversity is Africa’s Biggest Strength and
Enduring Splendour – Chairperson Dlamini Zuma
Sports37
Nigeria: FC Barcelona to Establish Football Academy in Lagos
March/April 2016
3
EDITORIAL
British lawyer Jeffrey Tesler was the epitome of contrition in pleading guilty
to corruption charges in an American court. The plea was for his role in the
two-decade old saga that has come to be known as the Nigerian Halliburton Bribery Scandal. “There is no day when I do not regret my weakness of
character,” he confessed in a Houston courtroom, “I allowed myself to accept
standards of behaviour in a business culture which can never be justified.
I accepted the system of corruption that existed in Nigeria. I turned a blind
eye to what was happening, and I am guilty of the offences as charged.”
It would appear that the Halliburton affair was
the globalization of Nigerian corruption through
the hapless activities of an ordinary North London Lawyer whose weakness of character made
him a pliable instrument in the hands of the
corrupt Nigerian government and business elite.
The reportage of the International Consortium
of Investigative Journalists that has followed the
Halliburton and other similar corruption cases
around the world shows that Mr. Tesler was far
from being a lily-livered victim who turned a blind
eye to a system of corruption.
Shortly after Halliburton, the exposure of
rampant corruption in the corporate world of the
United States and Europe spread across some of
the prestigious companies that had become synonymous with the corporate culture of the West.
The domino effect that saw companies like Enron,
WorldCom, Parmalat, Arthur Anderson and the
Rover Group exposing their corrupt underbellies
stunned the world. Some of the highly respected
captains of commerce and industry in the West
were cast down from their high pedestals with
ignominy. Some of the leaders of the Third World
who had been somewhat apologetic about their
corruption garb and meek in acquiescence to the
lectures of the holier than thou Western governments and media could come bouncing back. They
let their accusers in the West know that when you
point out one finger, the other four are pointing
back at you.
Did Halliburton, Enron and the rest of that
gang finally through their exposed antics let the
world know that the time had come to ditch all
pretences to morality, ethics and niceties and let
all know the real iniquities under which individuals and groups acquired stupendous wealth in the
world? Does great wealth really have to ride on
the back of a great crime as some sceptics will
have us believe?
They let their accusers
in the West know
that when you
point out one finger,
the other four are
pointing back at you.
Some two decade after Halliburton, Nigeria
has given the world another shocker in the wake
of the Boko Haram war. Aptly named after the
erstwhile national security adviser to President
Goodluck Jonathan, Sambo Dasuki, Dasuki-gate
seems to be coming up with a never-ending stream
of shocking revelations. Stories abound of how
funds that were supposed to be equipping troops
fighting the brutal insurgent force of Boko Haram
were turned into a slush fund for the country’s
political and military elite. In the meantime, ill-
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Editor-in-chief
Mr. Johnson Oduwaiye
Tel. +41 79 664 13 54
[email protected]
By Atsen Jonathan Ahua
equipped young soldiers were sent out only to be
cut down on the battlefield by the superior fire
power of the ruthless enemy.
The revelations and their devastating effects on
the polity and its people are equally jaw-dropping
when you look at the second and third tiers of
government, namely state and local governments.
In some of the states where the incoming administrations have had the courage or foolhardiness to
initiate probes of their predecessors, the tales range
from the chief executives aka governors turning
the state resources into their private fiefs to utilize
and dispense with between them and their cronies
as they deemed fit, to stashing bundles of cash
in various currencies in vaults and lofts in their
mansions. There are even tales of some of the paper
money decomposing under pressure and humidity in the tropical vaults. And the civil servants
whose signature and visas move the funds from
the state treasuries to the private coffers of their
political bosses are like Mr. Tesler, just ordinary
functionaries whose weakness of character makes
them not just hapless victims of corrupt power but
active drivers of same.
Corruption, whether it takes the grand form
where the development paths of whole nations
are subverted and frustrated, or the petty form
where small time officials at the most basic level
of government or business victimise the small and
helpless, always does harm in ways that can never
be fully calculated. Often, because of its pervasive
and apparently powerful nature, it leaves the
ordinary person bewildered as to where he or she
can even make a move against such a juggernaut.
In Nigeria, a phenomenon where looters are
promoted to higher echelons of power where they
can further insulate themselves from ever being
held accountable for their economic and financial
crimes has been in the process of taking root.
Governors that looted the states that they governed
blind have by hook or crook found themselves in
the senate of the Federal Republic and strive to
hold on with everything at their disposal. When
the Nigerian President spoke about the anti(continued on page 6)
Editor: Mr. Atsen Ahua
[email protected]
Associate Editors
Mr. Mohomodou Houssouba
Mr. Misseli M. Bationo
Representative/Political Editor
(Nigeria)
Mr. Ifeanyi E.nNwosu
Guest Contributor
Mr. George Ola-Davies
Contributing Editors
Ms. Folake Idowu,
Mr. Hilary Nwokeabia,
Mr. Paul Nzeshi (Nigeria),
Mr. Dennis Onyango (Kenya),
Mr. Keith Gottschalk (SA)
Dr. Priscilla Bowens
March/April
2016 (USA)
EDITORIAL
Par Atsen Jonathan Ahua
L’avocat britannique Jeffrey Tesler fut l’incarnation même de la contrition
lorsqu’il plaida coupable face aux accusations de corruption portées contre lui
dans un tribunal américain. Il comparaissait alors pour son rôle dans le scandale
de corruption impliquant l’entreprise Halliburton et le Nigeria, saga qui avait
commencé vingt ans auparavant. «Pas un jour ne passe sans que je regrette ma
faiblesse de caractère», avait-il confessé dans une salle d’audience du tribunal de
Houston. «Je me suis autorisé à accepter des règles de comportement injustifiables
dans la culture d’une entreprise. J’ai accepté le système de corruption qui existait
au Nigeria. J’ai fermé les yeux sur ce qui se passait, et je suis coupable des charges
dont on m’accuse.»
Il semblait qu’à travers les malheurs d’un avocat ordinaire du nord de Londres que sa faiblesse
avait transformé en instrument malléable aux
mains d’une élite économique et d’un gouvernement nigérians corrompus, l’affaire Halliburton
révélait au monde l’ampleur de la corruption
au Nigeria. Le reportage réalisé par l’International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(Consortium international pour le journalisme
d’investigation), qui a suivi le cas Halliburton et
d’autres affaires similaires partout dans le monde,
montre que M. Tesler est loin d’avoir simplement
été une victime lâche fermant les yeux sur tout
un système de corruption.
Peu après Halliburton, la révélation de l’épidémie de corruption régnant dans le monde des
affaires aux États-Unis et en Europe a fait tache
d’huile, impliquant de prestigieuses compagnies
qui incarnaient jusqu’alors la culture d’entreprise
en Occident. La réaction en chaîne qui a suivi
a conduit des organisations comme Enron,
WorldCom, Parmalat, Arthur Anderson et le
groupe Rover à exposer leur vénalité jusqu’alors
bien dissimulée au regard sidéré de la planète.
Quelques capitaines d’industrie et barons du
commerce parmi les plus respectés d’Occident
ont ainsi été déchus de leur piédestal et frappés
d’ignominie. Et certains des dirigeants corrompus du Tiers-Monde qui avaient plus ou moins
exprimé leur repentir et fait preuve d’humilité
consentante face aux sermons des sacro-saints
gouvernements et médias occidentaux pouvaient
«reprendre du poil de la bête» et rétorquer à leurs
Pictures
By Africa Link,
except otherwise stated
Editorial Board Members
Mr. Peter Hevi
Ms. Folake Idowu
Mr. Mohomodou Houssouba
Mr. Misseli M. Bationo
March/April 2016
accusateurs occidentaux qu’il convient de balayer
devant sa porte avant de pointer l’autre du doigt.
On rapporterait même
l’existence de billets
en décomposition
du fait de la pression et
de l’humidité de salles
des coffres tropicales.
La révélation des délits commis par Halliburton, Enron et les autres a-t-elle enfin appris
au monde qu’il était temps d’abandonner toute
prétention à la moralité, à l’éthique et autres
bons sentiments, afin que tous puissent prendre
la mesure réelle de l’iniquité qui a conduit, aux
quatre coins du monde, des individus et des
groupes à amasser des fortunes prodigieuses?
L’ampleur de la richesse n’a-t-elle d’égale que celle
du crime, comme certains sceptiques tentent de
nous le faire croire?
Vingt ans après le scandale Halliburton,
c’est une nouvelle onde de choc que provoque le
Nigeria dans le cadre de la guerre menée contre
Boko Haram. Baptisé à juste titre du nom de l’exconseiller pour la sécurité nationale du président
Goodluck Jonathan, Sambo Dasuki, le scandale
Dasuki semble traîner dans son sillage une série
sans fin de révélations choquantes. Les histoires
abondent selon lesquelles des fonds destinés à
équiper les troupes luttant contre la brutalité
des insurgés de Boko Haram ont en réalité servi
à alimenter une caisse noire au bénéfice de l’élite
politique et militaire du pays, pendant que l’on
envoyait à la boucherie de jeunes soldats mal
équipés, rapidement vaincus par la puissance de
feu supérieure d’un ennemi sans pitié.
Les révélations et leurs conséquences dévastatrices sur le régime et le peuple sont tout aussi
stupéfiantes lorsqu’on examine les deuxième et
troisième niveaux du gouvernement, c’est-à-dire
les États et les municipalités. Dans certains États
où les administrations fraîchement arrivées en
poste ont eu le courage ou la témérité d’initier
des enquêtes sur leurs prédécesseurs, les récits
vont des administrateurs généraux (c’est-à-dire les
gouverneurs) détournant les ressources de l’État
pour leur profit personnel afin de les employer et
de les partager avec leurs amis comme bon leur
semble, aux liasses de billets en devises diverses
et variées, dissimulées dans les chambres fortes et
les combles de leurs résidences. On rapporterait
même l’existence de billets en décomposition du
fait de la pression et de l’humidité de salles des
coffres tropicales. Quant aux cadres de la fonction publique dont la signature et les tampons
permettent de déplacer les fonds des caisses de
l’État vers les coffres privés de leurs supérieurs
politiques, ils sont comme M. Tesler, de simples
fonctionnaires que leur faiblesse de caractère
transforme en malheureuses victimes d’un pouvoir corrompu, mais qui n’en sont pas moins des
serviteurs actifs de ce dernier.
Qu’elle s’exprime au niveau où le développement de nations entières s’en trouve miné et
contrarié, ou qu’elle prenne la forme mesquine
d’officiels de petite envergure qui, au bas de
l’échelle du gouvernement ou d’une entreprise,
(suite à la page 6)
Layout
Soldini Communication, Zürich
Opinions published do not necessarily
reflect those of the Editorial Board
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5
EDITORIAL
(continued from page 5)
persécutent les faibles et impuissants, la corruption cause immanquablement des torts dont il est
impossible de prendre la pleine mesure. Il arrive
souvent, en raison de sa nature omniprésente et
puissante en apparence, qu’elle laisse perplexe
l’individu ordinaire qui pourrait vouloir tenter
d’aller à l’encontre de cette force destructrice.
Au Nigeria, les cas de pillards promus aux
échelons supérieurs du pouvoir, d’où ils peuvent
se protéger encore plus des éventuelles représailles
de la justice pour les crimes économiques et
financiers qu’ils commettent, se généralisent de
plus en plus. Les gouverneurs ayant dévalisé les
États qu’ils gouvernaient à l’aveuglette ont coûte
que coûte réussi à se faire une place au sénat de la
République fédérale, à laquelle ils s’accrochent par
tous les moyens dont ils disposent. En déclarant
que la lutte contre la corruption était un combat
pour l’âme de la nation, le président du Nigeria
n’affirmait rien moins qu’une vérité fondamentale
que chaque Nigérian sincère connaît et ressent.
La majorité des Nigérians sont déchirés entre
la corruption à grande échelle qui les a réduits
à la situation où ils parviennent péniblement à
gagner leur vie dans un pays pourtant favorisé
par la nature, mais morcelé, et la corruption mesquine qui a, de façon continue, érodé la fidélité,
l’intégrité et la résilience de l’âme humaine pour
les muer en indifférence insensible.
Les propos du major-général James Marks, dit
«Spider» (l’Araignée), ont provoqué un véritable
tollé lorsque celui-ci a déclaré sans ménagement
que «l’Afrique Noire de l’Ouest» n’était pas
la priorité des États-Unis, et ce, quelles que
soient l’horreur et la barbarie de ses méfaits ou
la capacité qu’a l’Amérique d’y mettre fin. En
fait, certains «patriotes» nigérians auraient bien
aimé étrangler ce général qui ne mâche pas ses
mots, s’ils avaient pu entourer son cou blanc
de leurs mains noires. Bizarre. J’ai entendu des
compatriotes nigérians employer un vocabulaire
plus péjoratif et méprisant à l’égard d’autres
nationalités officiant au sein du gouvernement, ou
encore évoquer «mon peuple» face à «ton peuple»,
termes dont le caractère exclusif est clairement
sous-entendu et où, parfois, «ton peuple» se voit
automatiquement affubler un statut d’infériorité.
Pour tous les «mon peuple» et les «ton peuple»
dont les consciences n’ont pas encore totalement
sombré dans l’oubli et dont les cicatrices n’ont pas
entièrement durci, c’est une colère différente que
le franc-parler de l’Araignée devrait nous inspirer.
Certes, nous ne sommes pas leur priorité. Mais
serait-il possible pour nous, peuples d’Afrique
Noire de l’Ouest, de devenir la priorité les uns
des autres, de nos communautés et de nos pays
respectifs, afin d’entrer dans une logique de
construction, et non de destruction?
Africa Link sait que le combat pour l’âme
du Nigeria ne sera pas livré par un général à la
retraite de soixante-dix et quelques printemps
doté des pouvoirs exécutifs d’un président et de
la machinerie partisane de ses amis personnels,
quels que soient l’envergure de son parcours
et l’étendue de son pouvoir. Il nous enjoint,
nous la majorité silencieuse des maltraités, des
rabaissés et des dépossédés, à prendre les armes
de l’intelligence et de l’esprit pour mener cette
guerre. Alors, répondons tous présents, par la
voix et par le geste, sans montrer ni honte ni
peur! Contrairement à Jeffrey Tesler, cessons de
fermer les yeux sur l’iniquité.
corruption war being a fight for the soul of the
nation, he was stating a fundamental truth that
every sincere Nigerian knows and feels.
The majority of Nigerians are caught between
grand corruption that has reduced them to a
state where they barely eke out a living in their
well-endowed but truncated land; and petty corruption that has steadily eroded the fidelity and
integrity of the resilient human spirit to the state
of callous indifference.
When Major-General James “Spider” Marks
stated bluntly that “Black West Africa” is not
America’s priority no matter how barbaric and
horrific its antics in the face of America’s capability
to end it, there was a loud outcry. In fact some “patriotic “ Nigerians would have wanted to strangle
the blunt-speaking general if they could get their
black hands around his white neck. Funny. I have
heard fellow Nigerians use more derogatory and
dismissive language of other nationalities in the
polity and references to “My people” and “your
people” where the exclusivity is clearly embedded
6
and sometimes an inferior status automatically
ascribed to the “your people”.
For all the “My people” and “your people”
whose consciences are not yet totally seared into
oblivion and even the scars turned to callouses,
the blunt-talking Spider’s comments should get
us hot under the collar in a different way. We are
not their priority. Is it at all possible for us in Black
West Africa to be the priority to one another and
to our communities and countries that we should
be striving to build rather than destroy?
Africa Link recognizes that the battle for
Nigeria’s soul is not to be fought by one seventysomething-year-old retired general with the powers
of Executive President and the partisan machinery
of his own cronies no matter how formidable his
antecedents and fiat. He has called us, the silent
majority of the abused, degraded and dispossessed
to take up the arms of the mind and spirit for this
war. Let us all answer “Here!” voice and bearing,
showing neither shame nor fear. We should not
like Tesler continue to turn a blind eye to iniquity.
March/April 2016
C ARTOON
March/April 2016
7
RELIGION
The Parable Of The Rich Fool
By Johnson Oduwaiye
Luke 12:13-34
The passage starts with the story of a man who asked Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance. But Jesus would not, saying he was not made a judge or an arbiter over them. He then warned the crowd: "Guard yourselves and keep free from
all covetousness — the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have
more; for a man's life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance, or that which is over and above his needs." (Amplified Bible)
We are not told why the brother refused to
share the inheritance, but from Jesus' warning
the reason might be connected with the brother's
greediness. Greed — in all forms — is a vice
that should be avoided. Greed in a family setup,
as in this case, tears families apart; it creates
enmity among friends. In the story of the rich
fool, the warning resonates. It is something we
too should guard against.
In Psalm 62, we read: "Even if your riches
increase, don't depend on them." When the
rich fool's crops increased, he believed his life
was secure, and thought to himself: "Soul, you
have many good things laid up for you...for
many years; take your ease, eat, drink and enjoy
yourself merrily"
But that night "his soul was required of him";
and what would happen to his riches? Verse 21
says, "So is he who lays up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God."
This rich man was selfish with his riches.
Jesus told us to take care of the needy, but the
rich man did not remember the poor and needy
around him. He only thought of storing his produce, stopping work and eating and drinking.
8
Caring for the needy on earth is storing our
treasure in heaven where its safety is guaranteed
and dividends are the highest — unlike on
earth. On the final Day of Judgment we will
have to account for our stewardship on earth,
for what help we rendered to those who were
hungry, thirsty, strangers, in need of clothes.
(Matt 25:35-44)
We fail to think about the needy or talk
about helping them because we worry about
our future security. Even if we do think about
them, it is after we have provided ourselves with
enough property and savings to guarantee our
future security. We are preoccupied about our
future and not the present of the needy. It is not
bad or wrong to make provision for the future,
but, at the same time, we can be sensitive to the
plight of the needy and help them.
In the passage, Jesus told us not to worry
about what we will eat, drink, the clothes to
cover our bodies because God, who takes care of
birds, animals and even plants, not only knows
our needs, but will surely take care of us. Worry,
in the first place, impairs our health, and it's one
of the means Satan uses to plant doubts about
God in our minds. But what can we achieve by
worrying? In verse 25 he asks, "Which of you
by worrying can add one cubit to his stature or
a moment to his life?"
I believe instead of worrying about anything
we should take the matter to God in prayer as
Paul says in Philippians 4:6, "Have no anxiety
about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known to God."
During this Lenten season, let's remember
that because God knew our needs, he provided
the sacrificial Lamb in the person of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ to pay for our sins
and redeem us from eternal condemnation. If
he loves us so much that he sacrificed his only
begotten Son for the remission of our sins, why
should we worry about anything? We should
rather seek his kingdom first and all other things
will be provided for us: "For it is your Father's
good pleasure [emphasis is mine] to give you
the kingdom." We can neither purchase the
kingdom nor increase our days on earth with
our earthly riches or by worrying. Let's start
to provide ourselves a treasure in heaven that
never fails, "where neither thief approaches, nor
moth destroys."
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, we thank you
for the blessings you rain on us. Teach us and
lead us to share our blessings with those in need.
And help us to put our trust in you, knowing
you are there with us and for us when we face
the challenges of the world. In Jesus' name we
pray. Amen.
First published in the International Protestant
Church (IPC) of Zurich Lenten Devotional 2016
March/April 2016
PHOTONEWS :
A f r i c a n A m b a s s a d o r s N e w Y e a r G at h e r i n g
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
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On the 13 January 2016 the African Ambassadors accredited to Switzerland met at Bellevue
Palace Hotel Bern for the annual New Year Gettogether. Pic 1 shows the Dean of the group
H. E. Henri Bindzi expressing his best wishes to
all the Ambassadors and the Chargé d’Affaires
present. It was a joyful and hilarious gathering
as the diplomats hardly observed any protocol. Among those present were, pic 2, l: Amb.
Gwebu of Swaziland and r: Amb. Ramosepele
of South Africa, pic 3 is Deputy Ambassador
of Nigeria, Mr. Balogun, and pic 6, l-r: Chargé
d’Affaires of Morocco Mr. Taleb, Amb. Bourehla
of Tunisia, and Amb. Guendil of Algeria.
SWISSLINE
WORKING PLACE INTEGRATION
Apprenticeships
for refugees get a reboot
By Veronica DeVore
After first testing the waters a decade ago, Switzerland wants to give refugees
access to its apprenticeship system with a new national initiative. But it won’t
happen overnight.
Back in Cuba, Tamila Garcia Quintero was a
librarian. That was before she fled the country as a
political refugee and ended up in Switzerland with
her mother and daughter 15 years ago.
“I was always at the unemployment office looking
for jobs but couldn’t find anything,” she told swissinfo.
ch of life a few years after her arrival. It became clear
that she wasn’t going to find work doing what she had
done in Cuba, so in 2006, she signed up for a one-year
apprenticeship for refugees that would teach her how
to help out in a kitchen or restaurant and give her a
diploma at the end. It was a pilot project spearheaded
by then-justice minister Christoph Blocher, intended
to combine language learning and integration measures with apprentice-style “learning by doing” in three
offerings around the country.
The first class of students in that food service
apprenticeship came from all over the world –
Iran, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Togo, Turkey. The only
thing they had in common was that they were all
refugees who had gotten Swiss residence permits
and were looking for work.
When that programme was launched in 2006,
about three-quarters of the country’s recognised
refugees were unemployed. And the numbers
haven’t improved - a 2014 study from the UNHCR
showed that, despite many training offerings at a
cantonal level, only about one in five refugees had
found work in the first five years after their arrival,
during which time the federal government is still
legally responsible for them.
So in December 2015, cabinet approved reviving
the “apprenticeships for refugees” pilot programme,
under a broader nationwide initiative that would
match employer needs with refugees ready to work.
There is some urgency to the situation: more
asylum seekers are arriving every day, a larger
percentage of whom end up staying in Switzerland
than in the past.
And more and more Swiss-based companies
– especially in certain fields – are struggling to
find apprentices. Then there’s the decision made
by Swiss voters two years ago to limit immigration from the European Union and prioritise the
zerland, the food service offering was a good fit.
“The apprenticeship certainly helped me to
find a job, because I had a reference and proof
that I had done something,” he said.
But he says it’s still not entirely clear to him, ten
years later, what the diploma he earned actually
qualifies him to do.
Part of the confusion may stem from the multitude of training programmes offered for refugees
in Switzerland, each one slightly unique depending
on the canton. The pilot programmes tested in
domestic labour market.
“In light of that vote we were asked to think
about how we could more effectively and specifically
take advantage of refugees' labour market potential,
alongside what is already underway,” said Eric Kaser,
deputy head of the integration section at the State
Secretariat for Migration SEM.
His team found two gaps in the system:
language learning wasn’t being addressed early
enough, and not enough connections were being
made between the needs of the labour market and
the skills offered by refugees.
Laying the groundwork
Garcia Quintero agrees that language learning is key. “It was good to have a mix of ages and
backgrounds in the class,” she says, reflecting on her
2006 apprenticeship. “But it would have been better
if everyone had had a similar level of German skills.”
Kaser says the migration office appreciates the
need to begin training refugees as early as possible,
ideally even before the decision is made as to whether
they will be allowed to stay in Switzerland. But that
brings up complicated legal questions – the current
law on foreigners in Switzerland doesn’t technically
allow them to receive training before they’re granted
a permanent residence permit.
The government’s support of the latest apprenticeship pilot programme legitimised operating within that legal grey area, Kaser says. Now,
authorities can test out strategies to help refugees
with good long-term prospects of being able to stay
in Switzerland work on language skills even before
their asylum decision is handed down.
“We want people with longer-term potential
of being allowed to stay – like those from Eritrea,
Afghanistan or Syria – to receive specific, intensive
language training early on,” he explains.
Ali Soltani, another graduate of the first refugee
apprenticeships class ten years ago, waited nearly
two years for the authorities to decide whether he
could stay in the country. He had worked in the
restaurant industry in his home country of Iran,
so when he finally got the chance to train in Swit-
Two participants in a food service apprenticeship for refugees show off their creations.(Hotel & Gastro Formation)
2006 eventually became cantonal offerings, no
longer run on a national level.
With their latest apprenticeship scheme, the
government and the migration office hope to better
match the needs of the economy with the workers
ready to fill them, ultimately giving refugees access
to the same apprenticeship system to which 70%
of Switzerland’s young people belong.
“A few years ago there were outlying examples
of companies that were offering such opportunities,” Kaser says. “Today we’re noticing a snowball
effect of companies seeing the potential to recruit
motivated young refugees because many have
trouble finding enough apprentices.”
No quick fix
But organising it will take time. 2016, says
Kaser, is all about talking to the cantons, figuring
out which existing programmes to adjust, and presenting a proposal for financing by the end of the
year. It will be 2017 or 2018 at the earliest before
instructors are hired and structures are created to
match companies with refugee recruits.
(continued on page 12)
10
March/April 2016
SWISSLINE
TRAVAIL ET INTÉGRATION
L’apprentissage
pour les réfugiés renaît de ses cendres
Par Veronica DeVore
Après avoir sondé le terrain il y a dix ans, la Suisse entend à nouveau favoriser le système
d’apprentissage auprès des réfugiés. Une initiative plus que jamais nécessaire. Beaucoup
de ces personnes sont en effet susceptibles de rester durablement dans le pays.
Deux participants à un cours d'apprentissage en cuisine
présentent leurs créations.
Avant de fuir Cuba avec sa mère et sa fille il y a
15 ans et de rejoindre la Suisse en tant que réfugiée
politique, Tamila Garcia Quintero exerçait le métier
de bibliothécaire. «Je me rendais fréquemment à
l’office de placement pour les chômeurs, mais je ne
parvenais pas à trouver un emploi», se remémore-telle. Rapidement, il est devenu clair à ses yeux qu’elle
ne pourrait plus exercer le même métier en Suisse.
Elle a donc signé en 2006 un contrat d’apprentissage d’une année comme employée dans la restauration. Le projet pilote destiné aux réfugiés, lancé
à l’époque où le leader charismatique de la droite
conservatrice, Christoph Blocher, était à la tête du
département de Justice et Police, avait pour objectif
de conjuguer l’apprentissage de la langue avec des
mesures d’intégration sur le marché du travail.
Les étudiants de la première volée provenaient
des quatre coins du globe: Iran, Sri Lanka, Tibet,
Togo, Turquie… La seule chose qu’ils avaient en
commun était leur statut de réfugiés et donc un
permis de séjour durable.
Lorsque le programme a été lancé en 2006,
près de trois quarts des réfugiés reconnus en
Suisse pointaient au chômage. La situation n’a pas
foncièrement évolué depuis cette date. Fin 2015,
malgré les différentes offres de formation proposées
au niveau cantonal, seul un peu plus d’un réfugié
sur cinq (21,3%) avait décroché un emploi au cours
de ses cinq premières années sur sol helvétique, la
période durant laquelle les autorités fédérales sont
légalement responsables de son cas.
En décembre 2015, le gouvernement a décidé
de relancer le projet-pilote «apprentissage pour les
réfugiés» dans le cadre d’une initiative plus large à
l’échelle nationale. L’objectif est de faire coïncider
les besoins des employeurs avec ceux des réfugiés
qui sont prêts à intégrer le marché du travail.
Il y a urgence: le nombre de requérants d’asile
est en augmentation et un pourcentage toujours
plus important de ceux qui arrivent restent en
Suisse. De l’autre côté, de plus en plus d’entreprises suisses ont du mal à trouver des apprentis.
Enfin, l’acceptation, en février 2014, de l’initiative
«Contre l’immigration de masse», qui entend
limiter l’arrivée de travailleurs étrangers sur le
marché suisse et donner la priorité aux indigènes,
engendre des pressions sur le marché du travail.
«A la lumière des résultats de ce vote, on nous a
demandé de réfléchir à la façon dont il est possible
de s’appuyer de manière plus spécifique sur le potentiel représenté par les travailleurs ayant le statut de
réfugiés, au-delà de ce qui se fait déjà», affirme Eric
Kaser, responsable de la section intégration auprès
du Secrétariat d’Etat à la migration (SEM).
Apprendre la langue le plus tôt possible
Deux lacunes principales ont été détectées dans
le système actuel: l’apprentissage des langues n’est
pas assez rapide et il n’y a pas suffisamment de
liens entre les besoins du marché du travail et les
compétences des réfugiés.
Tamila Garcia Quintero reconnaît que l’apprentissage de la langue est essentiel. «C’est positif
de se retrouver dans une classe avec des personnes
d’âges et de parcours différents. Ce serait toutefois
encore mieux si tout le monde avait un niveau
similaire d’allemand», relève-t-elle en se basant
sur son expérience de 2006.
Le SEM soutient l’idée de donner une formation aussi rapidement que possible aux réfugiés,
idéalement avant même que les autorités n’aient
décidé si la personne a le droit ou non de rester en
Suisse. Il existe toutefois des obstacles juridiques:
la loi sur les étrangers actuellement en vigueur ne
permet pas aux requérants d’asile de bénéficier
d’une formation aussi longtemps qu’ils n’ont pas
obtenu la garantie d’un permis de séjour durable.
Le soutien du gouvernement à ce projet-pilote
de 2006 donne une certaine légitimité pour opérer
dans ce domaine juridique flou, indique Eric Kaser.
Les autorités peuvent désormais expérimenter des
stratégies pour aider à améliorer les compétences
linguistiques des migrants qui ont une chance réaliste de rester en Suisse, avant même que ne tombe
la décision finale concernant la demande d’asile.
«Nous voulons que les personnes susceptibles
de rester longtemps dans notre pays, à l’instar de
celles qui viennent d’Erythrée, d’Afghanistan
ou de Syrie, puissent bénéficier le plus tôt possible d’un enseignement linguistique spécifique»,
explique Eric Kaser.
Répondre aux besoins de l’économie
Autre diplômé de la première classe d’apprentis
réfugiés mise sur pied il y a dix ans, Ali Soltani a
attendu près de deux ans avant de voir sa demande
d’asile acceptée. En Iran, son pays d’origine, il
travaillait dans le secteur de la restauration. C’est
donc naturellement qu’il s’est tourné vers une
formation dans ce domaine en Suisse.
Ali Soltani a bien trouvé un emploi au sortir
de son apprentissage, mais dans un tout autre
domaine: celui des installations en laboratoire. Il
occupe toujours le même poste de travail, mais
souhaiterait retourner dans le secteur de la restauration. Il regrette notamment de ne pas avoir obtenu
d’augmentation salariale depuis des années.
«L’apprentissage m’a certainement aidé à trouver
un travail. Cela m’a donné une référence et j’ai
pu prouver que j’étais en mesure de faire quelque
chose», indique-t-il. Dix ans plus tard, Ali Soltani
dit en revanche ne pas encore très bien connaître la
valeur exacte de son diplôme et de ses qualifications.
La confusion est en partie due à la multitude de
programmes de formation offerts aux réfugiés en
Suisse, chacun étant organisé à sa propre manière
sur le plan cantonal. Avec ce programme d’apprentissage, le gouvernement et le SEM espèrent mieux
faire correspondre les besoins de l’économie avec
ceux des travailleurs prêts à occuper les places
disponibles. En fin de compte, il s’agit de permettre
aux réfugiés d’accéder au système d’apprentissage
qui séduit près de 70% des jeunes suisses.
March/April 2016
11
SWISSLINE
L’apprentissage pour les réfugiés
renaît de ses cendres
«Il y a eu quelques rares exemples d’entreprises
qui ont offert des opportunités similaires il y a
quelques années», relève Eric Kaser. «Aujourd’hui,
nous observons un effet boule de neige: les entreprises, qui peinent souvent à trouver des apprentis,
constatent que les jeunes réfugiés motivés représentent un potentiel intéressant».
dans le but de déterminer quels sont les programmes
existants pouvant être adaptés et de présenter des
propositions de financement. C’est seulement en
2017 ou 2018 qu’il sera possible de recruter des
instructeurs et de créer des structures afin d’aider
les entreprises qui engagent des réfugiés.
«C’est un projet à long terme. Nous voulons
que le résultat soit durable. Lorsque nous mettons
sur pied des offres à court terme, les personnes ont
tendance à ne pas trouver des emplois stables. Avec
un apprentissage, les perspectives sont différentes»,
souligne Eric Kaser. Après avoir fait des aller-et-re-
Pas avant 2017
Il faudra toutefois du temps pour mettre sur
pied ces programmes. L’année 2016 sera consacrée
essentiellement aux discussions avec les cantons,
tour entre emplois précaires et assurance-chômage,
Tamila Garcia Quintero a finalement réussi à
dénicher un emploi stable dans une cantine scolaire.
Son espoir est de parvenir à augmenter son temps de
travail lorsqu’un de ses collègues partira à la retraite.
Quand elle croise ses anciens camarades
d’apprentissage en ville, elle leur demande toujours
ce qu’elles font. Il a fallu du temps, surtout pour les
plus âgés, mais ils ont désormais «tous un travail»,
affirme-t-elle.
(Traduction de l'anglais:
Samuel Jaberg), swissinfo.ch
Apprenticeships for refugees get a reboot
Who’s paying?
“It's a long-term project,” he says. “But we hope
it will result in a longer-lasting situation than if
we do short-term offerings, because people tend to
not find long-term success in those jobs. If they do
an apprenticeship, their prospects are different.”
Garcia Quintero did eventually find long-term
work, after a few more go-arounds at the unemployment office. She now works part-time as a
food service assistant at a school, hoping to pick
up more hours after a colleague retires.
When she sees former classmates from her apprenticeship around town, she always asks them
how they’re doing. It took a while, especially for the
older ones – but “they all have jobs now,” she says.
The initial refugee apprenticeship
programmes launched ten years ago
were “quite expensive”, according to
Eric Kaser of the migration office,
with the food service training costing
about CHF30,000 per student. Once
they got off the ground, cantons and
other local institutions could decide
how and whether to keep them going
and also assumed most of the costs.
The latest nationwide apprenticeship programme will initially cost
the government CHF 50 million
over four years. “The goal is that
the financing from the federal government will fall away after a few
years and that the offerings continue
with support from the existing
cantonal structures and businesses,”
Kaser explains.
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NEWS
By Our Correspondence
In the wake of the recent announcement by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Geoffrey Onyeama that the Swiss Government was prepared transfer $300 million
recovered from the family of former Nigeria’s military ruler Sani Abacha. When it is
transferred, the total received from Switzerland will amount to $1 billion.
Other countries have returned similar funds
siphoned out of Nigeria, but the total and what
they were spent on was not transparent to the
public as a result the Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) instituted an action under a binding legal obligation to provide it
with up to date information on the spending of
recovered stolen funds in 2012.
On 26 March 2016 Hon Justice M.B. Idris sitting at the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered
the government of President Muhammadu Buhari
to “ensure that his government and the governments of former President Olusegun Obasanjo,
former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and
former President Goodluck Jonathan account fully
for all recovered loot.”
The Court in its landmark judgment, reported
METROWATCH an Online publication in
Nigeria, held that successive governments since
the return of democracy in 1999 “breached the
fundamental principles of transparency and accountability for failing to disclose details about
the spending of recovered stolen public funds,
including on a dedicated website.”
The details ordered by the court to be disclosed include: information on the total amount
of recovered stolen public assets by each government; the amount of recovered stolen public
assets spent by each government as well as the
objects of such spending and the projects on
which such funds were spent.
Justice Idris dismissed all the objections
raised by the Federal Government and upheld
SERAP’s arguments. Consequently, the court
entered judgment in favour of SERAP against
the Federal Government as follows:
1. A DECLARATION is hereby made that
the failure and/or refusal of the Respondents to
individually and/or collectively disclose detailed
information about the spending of recovered
stolen public funds since the return of civil rule
in 1999, and to publish widely such information, including on a dedicated website, amounts
to a breach of the fundamental principles of
transparency and accountability and violates
March/April 2016
Articles 9, 21 and 22 of the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and
Enforcement) Act
2. A DECLARATION is hereby made that
by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of
the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the 1st
Defendant/Respondent is under a binding legal
obligation to provide the Plaintiff/Applicant
with up to date information on the spending of
recovered stolen funds, including:
(a) Detailed information on the total amount of
recovered stolen public assets that have so far
been recovered by Nigeria
(b) The amount that has been spent from the
recovered stolen public assets and the objects
of such spending
(c) Details of projects on which recovered stolen
public assets were spent.
3. AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS is made
directing and or compelling the Defendants/
Respondents to provide the Plaintiff/Applicant
with up to date information on recovered stolen
funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999,
including:
(a) Detailed information on the total amount of
recovered stolen public assets that have so far
been recovered by Nigeria
(b) The amount that has been spent from the
recovered stolen public assets and the objects
of such spending
(c) Details of projects on which recovered stolen
public assets were spent
SERAP deputy executive director Olukayode
Majekodunmi said: “This judgment confirms
the persistent failure of successive governments
starting from the Obasanjo government, to respect Nigerians’ right to a corruption-free society
and to uphold constitutional and international
commitments on transparency and accountability. The judgment is an important step towards
reversing a culture of secrecy and corruption that
has meant that high-ranking government officials
continue to look after themselves at the expense
of the well-being of majority of Nigerians, and
development of the country.”
Obasanjo, Jonathan , Yar’Adua
“This is a crucial precedent that vindicates the
right to a transparent and accountable government
and affirms the human right of the Nigerian people
to live a life free from want and fear. We are in the
process of obtaining a certified copy of the around
60 pages judgment. SERAP will do everything
within its power to secure the full and effective
enforcement of this judgment.”
Earlier, the Federal Government through their
Counsel, Sheba Olugbenga filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 26th day of March, 2012
on the following grounds: that SERAP lacked the
locus standi to institute the action; that the action
was statute barred; and that SERAP’s affidavit
evidence offends the provisions of the Evidence
Act. On May 8th 2012 the Federal Government
filed additional written address in support of their
Preliminary Objection, arguing most extensively
on the retroactive nature of SERAP’s request; that
is, the Freedom of Information Act, having been
enacted in 2011, does not apply to spending by
governments since 1999.
In response, SERAP argued that the FOI Act
is a special specie of legislation to liberalize and
expand access to information for all Nigerians;
that the FOI Act does not impose any requirement of locus standi on applicants; that the only
relevant limitation period in the case is that
which requires filing of suit within 30 days if
information is not given; that the right which
the FOI Act seeks to protect is the right of the
public to have access to information which is in
custody of a public official or institution; and
that the information sought by SER AP is not
caught by the law against retroactivity, noting
that the right in question is expropriatory in
nature which justifies the granting of access
to the requested information on the ground of
overriding public interest.
13
DIPLOM ACY
Tunisia’s President Paid Two-day
Historic State Visit to Switzerland
By Correspondent
The President of the Republic of Tunisia Beji Caid Essebsi paid a two-day historic
state visit toSwitzerland from 18 to 19 February 2016, at the invitation of the
President of Swiss Confederation Johann N. Schneider-Ammann.
During the visit there were discussions on
various issues leading to the signing of a number
of bilateral agreements and Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) which include:
1. Declaration of Intent between the Ministry
of Higher Education and Scientific Research
and the State Secretariat for education, research and innovation.
2. D
eclaration of intent regarding the implementation of the Swiss program to support
the transition in Tunisia.
3. Declaration of intent on preventing
violent extremism.
4. Memorandum of Understanding on the restitution of illegal assets blocked in Switzerland.
5. M
emorandum of Understanding between
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs on bilateral
political consultations.
6. A greement on exemption of visa requirements
for holders of diplomatic and special passports of both countries
Switzerland’s cooperation to foster good relations between the two countries. In addition he
expressed his country’s continued support to see
that Tunisia’s nascent democracy improves and its
economic development achieved.
The delegates from the economic sectors of
both countries made up of many of the biggest
companies in the countries also met to discuss
possible areas of economic cooperation. On the
question of investment in Tunisia, there are indications of interest by some Swiss companies to
invest in Tunisia.
The visit marked the first of its kind of a
Tunisia’s President to Switzerland, during which
President Schneider-Amman assured Tunisia of
Une Visite d'Etat historique
du Président de la République
Tunisienne en Suisse
Par Correspondent
Le Président de la République Tunisienne Béji caid Essebsi a effectué une visite d'Etat
historique à Berne les 18 et 19 février 2016, à l'invitation du Président de la Confédération suisse Johann N. Schneider-Ammann.
A travers cette visite d'Etat, la Suisse exprime
son soutien à la Nouvelle Tunisie, ainsi que sa
volonté de continuer à l'appuyer sur la voie de la
démocratisation, du développement économique.
En outre, elle dénote le caractère excellent des relations d'amitié et de coopération entre les deux pays
et la volonté commune de les renforcer davantage.
Au cours de cette visite, la première de son
genre d'un Président tunisien en Suisse, il a été
procédé à la signature des six accords suivants :
1. Déclaration d'intention entre le Ministère de
l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche
scientifique et le Secrétariat d'Etat à la formation, à la recherche et à l'innovation.
2. Déclaration d'intention concernant la mise
en œuvre du programme suisse de soutien à la
transition en Tunisie.
3. Déclaration d'intention concernant la prévention de l'extrémisme violent.
14
4. Mémorandum d'entente sur la restitution des
avoirs d'origine illicite bloqués en Suisse.
5. Protocole d'entente entre le Ministère des
affaires étrangères et le Département fédéral des
affaires étrangères concernant des consultations
politiques bilatérales.
6. Accord sur la suppression réciproque de l'obligation du visa pour les titulaires des passeports
diplomatiques et spéciaux.
It’s time to say good bye after the historic visit,
President Amman left and President Essebsi before
leaving for the Airport, and pic 2 below, at the airport
Outre sa dimension politique, la visite d'Etat
revêtait un caractère économique important qui
s'est traduit notamment par l'organisation d'une
table ronde économique tuniso-suisse. Y ont pris
part deux délégations économiques tunisienne et
suisse, représentant nombre des plus importantes
compagnies des deux pays. Cette manifestation
économique a réaffirmé l'intérêt des entreprises
helvétiques à investir davantage en Tunisie.
March/April 2016
CELEBR ATION
Tunisia 3,000 Years
of History
At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by Berber tribes. Its
coast was settled by Phoenicians starting as early as the 12th century BC. The
city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenicians. Legend says
that Didi from Tyre, now in modern-day Lebanon, founded the city in 814 BC.
The Roman amphitheater in El Djem,
built during the first half of the 3rd century AD.
After the series of wars with Greek city-states
of Sicily in the 5th century BC, Carthage rose
to power and eventually became the dominant
civilization in the Western Mediterranean.
A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by Hannibal
during the Second Punic War, one of a series of wars
with Rome, nearly crippled the rise of Roman power.
From the conclusion of the Second Punic War in
202 BC, Carthage functioned as a client state of the
Roman Republic for another 50 years.
Following the Battle of Carthage in 149 BC,
Carthage was conquered by Rome. After the Roman conquest, the region became one of the main
granaries of Rome and was fully Latinized.
During the 5th and 6th centuries (from 430
to 533 AD), the Germanic Vandals invaded and
ruled over a kingdom in North Africa that included
present-day Tripoli. The region was easily reconquered in 533–534 AD, by the Eastern Romans.
Middle Ages
Domes of the Great mosque of Kairouan.
Founded in 670, it dates in its present form largely
from the Aghlabid period (9th century). It is the
oldest mosque in the Maghreb.
Sometime between the second half of the 7th
century and the early part of the 8th century,
Arab Muslim conquest occurred. They founded
the first Islamic city in North Africa, Kairouan.
It was there in 670 AD that the Great Mosque
of Kairouan, was constructed;. This mosque is
the oldest and most prestigious sanctuary in the
Muslim West with the oldest standing minaret in
March/April 2016
the world , it is also considered a masterpiece of
Islamic art and architecture.
The Arab governors of Tunis founded the
Aghlabid Dynasty which ruled Tunisia and eastern
Algeria from 800 to 909.
After conquering Cairo, the Fatimid abandoned Tunisia and parts of Eastern Algeria to the
local Zirids (972–1148). Zirid Tunisia flourished
in many areas: agriculture, industry, trade, and religious and secular learning. Follows the conquest
of Tunisia in 1159–1160 by the Almohads, Tunisia
remained part of the Almohad state, until 1230
when the son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent. During the reign of the Hafsid Dynasty,
fruitful commercial relationships were established
with several Christian Mediterranean states.
Domes of the Great mosque of Kairouan. Founded
in 670, it dates in its present form largely from
the Aghlabid period (9th century). It is the oldest
mosque in the Maghreb.
Ottoman Tunisia
The Ottomans permanently acquired the former Hafsid Tunisia, retaining it until the French
conquest of Tunisia in 1881.
The Hussein Dynasty of Beys, established in
1705, lasted until 1957. This evolution of status
was from time to time challenged without success
by Algiers. During this era the governing councils
controlling Tunisia remained largely composed of
foreign elite who continued to conduct state business .
The throne hall in the beylical palace of Bardo,
near Tunis, circa 1880. In the 19th century, the
rulers of Tunisia, by their own lights but informed
by the Turkish example, attempted to effect a modernizing reform of institutions and the economy.
Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable.
This was the reason or pretext for French forces
to establish a protectorate in 1881.
French Tunisia (1881–1956)
In 1869, Tunisia declared itself bankrupt and
an international financial commission took control
over its economy. In 1881, the French invaded
with an army of about 36,000 and forced the Bey
to agree to the terms of the 1881 Treaty of Bardo
With this treaty, Tunisia was officially made a
French Protectorate.
Post Independence (1956-2011 )
Tunisia achieved independence from France in
1956 led by Habib Bourguiba who later became
first tunisian president. In November 1987, doctors
declared Bourguiba unfit to rule and, President
Ben Ali , held office from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali
and his family were accused of corruption and
plundering the country's money.
Revolution (2011 )
The Tunisian Revolution was an intensive campaign of civil resistance that was precipitated by
high unemployment, inflation corruption, a lack
of freedom of speech and . Labor unions were said
to be an integral part of the protests. The protests
inspired the Arab spring, a wave of similar actions
throughout the Arab world.
Anger and violence intensified following
Bouazizi's death on 4 January 2011, ultimately
leading longtime Ben Ali to step down on 14
January 2011, after 23 years in power.
The elections to the Constituent Assembly
were held on 23 October 2011. The domestic
and international observers declared free and fair
poll. The Ennahda Movement, formerly banned
under Ben Ali, won a majority of 90 seats out of
217. On December 12, 2011, former dissident and
activist rights veteran man Moncef Marzouki was
elected president.
The 2014 Constitution, the result of a compromise between the different parties under the
auspices of the Quartet of the national dialogue,
Tunis on 14 January 2011
during the Tunisian revolution
15
SANTE ATION
CELEBR
Tunisie Une histoire
de plus de 3000 ans
turc, ont tenté d'effectuer des réformes et une
modernisation des institutions et de l'économie. La
dette internationale tunisienne est devenue ingérable. Ce fut la raison ou le prétexte pour les forces
françaises d'établir un protectorat en 1881.
Tunisie français (1881-1956)
En 1869, la Tunisie est déclarée en faillite et
Au début de l'histoire, la Tunisie a été habitée par des tribus berbères. La ville
de Carthage a été fondée au 9ème siècle avant JC par les Phéniciens. La légende une commission financière internationale a pris le
contrôle de son économie. En 1881, les Français
raconte que la reine Didon de Tyr, a fondé la ville en 814 av.
L'amphithéâtre romain d'El Djem, construit au cours
de la première moitié du 3ème siècle après JC.
Après une série de guerres avec les cités grecques
de la Sicile durant le 5ème siècle avant JC, Carthage
a pris de l’ampleur et a fini par devenir la civilisation
dominante en Méditerranée occidentale.
Une invasion carthaginoise de l'Italie dirigée
par Hannibal pendant la seconde guerre punique,
l'une d'une série de guerres avec Rome, a failli
défaire la puissance romaine. Des la fin de la
deuxième guerre punique en 202 avant J.-C.,
Carthage a fonctionné comme un État client de
la République romaine durant 50 ans.
Après la bataille de la IIIeme guerre punique
en 149 avant J.-C., Carthage a été conquise par
Rome, la région est devenue l'un des principaux
greniers de Rome et était pleinement latinisé.
Au cours des 5e et 6e siècles (430-533 AD), les
Vandales germaniques ont envahi et régné sur un
royaume en Afrique du Nord qui comprenait
l'actuelle Tripoli. La région a été facilement reconquise en 533-534 AD, par les Romains de l'Est.
Moyen Âge
Dômes de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan.
Fondée en 670, elle date dans sa forme actuelle en
grande partie de l'époque aghlabide (9e siècle).
Elle est la plus ancienne mosquée du Maghreb.
Quelque part entre la seconde moitié du 7e siècle
et au début du 8ème siècle, la conquête arabo-musulmane a eu lieu. Ils ont fondé la première ville
islamique en Afrique du Nord, Kairouan. Il était
là en 670 AD que la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan,
a été construit;. Cette mosquée est le sanctuaire le
plus ancien et le plus prestigieux de l'Occident
16
musulman avec le plus ancien minaret dans le
monde, il est également considéré comme un chefd'œuvre de l'art et l'architecture islamiques.
Les gouverneurs arabes de Tunis fonda la dynastie aghlabide qui a gouverné la Tunisie et
l'Algérie orientale 800-909.
Après avoir conquis le Caire, les fatimides ont
abandonné la Tunisie et des parties de l'Algérie
orientale aux Zirides locales (972-1148) , la Tunisie ziride a prospéré dans de nombreux domaines:.
L'agriculture, l'industrie, le commerce et la culture
religieuse et laïque.
Suit la conquête de la Tunisie en 1159-1160
par les Almohades, la Tunisie continue de faire
partie de l'État almohade, jusqu'à 1230 lorsque le
fils d'Abou Hafs se déclara indépendant. Pendant
le règne de la dynastie hafside, des relations commerciales fructueuses ont été établis avec plusieurs
pays méditerranéens chrétiens.
Dômes de la Grande Mosquée de Kairouan.
Fondée en 670, elle date dans sa forme actuelle
en grande partie de l'époque aghlabide (9e siècle).
Elle est la plus ancienne mosquée du Maghreb.
ont envahi avec une armée d'environ 36.000 et
forcé le Bey d'accepter les termes du Traité de 1881
du Bardo Avec ce traité, la Tunisie a été officiellement fait un protectorat français.
Post Indépendance (1956-2011)
La Tunisie a obtenu son indépendance de la
France en 1956, dirigé par le leader Habib Bourguiba
qui devint plus tard le premier président tunisien. En
Novembre 1987, les médecins ont déclaré Bourguiba
inapte à gouverner et, le Président Ben Ali, gouverna
de 1987-2011 Ben Ali et sa famille ont été accusés de
corruption et de pillage de l'argent du pays.
Révolution (2011)
La révolution tunisienne fut une campagne
intensive de résistance civile qui a été précipité par
un chômage élevé, l'inflation corruption, un
manque de liberté d’expression. Les syndicats ont
fait partie intégrante des manifestations. Les
manifestations ont inspire le «printemps arabe»,
une vague d'actions similaires dans le monde arabe.
La colère et la violence sont intensifiées après
la mort de Bouazizi le 4 Janvier 2011, conduisant
finalement Ben Ali à fuir le 14 Janvier 2011, après
23 ans au pouvoir.
Les élections à l'Assemblée constituante avaient
eu lieu le 23 Octobre 2011. Les observateurs internes et internationaux ont déclaré le scrutin libre
et équitable. Le Mouvement Ennahda, autrefois
interdit sous le régime Ben Ali, a remporté la majorité de 90 sièges sur un total de 217. Le 12 Décembre
2011, l’ancien militant dissident et vétéran de droits
de l'homme Moncef Marzouki a été élu président.
Régence de Tunis
Le Ottomans ont définitivement acquis l'ancienne Tunisie Hafside, le conservant jusqu'à la
conquête française de la Tunisie en 1881.
La dynastie des beys Husseinite, établie en
1705, a duré jusqu'en 1957. Pendant cette ère, les
conseils de gouvernement sont restés en grande
partie composées de l'élite étrangère qui ont
continué à gérer les affaires de l'Etat.
Au 19ème siècle, les dirigeants de la Tunisie, par
leurs propres initiatives, mais éclairés par l'exemple
Tunis, le 14 Janvier 2011,
lors de la révolution tunisienne.
March/April 2016
CELEBR ATION
La Constitution de 2014, fruit d'un compromis
négocié entre les différents partis sous la houlette
d'u quartette du dialogue national, proclame un
certain nombre de libertés (dont la liberté d'expression, la liberté de l'information et la liberté de
conscience), consacre un exécutif bicéphale, accorde une place bien définie de l’Islam pour la
première fois dans l'histoire juridique du monde
arabe, introduit un objectif de parité hommesfemmes au sein des assemblées élues .
Le texte final est adopté le 26 janvier 2014
par l’Assemblée constituante avec une majorité
de 200 voix .
Après les élections législatives du 26/10/2014,
qui voit le parti Nidaa Tounes arriver en tête,
l’Assemblée des Représentants du Peuple remplace
l’Assemblée constituante. Le second tour des élections présidentielles organisé le 21/12/2014 permet
à M. Beji Caïd Essebsi de remporter le scrutin avec
55,68 % des voix contre 44,32 % des voix pour
Marzouki et de devenir ainsi le premier président
issu d’une élection démocratique et transparente.
“When there is the will to live,
destiny surely responds”
The Message of H.E Mr Mourad Bourehla Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia
on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the independence of Tunisia.
Par l’ambassade de Tunisie à Berne
(Suisse), en l’ honneur du 60e anniversaire
de l’indépendance du pays.
Tunisia 3000 Years
of History
proclaims a number of freedoms (including freedom of expression, freedom of information and
freedom of conscience) devotes a dual executive,
gives a definite place of Islam for the first time in
legal history of the Arab world, introduced a parity
objective gender in elected assemblies.
The final text was adopted on 26 January
2014 the Constituent Assembly with a majority
of 200 votes.
After the parliamentary elections of
10/26/2014, which sees the Nidaa Tounes party,
reach the top, the People's Representatives Assembly replaces the Constituent Assembly. The second
round of presidential elections held on 12.21.2014
allows Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi to win the election
with 55.68% against 44.32% of the votes for Marzouki and thus become the first president from to
democratic and transparent election.
By the Embassy of Tunisia,
Bern, Switzerland tomark the 60th
Independence anniversary of the country.
March/April 2016
Amb. Mourad Bourehla
It gives me great honour and pleasure to address you on the occasion of the 60th anniversary
of the independence of the Republic of Tunisia.
Our independence was declared on the 20th of
March 1956. A few days ago, the President of
the Republic of Tunisia, M. Beji Caid Essebssi
made an historic state visit to Switzerland, the
first of its kind for an elected Tunisian President,
which marked a turning point in the bilateral
relationship between our two countries.
During the visit, I noted with great satisfaction the Swiss Federal Council’s genuine support
that made the visit a huge success. It was one of
the most successful visits of our President given
the bilateral agreements signed, the excellent and
fruitful meetings held, especially those on the
economic front. I witnessed a strong support of
Switzerland to our young democracy.
What with our quest
for and freedom? Dialogue
and consensus rather than
domination and exclusion
were the watchword of the
Tunisian transition from an
authoritarian to a democratic state, offering the ability to reach political solutions that was satisfactory
to all without ideological
conflicts, rhetoric and partisan interests, in order to
tackle the problems of the
nation and to meet the legitimate expectations of all
Tunisians. It is within this
context that the Nobel peace
prize was, aptly awarded to
the national dialogue quartet for its decisive contribution to the building of a
pluralistic democracy which
went a long way in avoiding
chaos and the collapse of the
nations’ institutions.
I believe in my Tunisia, and
I am totally convinced that our young people are
up to the challenges ahead, today when we sing
«when the people have the will to live, destiny
must surely respond» we pledge ourselves as one
united people that will not spare any efforts to
forge our new way forward.
We remember those who lost their lives for
the sake of our fatherland and we hold dearly
on to our hearts, just as well as those who
stood by our country during our struggle for
independence.
There is an African proverb that says «If you
want to go quickly go alone, if you want to go far,
go together.» both in Tunisia and in Switzerland
we are determined to go far therefore we are keen
to go together.
Long live Tunisia-Switzerland friendship.
17
POLITICS
Photo : www.thevillager.com
The speech of His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, the President of the
Republic of Namibia at the official opening of the 3rd Session of the 6th Parliament
on February 9, 2016 in Windhoek.
me, the newly elected third President of Namibia, who has been charged with the responsibility
of bringing prosperity to the people. There are
not many countries in the world where one can
witness all former heads of state and the current
President living peacefully in the same country
and working together. That is how we are building a Namibian House.
As you may be aware, exactly one week ago on
the 2nd of February,I presented my first address
to Cabinet this year, and by so doingopened the
executive branch of our Government. Later in
the same week, I addressed the judicial branch
of our Government at the opening of the 2016
Legal Year at the Supreme Court. Today, I am
here to complete the “trinity” by opening the legislative branch of our Government.
We have the Founding
Father of our Republic,
Comrade Sam Nujoma.
He is the man who led
the fight for independence
and laid a solid foundation of our Namibian
House. This is the
foundation of peace,
security and democracy
that we enjoy to date.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Chairperson,
It is no coincidence that “trinity” or in other words
the three organs of State function perfectly in our
country. Indeed the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary encapsulate the separation of powers in our
Republic. This is the pride of our democracy.
Today, in this country, we are also witnessing
another “trinity” which symbolizes just how far
we have come as an independent and democratic
nation. We have the Founding Father of our Republic, Comrade Sam Nujoma. He is the man
who led the fight for independence and laid a
solid foundation of our Namibian House. This is
the foundation of peace, security and democracy
that we enjoy to date. He was succeeded by Former President Comrade Hifikepunye Pohamba
who stabilized the situation, solidifying and consolidating our peace. They have been followed by
The trinity continues. Comrade Speaker, you
are the third Speaker of the House, following on
from our First and Founding Speaker, Comrade
Mose Tjitendero – May His Soul Rest in Peace.
He laid the foundation of this House. He was
followed by another illustrious Son of Namibia,
Comrade Theo-Ben Gurirab and now you Comrade Speaker.
While on the issue of “trinities”, let me turn to an
issue which has been ablaze on social media, namely
the new Parliament building. I have received numerous messages from people imploring me to halt
the construction of the building. In this connection
let us all be reminded of the separation of powers
between State Organs which I alluded to earlier.
In terms of this, each of these State Organs has to
Dr. Hage G. Geingob
[All Protocols observed]
As per common practice in Commonwealth
Countries, I am deeply honoured to open the Third
Session of the Sixth Parliament of our Republic.
18
act independently, and that is good because it provides for checks and balances in our democracy. To
underscore this point, the Executive cannot interfere
in the Legislature, just as the legislature cannot interfere in the day-to-day operations of the Executive
or the Judiciary. This separation of powers dictates
that the building of a new Parliament is a matter
of the Legislature and not a matter of the Executive. Therefore, calls for the abandoning of plans to
build a new Parliament building should be, if at all,
directed to the Speaker of Parliament and not to the
Presidency. Furthermore, I have noted with concern
that some of these calls are emanating from honourable Members of Parliament. So perhaps there is a
need for an open debate on this matter in the Parliament. That being said, I would like to note that since
Independence, Government has always prioritised
developmental issues. That is why the bulk, of our
budgetary resources, has always and continues to be
directed towards the education and health sectors.
Construction of buildings that are symbols of key
institutions has never enjoyed priority over developmental objectives. That is why the new State House
and the Supreme Court were constructed only two
decades after our Independence.
In the context of preserving our Constitutional
values that we are lauded for in the International
Community, three things are of importance,
namely processes, systems and institutions. While
Namibia is leading in this regard, let me briefly
elaborate on these fundamental concepts.
Firstly, we need processes that are inclusive and
transparent. We need processes that will instil confidence in our democracy, and that will minimize
the risks of rumour mongering and conspiracy
theories. For instance, our electoral processes must
be transparent and above board so that those who
lose elections admit that they have been defeated in
a transparent way and do not complain and run to
the courts. We want to achieve the same with regards to our tendering system. That is why we have
cancelled tenders, due to processes and procedures
that were questionable.
Secondly, we need robust systems that will ensure that service delivery is not compromised. For
instance, if there is a dispute regarding election results the system must remain intact and the public
service should continue to deliver goods and services to the people.
Thirdly, when all else fails, we need strong institutions that will have the final say. An example
of this is the infamous 2000 United States election between Former President George W. Bush
and then Vice President Al Gore when there was
a dispute regarding the counting of ballot papers.
Despite the furore, President Bill Clinton was
March/April 2016
POLITICS
still in office and there were no armoured vehicles in the streets. The process of recounting was
transparent and televised for all to witness. When
all else failed, the matter was taken to the courts,
Al Gore, having received more popular votes admitted defeat to President George W. Bush as the
latter had won using the Electoral College System which is unique to the USA. Similarly, when
we quarrelled about election results following the
2009 elections, the systems continued to function smoothly while the challenge was taken to
the court. That is what I am talking about when
I say we need processes, systems and institutions
to preserve our constitutional values.
I had the opportunity last week to open the
judicial year, where I reaffirmed my unwavering
commitment to protect the independence of the
Judiciary. I am glad that I am standing here today
to open one of the most important legs upon which
our democracy rest, namely our Parliament.
As we are gathered here in Parliament -the ultimate symbol of our commitment to democratic
rule - we must bear in mind that without a collective spirit, in which we look out for each other and
the well being of each and every Namibian citizen,
we can never achieve true democracy.
Therefore, when I refer to the spirit of Harambee it is not a mere slogan but it is a call on the people of this Nation to adopt an ethos of unity, devoid
of selfish ambition, and to pull in one direction for
the sake of National prosperity.
There is much for us to celebrate, 26 years after Independence. Our democracy has withstood several
challenges and continues to be a beacon of hope
and motivation, not only on the African continent
but in the world as a whole.
Our democracy provides a solid foundation on
which we can build a Nation of peace, unity and
prosperity. We are well aware that democracy alone
is not the panacea to hunger and poverty. This is
why I have said and continue to say that the people
do not eat democracy. As elected representatives of
the people, our responsibility is to ensure that we
make use of our democratic platforms to actualize
the aspirations of the electorate.
The year 2015 can be described as a call to arms. It
was the year in which as President, I endeavoured
to rally the nation behind a shared Vision through
themes such as, War on Poverty, War against corruption, No Namibian Must feel left out and
Harambee. I am certain that by embracing these
themes and applying them to our policy making
decisions, one day we will be able to eradicate poverty. In 2016, it is time to turn words into reality,
it is time to implement and therefore I refer to this
year as the Year of Implementation. The eyes of
the Nation are on us. I repeat, the eyes of the nation
are on us.
As the Legislature, you have a key role to play in
our development efforts. You represent the platform
of inclusive political dialogue and national debate
and are, therefore, crucial in spearheading Namibia’s
developmental agenda.
At this juncture I would like to commend the
members of Parliament for the work done last year.
Many of the laws that were passed by Parliament
have gone a long way in improving the livelihoods
of our citizens. Congratulations for your good work.
He was succeeded by
Former President Comrade
Hifikepunye Pohamba who
stabilized the situation,
solidifying and consolidating our peace. They have
been followed by me, the
newly elected third President of Namibia, who has
been charged with the
responsibility of bringing
prosperity to the people.
I would now like to focus specifically on the issue
of poverty and the role that Parliament can play in
the war that we are waging against this crippling
scourge. As Parliament, you represent the voices of
the poor and the disadvantaged people. I would like
to quote Article 45 of the Namibian Constitution
which says, “The members of the National Assembly shall be representative of all the people and shall
in the performance of their duties be guided by the
objectives of this Constitution, by the public interest and by their conscience.”
Therefore, every day you come to Parliament,
you carry with you the hopes, fears and dreams
of hundreds of people who look upon you with
the expectant hope that you will speak and argue
on their behalf, guided by the Namibian Constitution, their interest and your conscience.
Having spoken of the constitution, since today is Constitution Day, let us pause and thank
the founders of our Republic for having given us
a splendid Constitution. I am glad to see many
of you here today, who spearheaded the process,
and I am proud of having been Chairperson of
the Drafting Committee. In the same vein, let
me acknowledge the efforts of one of our citizens,
Mr. Chris Jacobie, who single handily fought for
this day, Constitution Day, to become a national
day. So happy Constitution Day.
As we are commemorating Constitution Day, we
must raise the level of debate. We must look at the
way we can strengthen our institutions. For one, the
debate should not focus on trivia. Rather it should
be directed towards improving the democratic institutions that we so dearly hold in our hearts. This is
what so many Namibians fought for.
In this regard, there is yet another trinity I
would like to refer to. On this day 48 years ago,
a stalwart and icon of our struggle for independence, Comrade Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment to be served at
the infamous Robben Island Prison. It was at this
trial where he famously said, “We are Namibians,
and not South Africans. We do not now, and will
not in the future, recognise your right to govern
us; to make laws for us, in which we had no say; to
treat our country as if it was your property and us
as if you are our masters. We have always regarded
South Africa as an intruder in our country. This
is how we have always felt and this is how we feel
now and it is on this basis that we have faced this
trial” Moving words indeed.
It is due to the steadfastness and courage of
heroes such as Comrade Ya Toivo, that today we
can celebrate living in an independent Namibia,
where we govern ourselves and make our own
laws. I therefore congratulate this icon for his
strength of character and courage.
Today is also a day we recognize the maternity
of humanity, our women. Under the Constitution
of the Republic of Namibia we are all obliged to
protect and defend human rights and the lives of
all our people especially the rights and lives of
women and girl children. We therefore recognize
the important role played by women who are the
pillars of strength on which our nation rests. In
this regard, as we recognize the importance of our
women, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the newly elected Chairperson of the National
Council Honourable Margaret Mensah-Williams.
This represents another trinity, as we celebrate
Constitution Day, the 10 same day one of our
March/April 2016
19
LE AD
Tough Time For Museveni As
His Rule Enters Fourth Decade
By Wakabi Wairagala
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, in power for 30 years, in February won a
disputed re-election that would see him lead the east African country for 35 years.
But his victory was met with a sullen mood across the country. Even his supporters
– who purportedly gave him the 60% win announced by the Electoral Commission
– did not turn up on the streets to celebrate.
“The outcome of the elections, as announced
… left many Ugandans in shock as manifested by
the silence that has engulfed the nation since,” said
Dr Abed Bwanika, one of eight candidates that
lost to Museveni.
Both international and local election observers, including those from the African Union and
the European Union, raised serious queries about
the legitimacy of the results. The fact that Kizza
Besigye, Museveni’s main challenger, was arrested
two days before election day, and again on election
day, did not help matters. As of February 26, a week
after the elections, Besigye was under house arrest,
and in the previous ten days he had been arrested
up to six times - most of them after the elections.
Museveni, who captured power in 1986 via a
guerilla war, faced the strongest electoral challenge
ever. Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, for
long Museveni's right-hand man and secretarygeneral of the ruling party was in the contest,
as was Besigye, a former guerrilla fighter and
Museveni’s personal doctor.
Besigye, who was attempting to wrestle the
presidency from Museveni, 71, for the fourth time,
garnered 35% of the vote, according to the Electoral
Commission. However, several observers have raised
serious concerns about the credibility of the poll, and
it was expected that Besigye’s party, the Forum for
Democratic Change (FDC), would lodge a strong
court challenge to the election outcome.
The election itself was marred by widespread
fears of violence, which prompted massive deployment of the police and the army throughout the
country. The heavy deployment continued a week
after the election.
Police chief, Kale Kayihura, justified Besigye’s continued house arrest, arguing that it was
intended to protect public order. The security
chief contended that Besigye and his FDC party
intended to organise protests to destabilise the
capital, Kampala, and other major urban areas, in
the hope they would force an Arab Spring type of
change of regime. The police head added, however,
thereby disenfranchising several voters. In parts of
Kampala and surrounding areas, which are known
to be Besigye strongholds, voting was postponed to
the next day, or cancelled altogether.
Bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira, who heads
the Uganda Joint Christian Council’s elections
that the opposition leader was
allowed “unlimited access to
his lawyers, family and party
officials.”
While the international
condemnation of Besigye’s
house arrest continued, so
did criticism of the election
that handed Museveni a fifth
term in office. The American
government said the presidential elections were “deeply inconsistent with international
standards and expectations
for any democratic process.”
Livingstone Ssewanyana, who
headed the local consortium
of election observers, also said
the electoral process did not
meet the minimum standards
of any reasonable election, and
“did not reflect the will of the
people.”
The European Union obPresident Museveni
server mission challenged the
electoral body to publish results from each polling station to give credence to committee, indicated that the elections body
the overall numbers it announced and to enable improperly announced the winner of the presivoters and candidates to “comprehensively evalu- dential elections before including votes from some
ate” the results. The European observers added, polling stations. He challenges the EC to issue a
“Pro-active publication of information of public comprehensive statement as to why votes from a
interest is enshrined in international standards to large number of polling stations in districts such
which Uganda has committed itself with the aim as Rukungiri, Jinja, Kampala, and Kyenjonjo were
of respecting citizens’ fundamental freedoms and not included in the results announced by the comrights.”
mission on February 20.
Independent groups have joined the opposition
For long, the opposition has accused the elecin blaming the Electoral Commission (EC) for tions body of helping Museveni to rig his way back
reading out lump-sum figures of votes scored by into the presidency. The commission is appointed
each candidate without breaking down where they by the president. In two previous elections, Besigye
originated from. Moreover, the commission has been appealed the election results, but while all judges
accused of undermining the chances of the opposi- agreed that there was rigging, majority ruled
tion, by delivering voting materials to opposition that the malpractices did not warrant nullifying
strongholds only a few hours before the polls closed, Museveni’s win.
20
March/April 2016
LE AD
Les temps sont durs pour Museveni qui
entame sa quatrième décennie de pouvoir
Par Wakabi Wairagala
Photo : www.answersafrica.com
Le Président de l’Ouganda Yoweri Museveni, au pouvoir depuis 30 ans, a remporté en
février une élection controversée qui prolongerait à 35 ans son temps passé à la tête de
ce pays d’Afrique de l’Est. Mais sa victoire a été accueillie avec morosité dans le pays.
Même ses partisans – qui lui ont prétendument apporté la victoire à 60% annoncée par
la Commission électorale – ne sont pas sortis dans la rue pour fêter l’événement.
«Comme annoncé, le résultat des élections (…)
a laissé de nombreux Ougandais en état de choc,
et le silence qui s’est abattu sur le pays depuis est
assourdissant», déclare Abed Bwanika, l’un des huit
candidats non élus contre Museveni.
Les observateurs de ces élections, tant locaux qu’internationaux, y compris ceux de l’Union africaine
et de l’Union européenne, ont sérieusement remis
en question la légitimité des résultats. Le fait que
Kizza Besigye, le principal adversaire de Museveni,
a été arrêté deux jours avant les élections, puis de
nouveau le jour des élections, n’a pas facilité les
choses. Le 26 février, une semaine après les élections,
Besigye était assigné à domicile, et au cours des dix
jours précédents il avait été arrêté non moins de six
fois – la plupart après les élections.
Museveni, qui a pris le pouvoir en 1986 au terme
d’une guérilla, a plus que jamais été confronté à
un grand défi électoral. L’ancien premier
ministre Amama Mbabazi, qui a longtemps
été le bras droit de Museveni et le secrétaire
général du parti au pouvoir, était en concurrence avec lui, tout comme Besigye, ancien
guérillero et médecin personnel de Museveni.
Besigye, qui essayait pour la quatrième fois
d’arracher la présidence à Museveni, 71 ans, a
engrangé 35% des voix selon la Commission
électorale. Pourtant plusieurs observateurs
ont mis en doute la crédibilité des élections,
et l’on s’attendait à ce que le parti de Besigye,
le Forum for Democratic Change (FDC),
conteste âprement en justice le résultat de
l’élection.
Les élections elles-mêmes ont été gâchées par
l’extension des craintes de violences qui ont
conduit à un déploiement massif des forces
de police et d’armée dans tout le pays. Ce
déploiement a continué pendant une semaine
après l’élection.
Le chef de la police Kale Kayihura a justifié le
maintien de Besigye aux arrêts domiciliaires
en argumentant que le but était de protéger
l’ordre public. Le chef de la sécurité soutenait que
Besigye et son parti FDC projetaient d’organiser
des manifestations pour déstabiliser Kampala, la
capitale, et d’autres agglomérations d’importance,
dans l’espoir d’imposer un changement de régime
du type Printemps Arabe. Le chef de la police
a toutefois ajouté que le leader de l’opposition
conservait «un accès illimité à ses avocats, à sa
famille et aux dirigeants de son parti».
Tout comme l’assignation à domicile de Besigye,
condamnée par l’opinion internationale, les élections
qui ont apporté à Museveni un cinquième mandat
sont restées sous le feu de la critique. Le gouvernement américain a dit que les élections présidentielles
«s’écartaient profondément des normes internationales et de ce qu’on attend d’un processus démocratique.» Quant à Livingstone Sewanyana, qui a dirigé
le consortium local des observateurs internationaux,
il a dit que ce processus électoral n’avait pas satisfait
aux normes minimales d’une élection raisonnable et
«ne reflétait pas la volonté du peuple».
La mission d’observation de l’Union européenne a
mis l’instance électorale au défi de publier les résultats
de chaque bureau de vote pour donner une crédibilité aux chiffres globaux annoncés et permettre aux
votants et aux candidats «d’évaluer intégralement»
les résultats. Les observateurs européens ont ajouté
qu’une «publication proactive d’informations d’intérêt général fait intimement partie des normes que
l’Ouganda s’est fixées dans le but de respecter les
libertés et droits fondamentaux des citoyens».
Des groupes indépendants ont joint leurs blâmes à
ceux de l’opposition à l’encontre de la Commission
électorale (CE), qu’ils accusent d’avoir publié des
nombres de voix en bloc pour chaque candidat sans
les décomposer selon leur lieu d’origine. De plus, la
Commission a été accusée d’avoir sapé les chances de
l’opposition en ne remettant le matériel de vote dans
les fiefs de l’opposition que quelques heures avant la
clôture du scrutin, privant plusieurs électeurs de leur
droit de vote. Dans certaines parties de Kampala et
des régions environnantes, connues pour être des fiefs
de Besigye, la votation a été reportée au lendemain
ou entièrement annulée.
L’évêque Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira, qui dirige
le comité électoral du Conseil chrétien mixte
d’Ouganda, a déclaré que l’instance électorale
avait failli en annonçant le lauréat des élections
présidentielles avant d’inclure les voix de certains
bureaux de vote. Il met la CE au défi de fournir un
relevé complet précisant pourquoi des voix d’un
grand nombre de lieux, dans des districts tels que
Rukungiri, Jinja, Kampala et Kyenjonjo, n’ont
pas été incluses dans les résultats annoncés le 20
février par la Commission.
Cela fait longtemps que l’opposition accuse
l’organisme électoral d’aider Museveni dans des
manipulations pour revenir à la présidence. La
Commission est désignée par le président. Lors
de deux élections passées, Besigye a fait appel des
résultats, mais bien que tous les juges aient convenu
qu’il y avait eu des manipulations, la majorité a
estimé que les fautes ne justifiaient pas une annulation de la victoire de Museveni.
Une nouvelle fois, le groupe de Besigye s’apprête à
contester les résultats devant les tribunaux, mais il
rencontre déjà des difficultés. Certains dirigeants
du parti qui cherchaient à rassembler des preuves
March/April 2016
21
LE AD
Les temps sont durs pour Museveni qui
entame sa quatrième décennie de pouvoir
de mauvaises pratiques électorales ont été arrêtés.
Il semble que, dans les campagnes, des fonctionnaires du parti aient été mis sous les verrous
tandis que d’autres sont contraints à signer des
déclarations contenant de faux résultats électoraux.
Néanmoins, Mugisha Muntu, ancien commandant de l’armée, qui préside aujourd’hui le FDC,
dit que le parti a trouvé d’énormes différences
entre les résultats annoncés et ceux auxquels ses
agent ont assisté dans les bureaux de vote et qu’ils
ont approuvés lors du comptage des voix. Une
descente de police dans les bureaux du parti, qui a
conduit à l’arrestation de ses préposés aux données,
a ralenti le processus de collecte de preuves pour
son action en justice.
De son côté, la ministre de la sécurité Karooro
Okurut dit que l’opposition crie au loup après
chaque élection ; la ministre accuse Besigye de
«chercher une fois de plus à mettre le chaos pour
la seule raison que les citoyens ougandais n’ont pas
voté pour lui» et dit de lui qu’il «semble croire que
le chaos est la meilleure manière de résoudre les
problèmes de gouvernance.»
Après les élections de 2011, «volées par Museveni»
selon l’opposition, le FDC a appelé à manifester
dans plusieurs villes, ce qui a paralysé le pays pendant un certain temps et fait fuir les investisseurs.
Cette fois-ci, les forces de sécurité se sont pour
l’instant débrouillées pour contenir toute explosion
de protestations raisonnables. L’économie risque
toutefois de souffrir. L’anxiété à l’approche de ces
élections a conduit à une chute de 200 millions
d’US$ dans les investissements étrangers directs
en 2015 (tombés à un milliard d’US$), la monnaie
locale s’est dépréciée de 17,5% par rapport au
dollar, le produit des exportations a baissé et de
nombreux investisseurs étrangers se sont retirés
de la Bourse locale.
La création d’emplois reste l’un des plus gros échecs
du régime de Museveni, bien qu’on reconnaisse
qu’il maintient un taux élevé de croissance économique et a ramené la paix en Ouganda après
des décennies de guerres civiles. Environ 53% de
la population ougandaise a moins de 15 ans, ce
qui est plus que la moyenne de 43,2% de l’Afrique
subsaharienne. Les chiffres de la Banque mondiale
montrent que 500 000 de personnes entrent
chaque année sur le marché du travail, mais que
64% des chômeurs ont moins de 25 ans. On estime
à 72% le chômage des jeunes.
Après sa réélection, Museveni a reconnu que
son gouvernement devait créer des emplois. Il
a également promis d’améliorer les services en
luttant contre la corruption (un domaine dont
son gouvernement était tristement champion
– et où, selon certains, la volonté d’engager des
mesures déterminantes est absente). Une autre
priorité que Museveni a promis de se donner est
la commercialisation de l’agriculture ainsi que
des autres moyens d’augmenter les revenus des
paysans qui forment la plus grande partie de la
population ougandaise.
Il est possible que les problèmes économiques de
l’Ouganda empirent avant toute amélioration,
mais beaucoup espèrent que les principaux protagonistes écouteront le Secrétaire général de
l’ONU Ban Ki-moon, qui les appelle à régler leurs
différends de manière pacifique. Il est manifeste
que Museveni va au-devant de temps difficiles.
Tough Time for Museveni as his Rule Enters Fourth Decade
This time around, Besigye’s group is once again
intent on contesting the results in court, but is
already encountering difficulties. The movement
of party officials to gather evidence of election
malpractices has been hampered by their arrests.
In the countryside, some party functionaries have
been locked up, according party officials, while
others are being forced to sign statements with false
election returns. Nonetheless, Mugisha Muntu, a
former army commander who is now president of
the FDC, says they have found huge discrepancies
between the results announced and those that their
agents at polling stations witnessed and endorsed
at vote counting. A raid on the party’s offices,
which saw the arrests of its data clerks, slowed
the process of gathering evidence for their suit.
However, security minister, Karooro Okurut
says the opposition cries foul after every election,
and accuses Besigye of "once again trying to cause
chaos just because Ugandan citizens have not voted
him into power." She referred to Besigye as “a man
22
who seems to think chaos is the best way to resolve
governance issues.”
Following the 2011 elections, which the opposition said were stolen by Museveni, the FDC
called protests in several towns, which paralysed
the country for some time and scared away
investors. This time so far, security forces have
managed to contain any reasonable outbreaks
of protests. However, the economy is likely to
suffer. Anxiety over elections led to a US$200
million fall in foreign direct investments in 2015
(to US$1 billion), the local currency depreciated
by 17.5% against the U.S. dollar, export earnings
dipped, and many foreign investors have exited
the local bourse.
Job creation remains one of the biggest failures of Museveni’s regime, although it is highly
credited for maintaining a high economic growth
rate and for restoring peace to Uganda after
decades of civil wars. About 53% of Uganda’s
population is younger than 15, which is higher
than the Sub-Saharan Africa’s average of 43.2%.
World Bank figures show that 500,000 people
are enter the labour market every year, yet 64%
of the unemployed are aged 24 and under. Youth
unemployment is estimated at 72%.
After the re-election, Museveni acknowledged
that his government must create jobs. He also
promised to improve service delivery through
fighting corruption (an area where his government
has performed dismally – and some say, lacks the
willingness to take decisive action). Another priority Museveni promised to work towards is the
commercialisation of agriculture and other avenues
for raising the incomes of farmers who make up
the bulk of Uganda’s population.
While Uganda’s economic problems could get
worse before they get better, many are hoping that
the key protagonists will heed UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’s plea to settle their disputes
peacefully. What is apparent is that Museveni is
headed for a tough time ahead.
March/April 2016
POLITICS
icons who fought for the principles encapsulated
by the Constitution was sentenced to prison and
the same day we acknowledge our first female
Chairperson of the National Council.
Because of what I mentioned above, I have a
strong belief in our Constitutional Democracy
for; we have seen that when citizens lose hope in
their constitutions, institutions and in elected officials, they place their hope elsewhere and this
is usually to the detriment of peace, solidarity
and national unity. We should, therefore, ensure
that our Parliament is an institution where the
voices and preferences of the people, especially
the poor, should be represented. In this year of
implementation, our Parliamentary committees
will have their work cut out in investigating several poverty related issues and in monitoring and
evaluating our policies and national development
plans to ensure that they are having the desired
effect in the wider war against poverty. I have
great faith and belief in your ability to carry out
these vital responsibilities.
I am encouraged by the fact that you will be
debating on a number of crucial bills during this
session of Parliament amongst them being:
1. Appropriation Bill
2. Agronomic Industry Bill
3. Business and Intellectual Property Bill
4. Child Justice Bill
5. Estate Agents and Property Developer Bill
6. Land Bill
7. Marital Property Bill
8. Namibia Industrial Development Agency
9. Property Valuers Profession Amendment Bill
10. Whistle-blowers Protection Bill
March/April 2016
On the issue of whistle – blowing, as an avid
football supporter, I have seen many referees or
“whistle-blowers” blowing wrong whistles. Those
that watched the recent match between Chelsea
and Manchester United can attest to this. So let us
ensure that when we blow our whistles, we blow
for the right reasons and not to settle scores.
The bills I have just listed are crucial in our
efforts to combat a number of burning issues that
we are currently faced with, namely poverty, violence against women and children, inability of
local entrepreneurs to participate in the business
market, rising cost of housing and unavailability
of land. I, therefore, urge you to debate these bills
knowing that you are not speaking on your own
behalves but on behalf of the country’s poor, the
country’s young and old and the country’s women, men and children.
My main role here today is not to delve into the
policies of Government and to provide account
of our achievements or shortcomings. That task
I shall carry out during my State of the Nation
Address. Let me, however, just state, for now,
that the State of Our Nation is Sound. We have
a growing and a stable economy, and we continue to be favourably rated by international rating agencies. Just recently, Namibia stepped up
ten places in the Corruption Perception Index
rankings by Transparency International and is
currently ranked as the 4th least corrupt country
in Africa. Unlike what some wanted to portray,
the Namibian Government is not broke. To the
contrary, we are a credit worthy Nation and the
long-term outlook for Namibia is positive. This
Government will continue to build on the legacy
of fiscal discipline and prudence that was built
over twenty-five years. Furthermore, within less
than one year, we have demonstrated that we
mean business when it comes to poverty eradication, promotion of transparency and building
an inclusive Namibian House. This assertion is
supported by the following actions. We have ignificantly increased the old age pension; asset declarations took place; ministerial declarations of
intent and performance agreements were released
publicly; and a shared Vision is being promoted.
Finally good progress was made with the development of the Harambee Prosperity Plan that will
be released during the State of Nation Address.
Today, I am here to mainly encourage the Legislature by saying let’s put aside personal differences
and the desire to settle scores. Let us think of our
people. Let us think of the poor and pull together
as one people in one direction with one goal, prosperity for all.
In this regard, let me share with you a quote by
Jean-Francois Cope who said, “I invite everyone to
choose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork
over personal ambition.”
Let us adopt the spirit inspired by these words
and burry the hatchets of hate and distrust and
choose forgiveness, choose to work as one team,
team Namibia in the spirit of Harambee and put
aside our personal ambitions for the greater good
of the nation. Let the Parliament of the Republic
of Namibia be the representation of true African
democracy in the 21st century. Let this Parliament be the foundation of the Namibian House.
Now I have great pleasure and honour to declare the
Third Session of the Sixth Parliament of our Republic officially open. May you all have a productive and
successful session. Long live the Republic of Namibia,
Long live the Land of the Brave. I thank you.
23
INTEGR ATION
Racial Discrimination
in Switzerland (Baselland)
By Johnson Oduwaiye
What is racial discrimination?
Racism manifests itself in different forms. Racial
discrimination is the denial of a better treatment in
any society, and under a similar situation because
of a people’s race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin,
or descent, gender, physical situation, language and
immigration status. It can occur at a workplace and
at home, in school and sports, in public administration, in private life, on the streets amongst other
places. The victims could be subjected to insult,
humiliation and threats.
The Swiss Constitution guarantees all residents
in the country the right to equal treatment (Article
8), nobody is to be discriminated against because
of his or her origin, race, sex, language, religion
or way of life. And it has left no stone unturned
to fight racial discrimination.
Forms of racial discrimination
According to sociologist, Nicki Lisa Cole, racism
refers to a host of practices, beliefs, social relations
and phenomena that work to reproduce a racial
hierarchy and social structure that yield superiority
and privilege for some, and discrimination and
oppression for others. Thus racism accounts for
the racial discrimination in differences between
human characters suggesting that one particular
race is superior to another.
Sociology suggests some forms of racial discrimination to include the portrayal of racial stereotypes
that assume black people as criminals and victims
of crime. Such a tendency has created bad blood
between the blacks and the police in every corner
of the Western World and the Basel region of Switzerland is no exception. It is common to see some
law abiding blacks being accosted and treated as
bandits. Some members of the public have imbibed
such a predisposition through what they are being
fed with in some media thus fuel a streak of discord
among some people that have strived and have been
enjoying harmonious coexistence.
Ideologically, racism manifests views, beliefs
and common sense ways of thinking that are
premised on notions of racial categories, like the
idea that white or light skinned people are superior
to dark skinned people
Some African parents have complained about
their children suffering from discrimination is
primary school as their teachers would say to them
24
that they would not make it in high school because
they were not bright enough to go to high school.
But unfortunately for some of these teachers, when
the children took the entrance examination to high
school, they not only succeed but would go on to
university and excel there.
Racism also takes the form of verbal, physical
or even intellectual assault based on skin colour.
A typical example is the usual assumption that
coloured people working in certain establishments
are low-cadre employees whereas they may be senior
management staff or even the owner of the establishment. It is also not unusual to categorise someone as
being poor because of his or her colour. This brings
to sharp memory mind how self-made billionaire,
Oprah Winfrey, was treated like a poor woman at an
exclusive Zurich boutique when she wanted to buy a
handbag apparently that the salesperson judged too
expensive for her because she is black.
Prejudice and overt bias
Racial discrimination may also come into
play due to overt prejudice, hostility or negative
feelings held by someone against an affected
person or group. This is noticeable in the areas of
employment and housing allocation.
Such stereotype attitude of attributing the same
characteristics to all members of a group, regardless
of individual differences, as is cited above in the case
of celebrity, millionaire, Opra Winfrey is oftentimes
based on misconceptions, lack of adequate information and/or information lapse or pure ignorance. In
most cases, these stereotypes are usually negative.
Subtle forms of racial discrimination
Subtle discrimination has also been identified
as one of the most common ways people experience
unequal treatment. Subtle forms of discrimination is usually detected when examining certain
circumstances in the treatment of individuals for
particular needs. This can be seen in some critical
sectors as health.
There are many examples of subtle forms of
racial discrimination. In employment, it can
take the form of refusing to hire, train, mentor
or promote a person of different colour, creed or
race in spite of the individual’s qualification for
the said post. When finally employed, in certain
cases, victims of racial discrimination may find
themselves subjected to excessive performance,
monitoring or may be more seriously blamed for
common mistakes whereas their counterparts
on the same job may not be reprimanded for
wrongdoings. In some cases differences in views
and opinion with a co-worker or the boss may even
spell doom for a victim of racial discrimination
leading to dismissal.
Subtle racial discrimination can occur in a
variety of other contexts as well. In housing allocation, someone that is not deemed to belong to an
accepted race may be turned away as a tenant, or
may not be granted equal access to maintenance
and repairs. Issues also arise in services and facilities including malls, restaurants, movie theatres,
education services and healthcare services.
Racial hatred or racial vilification
Racial hatred (sometimes referred to as vilification) is doing something in public based on the race,
colour, national or ethnic origin of a person or group
of people which is likely to offend, insult, humiliate
or intimidate the person or the group.
These include:
Racially offensive material on the internet, including e-forums, blogs, social networking sites and
video sharing sites; Racially offensive comments
or images in a newspaper, magazine or other publication such as a leaflet or flyer; Racially abusive
comments in a public place, such as in a shop,
workplace, park, on public transport or at school;
Racially abusive comments at sporting events by
players, spectators, coaches or officials.
Protection against racial
discrimination and racial hatred
As earlier said, the Swiss Constitution guarantees
all residents the right to equal treatment under
(Article 8). And the racism penal provision (Art. 261
bis) was created to protect people and groups against
racial discrimination, disparagement and incitement
because of their membership of a particular "race",
ethnic group or religion. Everyone has an unconditional right to be recognized as an equal being and
not to be called or treated as inferior.
The law protects them against discrimination in
many areas of public life, including:
Employment – getting a job, terms and conditions
of a job, training, promotion, dismissal; Education
– enrolling or studying at a private or public school,
college or university; Accommodation – renting or
buying a house or an apartment unit.
Getting or Using Services – such as banking and
insurance services, services provided by government
departments, transport or telecommunication services, professional services like those provided by
March/April 2016
INTEGR ATION
is to promote understanding between people
of different origin and
to combat racism and
racial discrimination. It
concentrates on effective
prevention and provide
advice and information
to individuals.
The FCR Secretariat
is affiliated to the FDHA
General Secretariat, as
is the Service for ComOne of Swiss People’s party’s adverts seen as portraying racial discrimination
(www.local.ch)
bating Racism (SCRA),
lawyers, doctors or tradespeople, services provided which coordinates activities aimed at preventing
racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia at federal,
by restaurants, shops or entertainment venues.
Accessing Public Places – such as parks, govern- cantonal and communal levels.
The Legal Guide for Racial discrimination provides
ment offices, restaurants, hotels or shopping centres.
The Act also protects them from being refused the Federal Service for Combating Racism FRB, a
employment, from being harassed, dismissed, denied comprehensive orientation about possibilities, oppora promotion, or denied other employment-related tunities and threats of court action, to combat racial
benefits, given less favourable terms or conditions discrimination. For this purpose, it organizes training
of employment, denied equal access to training courses for institutions and individuals who want to
opportunities and selected for redundancy.
broaden their knowledge on racial discrimination.
Lack of knowledge of the law, uncertainty and
fears prevent many people affected by racial discrimiCombating Racial Discrimination
Racial and ethnic discrimination occur on a nation from making contacts with counselling centres
daily basis, hindering progress for millions of people that can help them to take legal action. In addition,
around the world. It denies individuals the basic the uncertainty of the outcome of legal action plus the
principles from equality and non-discrimination costs which may not be affordable by many led the
to fuelling ethnic hatred that may lead to genocide, government to provide the Legal Guide for Racial Disintolerance, destruction of lives, property and com- crimination. It was developed by the Federal Service
munities. The struggle against racism is a matter for Combating Racism FRB together with the Federal
of priority for the international community and is Commission against Racism EKR and Humanrights.
at the heart of the work of the Office of the High ch/MERS within the project consultancy network for
Commissioner for Human Rights. Awareness, victims of racism and published of 2009.
prevention and mediation are important tools to
It highlights risks and opportunities of legal
combat racial discrimination.
processes and analyses the legal basis of concrete
In Switzerland the law ensures equality and examples from everyday life: from work and living
provides for the elimination of all discrimination. area, from school and public administration, the
Switzerland has been a member of the International private life and public space. The Legal Guide is
Convention for the Elimination of all forms of intended for people who are affected by racial discriRacial Discrimination (CERD) since the end of mination, counselling centers and institutions that
1994. It ratified the Council of Europe Convention are confronted with racism and discrimination, and
on the Protection of Human Rights and Basic to other interested parties. The FRB organized on
Freedoms in 1974.
request training courses for legal advisers.
The country has promulgated a lot of legislations to protect people against racial discrimina- Racial Discrimination and Integration
tion. The Federal Constitution states that no one
Sociologists suggest that for race and ethnic
may be discriminated against because of their relations to be functional and contribute to the
origin, race, gender, age, language, social position, harmonious conduct and stability of society, there
way of life, religious, philosophical, or political should be elements of assimilation on the part of
convictions, or because of a physical, mental or racial ethnic minority into the society. This means
a process by which a minority becomes integrated
psychological disability.
The Federal Commission against Racism FCR socially, economically, and culturally into the domiwas set up to implement the CERD. Its task nant society. The assimilation perspective assumes
March/April 2016
that to become fully integrated into a society, the
minority groups must adopt as much of the dominant society's culture as possible, particularly its
language, way of live, and goals for success, and
give up much of its own culture. Nevertheless to
become so integrated does not mean one culture is
better than the other – a form of discrimination.
The Swiss Federal Government in its effort to rid
the country of racial discrimination introduced in
2014 a comprehensive integration policy for protection against discrimination in cantonal integration
programs (KIP) – Diskriminierungsschutz in den
kantonalen Integrationsprogrammen (KIP).
It is equipped with the necessary measures to
protect people against discrimination. The implementation works of the cantonal and communal
integration services are closely monitored by the
FRB which provides: coaching, technical assistance,
and where necessary and possible, financial support.
Duty of Canton Baselland
In line with KIP, canton Baselland and everyone
for that matter, has a role to play to help ensure that
people from diverse cultures and backgrounds get
involved in the political, economic and social life of
Contact Organisations
Office for combating racisme
General Secretariat | Inselgasse 1
CH-3003 Bern | Tel.: +41 58 464 10 33
Fax: +41 58 462 44 37 | www.edi.admin.ch/frb
Federal Commission against Racism
Stopp Rassismus | Oberfeldstrasse 11a
4133 Pratteln | 061 821 44 55
Ausländerdienst Baselland (ald) | Bahnhofstrasse 16 | 4133
Pratteln 1 | Tel. 061 827 99 00 |
e-mail : [email protected]
www.auslaenderdienstbl.ch
Elsbeth Joseph-Matter | Gewerkschaftsbund Baselland
Fischmarkt 13 | Postfach 388 | 4410 Liestal
Tel. 061 921 60 65 | e-mail: [email protected]
www.bgb-gbbl.ch
Franz Bloch
Ombudsman des Kantons Basel-Landschaft
Rheinstrasse 28 | 4410 Liestal | Tel. 061 552 62 90
e-mail: [email protected]
www.baselland.ch
Sources
– www.about.com/
– www.humanrights.ch
– www.edi.admin.ch
Federal Commission against Racism
Stopp Rassismus
25
INTEGR ATION
Racial Discrimination in Switzerland (Baselland)
the communities they live to get rid of any form of
discrimination. The canton provides Advisory Centre
against Discrimination and racism for people who
suffer racial discrimination for counselling, and to
obtain advice on how to defend themselves, and to
demand respect, justice and dignity. Witnesses to
racist incidents are also encouraged to come forward,
to help ensure that people from a different cultural
background are treated with respect.
"Stopp Rassismus" (stop racism) is available,
in particular, to persons who experience any
form of discrimination, be it at work or during
search for accommodation or in pubs and shops,
in dealings with officials and private individuals,
in public or through the media. Those who have
been personally affected by or have witnessed
such discrimination, are requested to contact
the Advisory Centre against Discrimination and
Rassistische Diskriminierung
in der Schweiz (Baselland)
Was ist rassistische Diskriminierung?
Rassismus hat viele verschiedene Formen.
Rassistische Diskriminierung bedeutet, dass in der
gleichen Gesellschaft und in ähnlichen Situationen
manche Menschen schlechter behandelt werden
aufgrund von Rasse, Hautfarbe, Nationalität,
ethnischer Herkunft, Geschlecht, Körperzustand,
Sprache oder Aufenthaltsstatus. Die Diskriminierung kann am Arbeitsort oder zu Hause auftreten,
in Schule und Sportverein, in der öffentlichen
Verwaltung, dem Privatleben oder auf der Strasse.
Die Betroffenen erleben dabei Beleidigungen,
Demütigungen oder Drohungen.
Die Verfassung der Schweiz garantiert allen
Einwohnern des Landes das Recht auf Gleichbehandlung (Art.8 BV). Das heisst, dass niemand
aufgrund von Herkunft, Hautfarbe, Geschlecht,
Sprache, Religion oder Lebensstil diskriminiert
werden darf. Die Schweiz bekämpft Rassismus
auf allen Ebenen.
Verschiedene Formen
von Rassendiskriminierung
Die Soziologin Nicki Lisa Cole versteht unter
Rassismus eine Reihe von Handlungen, Überzeugungen, Beziehungen und Phänomene, welche
zusammen eine Hierarchie und soziale Struktur
ergeben, die einigen Menschen wegen ihrer Herkunft oder Ethnie Überlegenheit und Vorteile
zuschreibt, anderen hingegen Diskriminierung und
Unterdrückung. So sorgt Rassismus für die rassistische Diskriminierung mancher Menschen, da eine
Rasse als den andern überlegen dargestellt wird.
Laut der Soziologie ist eine Form der Diskriminierung das Darstellen von rassistischen
Stereotypen: Es wird angenommen, Schwarze
26
seien Kriminelle oder Opfer von Gewalt. Diese
Tendenz sorgt in der ganzen westlichen Welt
für Spannungen zwischen Schwarzen und der
Polizei. Die Region Basel ist da keine Ausnahme.
Es kommt oft vor, dass gesetzestreue Schwarze
angepöbelt und wie Verbrecher behandelt werden.
Durch die Verbreitung solcher Vorurteile in den
Medien sind viele Leute voreingenommen. Dies
führt zu Missstimmungen bei vielen Menschen,
die sich erfolgreich um ein harmonisches Zusammenleben bemühen.
In der rassistischen Ideologie manifestieren
sich Ansichten, Überzeugungen und Meinungen,
welche sich an rassistischen Kategorien halten, wie
die Idee, dass weisse oder hellhäutige Menschen
den dunkelhäutigen überlegen seien.
Afrikanische Eltern beklagen sich manchmal,
dass ihre Kinder in der Primarschule diskriminiert
werden. Die Lehrer würden sie nicht fürs Gymnasium empfehlen, da sie dafür nicht klug genug
wären. Den Lehrern zum Trotz können die Kinder manchmal nicht nur die Aufnahmeprüfung
bestehen, sondern nachher auch erfolgreich an der
Universität studieren.
Schutz vor rassistischer
Diskriminierung und Hass
Wie schon gesagt, garantiert die Schweizer
Verfassung allen Einwohnern das Recht auf
Gleichbehandlung. Ausserdem wurde die Rassismus-Strafnorm (StGB 261bis) geschaffen, um Diskriminierung, Herabsetzung oder Verleumdung
der Angehörigen einer bestimmten „Rasse“, Ethnie
oder Religion zu schützen. Jeder Mensch hat das
uneingeschränkte Recht, gleich behandelt zu
werden und nicht als minderwertig betrachtet
Racism "Stopp Rassismus".
Ombudsman’s office
The Baselland Ombudsman is also available
to the population free of charge to act as an
independent mediator in problems with cantonal
and commune officials and departments, as well
as public institutions. The office offers advice and
helps to resolve conflicts.
oder behandelt zu werden
Um die rassistische Diskriminierung in der
Schweiz zu bekämpfen, wurde im Jahr 2014 eine
umfassende Integrationspolitik eingeführt, zu welcher der Diskrimierungsschutz in den kantonalen
Integrationsprogrammen (KIP) gehört.
Die KIP führen die notwendigen Massnahmen zum Schutz vor Diskriminierung auf. Die
Umsetzung durch die kantonalen und kommunalen
Integrationsstellen wird von der FRB mit Coaching,
technischer Beratung und, wo notwendig und
möglich, finanzieller Hilfe unterstützt.
Die Pflichten des Kantons Baselland
Zusammen mit dem KIP trägt der Kanton
Baselland (und damit auch die Öffentlichkeit)
seinen Teil dazu bei, dass Menschen mit verschiedenen Kulturen und Herkunftsländern sich am
politischen, wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Leben ihres Wohnortes zu beteiligen um
so jeglicher Form der Diskriminierung entgegenzuwirken.
Der Kanton Baselland führt eine Beratungsstelle
gegen Diskriminierung und Rassismus. Menschen,
die rassistischer Diskriminierung ausgesetzt sind,
werden beraten und darüber informiert, wie sie sich
wehren und Respekt, Recht und Würde einfordern
können. Auch Zeugen von rassistischen Vorfällen
können sich an die Beratungsstelle wenden um
Menschen mit einem anderen kulturellen Hintergrund zum nötigen Respekt zu verhelfen.
„Stopp Rassismus“ wendet sich in erster Linie
an Menschen, die sich in irgendeiner Form
benachteiligt sehen, etwa bei der Arbeit, bei der
Wohnungssuche, in Lokalen und Geschäften, im
Umgang mit Behörden oder Privatpersonen, in der
Öffentlichkeit oder durch die Medien.
Betroffene wie auch Beobachter von solcher
Diskriminierung können sich an die Beratungsstelle
gegen Diskriminierung und Rassismus „Stopp
Rassismus“ wenden.
March/April 2016
FORUM
INSEAD – AWR 2016
Way Forward to Addressing
Nigeria’s Economy
By Samuel Polley
On Tuesday 19 January, experts and business leaders assembled in Zurich to pick
over the intricacies of the state of Nigeria. The 2nd edition of the Executive Summit, with a theme “Nigeria’s New Economic Order and Anticorruption”, was held
at the Park Hyatt hotel, Zurich and was attended by over 50 people from five
countries, including Nigeria, Great Britain and Switzerland.
The Nigeria’s economy is currently the largest in
Africa and has averaged roughly 7% GDP growth
and diminishing inflation rate in recent years. With
the largest population in Africa and a wealth of
resources and land to boast of it should be achieving
greater things. Recently elected, President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to tackle corruption and
reform the legal system, with the hope that it will
boost the economy further.
Giles Hillary, Professor of Accounting and
Control at INSEAD, opened discussions and set the
tone for the first panel discussion. Once imprisoned
for refusing to pay a bribe, Professor Hillary discussed the damage corruption causes to economies.
With his experience serving as a background, he
explained, “the feeling of losing control is hard to
forget (but) it is hard to measure the human cost of
corruption.” The economic cost, though, is clear to
be seen as “Corruption will have a depressing effect
on the economy.”
He gave examples of how endemic corruption
could be reversed by citing Hong Kong which was
once one of the most corrupt countries on the planet.
The British administration cleaned it up by arresting
leaders, such as the chief of police, and brought in
clean leadership that helped reinforced the cleaning
up act. “China prosecutes and jails very prominent
people… it is hard to enforce [anticorruption measures] when people at the top are still engaged in
corruption.”
Although he said “there is not going to be one
single solution,” there should be fundamental need
Mr. Paul Andrew, in white shirt, welcoming Dapo Okubadejo to the venue
March/April 2016
Mr. Paul Andrew opening the summit
for a change in social norms
Next to take the floor was Dr Tony Bello, an
advisor to the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. As the representative
of Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbe, he outlined
the ministry’s plan to sustain the momentum of the
agricultural sector. With Nigeria as the number one
foreign direct investment country in Africa, he said
it is well placed to be able to diversify its economy.
The Ministry thus plans to make agriculture the
country’s primary industry to replace the oil and gas
industry. The plan includes massive investment into
smallholder farmers in order to ensure food security
and nutrition and reduce the huge quantity of food
imports. (see page 33 for full speech)
As they went into panel discussions the participants focussed on investments, governance and
anti-corruption.
The discussions attracted contributions from
Rotimi Oyekami, Bernadin Okeke, Olabisi Onansanya and O. Paul Andrew.
Mr Oyekami, who has been investing in equity
around Africa for over 25 years, opened the discussions by asserting the complexity of Nigeria is
where “everyone wants to invest in.” Investing in
Nigeria will not be possible, he said, “unless the
environment is correct and the right local partner is
found.” Nigeria has created the Nigeria Investment
Promotion Commission (NIPC), which is a one-stop
shop for foreign investors to register companies and
offer further support within Nigeria. The Rendezvous
chairman discussed the Certificate for capital Importation, which enables investors to bring capital as
well as importation of machinery and equipment
for investment as equity or loan and also provides a
mechanism in which capital can also be taken out
of the country at the official rate.
The Chief Executive Officer of Cardinal Trust,
Ms. Bernadin Okeke, claimed during her contribution that 50 percent of the $90 Billion of wealth
floating around Africa - which is expected to increase
to $106 billion in 2023 - is in Nigeria. And she posed
27
FORUM
28
who’s GDP is double the average in Nigeria due to
one small cottage industry “cooking” their own
crude oil to put on the market. By learning from
this one-man enterprise, Ene says “you can convert
the standard of living across the whole Delta region.”
In addressing the panel on Agric-Business in
Nigeria, Dr Tony Bello who was representing the
Ministry of Agriculture spoke of how agriculture is
not a “sexy” industry but that “the dirty part of it can
become sexy.” The ministry wants to bring agriculture back to the families, so that they can “grow their
own crops in their gardens” to support themselves.
Answering a question from Africa Link’s Johnson
Oduwaiye, Dr Bello acknowledged that the government’s cassava subsidies were a mistake. He was
alluding to the potential subsidies to Nigerian farmers
to improve their productivity. He said it was as if the
policy was “killing one industry to create another….
the government is doing what it can among which
are offering a low digit interest rate for agricultural
equipment hiring enterprises and subsidising the
investors with 35% grants.”
Photo: AWR
to boost government revenue.”
The panellists agree that Nigeria needs to place
more importance on other sectors such as gas reserves
that have not been extensively explored. “It is a
disgrace that we do not have power accessible to the
entire population!” Weston said adding that more
foreign investment is important to build the gas
sector to its full potential.
Government ownership of oil companies is also a
perplexing issue. The government owns 55% to 60%
of all oil ventures, which by some is seen as inefficient.
Mr Okubadejo believes that rather than focus on the
ownership of oil ventures, the government should sell
them to private entities to create capital and focus
on their role as a regulator. By selling their stakes
they will free up capital to invest in infrastructure
such as pipelines. Government income will be
maintained from the oil sector via taxation, which
will increase because of the increased efficiencies of
the private sector.
As Emeka Ene put it: “Oil is an enabler of economic activity.” He made reference to Mbiena, a town
Above a cross sections of the participants at the conference.
Photos: AWR
a question: “How much of this wealth is ‘real’ and
how much is politically exposed”. By real wealth,
Okeke means wealth that is used productively to further the economy, and not hidden away by the state.
Wealthy individuals, she says, do not believe that
their money is safe or will be available in the future,
which is why much of it is taken out of the country
rather than reinvesting in Nigeria. Oliver Williams,
co-founder of Wealthinsight, supported this analogy
and highlighted recent Oxfam figures which suggest
that 30% of Africa’s wealth is invested offshore. His
own research suggests that 17% of Nigerian wealth
is invested in European markets.
It is not only the fear of losing money that is
holding back reinvestment in the Nigeria’s economy.
Family businesses in Nigeria hardly go beyond two
generations as opposed to those in the West where
they even go beyond three generations. Ms. Okeke
said that “when these businesses collapse and are sold,
the children squander the wealth.”
One of the other panel discussions was on energy
economy. Among those who participated here were
Dr Bryan Orjiako, SEPLAT Chairman, Michael
Weston , CEO of CGE, Dapo Okubadejo of PE
Africa and Emeka Ene of PETAN. With oil prices
recently dramatically falling, this discussion was
particularly relevant to the current economic state
of Nigeria. Michael Weston eloquently explained
the price drops. Global oil pricing relies on “supply,
demand and inventory”. The huge worldwide oil
inventory needs to be reduced substantially before
global oil prices rise. Weston said that Iran’s reintroduction to the oil market will not make much of a
difference, as it will take a substantial amount of time
to grow. The disharmony within “Opec ranks” and
frustration at non-Opec countries are not contributing to curtailing supply and these have contributed
to the current price falls.
In his keynote address Dr Orjiako spoke of the
“lack of diversification of government revenue” which
he says has made Nigeria vulnerable to the oil price
collapse. “Nigeria can be diagnosed as suffering from
“Dutch Disease”, as the focus on the oil sector has
almost resulted in the total neglect of other sectors
of the economy, “leaving it vulnerable to external
shocks.” It is not that the Nigeria’s economy is not
diversified, in fact the service sector accounted for
roughly 53% of GDP according to the National
Bureau of Statistics in 2014.
Dr Orjiako then said: “What is needed is efficient
and effective energy systems, which would lead to
the non-oil sector that makes up over 80% of the
economy enjoying relatively low energy costs, boosting revenue and mitigating against losses in the oil
sector.” He added, “There is need to boost activity
in other productive sectors of the economy in order
Dr Bryan Orjiako, SEPLAT Chairman at the conference.
March/April 2016
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Pix1: O. Paul Andrew of AWR and Prof. Gilles Hilary of INSEAD. Pix2. Dapo Okubadejo,
KPMG; Ludo Wentholt, Wentholt Associate; Rotimi Oyekanmi, Rendeavour, and Tony Belo,
UNDP Pix3: Stefano Miggiano, VistaJet; and Tony Bello of UNDP. Pix4: Oliver Williams,
AWR; Stefano Miggiano VistaJet; and Bachar Tabarra Pix5: Alessio Ferini, Barclays Wealth;
Laurent Lafont of Oil Council. Pix6: Stefano Miggiano, VistaJet and Henry Finnegan Pix7:
Paul Andrew, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Deboh Akin-Alintunde and Dr. Mrs. Funke Bolujoko, both
of WHO Pix9: Prof. Gilles Hilary, Bernadine Okeke, Cardinal Trust; and Michael Weston,
CGE Pix 10: Laurent Lafont, Prof. John Heptonstall and Dr. Tony Bello Pix11: Ndidi Njoku,
AWR; Oliver Williams and Bernadine Okeke Pix13: Fiona Bergholz and Henry Finnegan
13
READ IN AFRICA LINK MAY/JUNE 2016 ISSUE
INTERVIEW WITH DR BRYAN ORJIAKO AND EMEKA ENE
PHOTOS: AWR
BIZ NEWS
NIGERIA’S ANTI-CORRUPTION AND NEW ECONOMIC ORDER
Sustaining the Momentum on
Nigeria’s Agriculture Economy
By Samuel Polley
Being the Goodwill message of H.E. Chief Audu Ogbeh, Honourable Minister of
the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria on the occasion
of the AWR-INSEAD Executive Summit on Nigeria held at the Park Hyatt Hotel,
Zurich-Switzerland on 18-19 January 2016.
As the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria, I am particularly delighted by the
extension of hands of friendship from the European
Union (EU) in support of the APC Administration of
President Buhari. Just last week, I had the opportunity
to interact with European Union Corporate Executives and Public Officials during the Agriculture
Ministers Conference held in Berlin. In preparation
for that meeting, I was delighted to accept the invitation from AWR-INSEAD to speak on the subject of
“Sustaining the Momentum on Nigeria’s Agriculture
Economy.”
It is therefore unfortunate that I cannot be present
here with you in person this morning. I am compelled
to return to Nigeria after the meeting in Berlin to
attend matters of urgent importance. I trust that
you will understand my personal disappointment
for not making it here in person this morning. Please
accept my heart-felt apology and I thank you for your
understanding and cooperation.
Nevertheless, let me share with you a synopsis of
our plan to sustain the momentum of agricultural
transformation in Nigeria.
appetite and taste for food-away-from-home (food
prepared outside of home) and packaged convenient processed foods. This creates huge opportunities
for high internal rates of returns on investment
in agricultural fresh produce and in the food and
beverage industry.
Nigeria is naturally endowed with nutrient-rich
arable land, 84 million Hectares of arable land of
The new Agriculture Change Mandate in Nigeria
According to “Africa is on the move” publication
by McKinsey and Company, Africa’s collective Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008 was roughly equal
to Brazil or Russia at $1.6 Trillion. Africa’s collective
GDP is projected to reach $2.6 Trillion by 2020.
Africa’s combined consumer spending in 2008 was
$860 billion. This is expected to grow to $1.4 Trillion by 2020.
One in every 6 Sub-Saharan African is Nigerian.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy after its GDP rebasing in 2013, taking over from South Africa. This,
coupled with the growing consumer market makes
Nigeria the number one Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) destination in Africa. Nigeria’s consumer
population of 180 million people is estimated to reach
450 million people by 2050.
Today, Nigeria can boast of increasing consumer
30
Minister Audu Ogbeh
which only 40% is currently under cultivation
mostly by smallholder farmers. Nigeria also has
abundance of water for irrigation farming all year
round, although it currently depends largely on
rain fed agricultural production. Nigeria is also rich
in solid minerals, gas and crude oil.These natural
resources, coupled with the growing consumer food
markets continue to attract private sector investors,
both domestic and foreign in to Nigeria’s agricultural
and oil and gas sectors.
Harnessing the potential of agriculture to grow
the food and agro-based manufacturing and service
industries is therefore a sure path to economic prosperity for millions of Nigerian. Therefore, Nigerians
and Africans in particular and the World at large are
looking forward to a renewed effort to reconstruct
and diversify Nigeria’s economy away from oil and gas
base towards an agricultural industrialized economy.
Between 2012 and 2014, the agriculture sector
contributed between 23-26% to the country’s GDP.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported
that in the last quarter of 2014, the sector contributed
23% to GDP; this was higher than Trade (16%) and
Information Technology (11%) among others.
During this same period, private sector investment commitments into agriculture and agribusiness
in Nigeria reached $4.5 billion in signed letters of
intent (LOIs). These commitments have since been
translated into concrete investments to the tune of
$1.1billion in just 2 years under the New Alliance for
Food Security and Nutrition in Nigeria.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is good news and a
credit to my predecessor, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina,
now President of African Development Bank (AfDB).
On this note, I am proud to say that as Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, we are broadening and deepening the agriculture and agribusiness
foundation that has been laid out in policy and
institutional reforms. Let me assure all agribusiness
investors in Nigeria that policy summersaults and
inconsistencies is now a thing of the past in the agriculture sector. But we are making new additions in
other strategic areas, like Dairy cattle breed improvement and agro forestry.
We are sharpening our focus in the areas of policy
and institutional reforms to boost production of crops,
livestock and fisheries to ensure food security and
nutrition and to ensure the security of supply of raw
materials to meet the growing demand of food and
beverage processors in Nigeria. The role of government is to create the enabling environment for private
sector investments in agriculture and other sectors to
thrive and help create new jobs.
At the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, we plan to invest massively in mechanized agriculture, modern irrigation infrastructure
and in the establishment of Staple Food Pro-cessing
Industrial Clusters in areas of high food production.
The latter is expected to help reduce the cost of doing
business for investors by 20-30%, create new jobs,
eliminate waste and post-harvest losses and reverse
rural-infrastructure investments in the Staple Food
Processing Zones to the tune of $300 Million per
site across 7 priority locations. The food processing
clusters is also expected to significantly reduce our
food bill due to targeted incentive measures to benefit
investors and monetary policy reforms by the Central
March/April 2016
BIZ NEWS
Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Our current food import bill is unsustainable.
We are importing what we can produce and process
locally in Nigeria. Rice import alone has reached an
average of $5 million daily. This is taking away jobs
from smallholder farmers and our youths. We are
therefore investing in smallholder farmers and youths
to ensure year round production of paddy rice to meet
the demand of local rice milling investors.
Currently, our food import bill is in excess of
$15 Billion for wheat, rice, sugar, milk and fisheries
alone. Our foreign exchange reserve is at its lowest
ever due to the increasing demand for importation
of both non-food and food and agricultural products
coupled with the continuing slump of global oil
pricing. We must reverse the food import trend and
become a major food exporter to both regional and
international markets.
Hence our food and commodity export market
programme is focusing on revitalization of the cocoa,
oil palm, cashew, Bush mango and African pear
among others.
Our oil and gas foreign exchange earnings must
be replaced with earnings from the rising prices of
cocoa and cocoa products, vegetable oils, roasted
cashew nuts, fruits and vegetables, etc. of which Nigeria has comparative advantage. We must turn our
comparative advantage into competitive advantage by
attracting private sector agribusiness investments and
turning commitments into real investments.
To strengthen the institutional framework for
implementation of government policies, regulations,
laws and administrative best practices, we are investing in Agricultural Extension Services, Restructuring
of Agricultural Research Institutions and Universities,
Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes, among others.
We have established the Agribusiness, Food Processing and Marketing Department at the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to
facilitate private sector investments from early stage
throughout the investment lifecycle. We have partnered with the Nigeria Agribusiness Group, an organized private sector platform to launch and establish the
Agribusiness Investment Inter-Ministerial Working
Group for ensuring that investment commitments are
turned into real investments through policy reforms
and implementation partnerships. As government,
we are more than ever before committed to restoring the past glory of agriculture and revitalizing the
agribusiness sector in Nigeria.
ON INVESTMENT COMPETITION WITH NEIGHBOURS
“South Africa Pleased To See
Other Countries Flourishing”
By Samuel Polley
After four days of talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, South
Africa’s Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, met with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce, Africa, in Zurich. Hosted and chaired by Mr Hans Saager, the event saw Swiss
business and financial leaders discuss the state of the South African economy and
how best they can improve the existing cooperation. Mr Gordhan had only been on
the job - this time- barely two months. His predecessor was sacked in controversial
circumstance in November 2015 after having been in the post for only two days. That
cabinet reshuffle had a significant negative effect on the country’s currency, the Rand.
Minister Pravin Gordhan, Mr. Hans Saager, Mr. Monale Ratsome
March/April 2016
There are huge opportunities for private sector-led
development of creative and innovative facilities to
increase access to affordable financing in food production, processing and consumer marketing in Nigeria.
The rapid growth of “Fast Food Restaurants” clearly
shows the growing consumer appetite for processed
foods in Nigeria. This coupled with the rapid growth
of Super Markets and Wholesale and Retail Channels
for Fresh Produce and Processed Packaged Convenient foods creates a huge opportunity for innovative
financing instruments.
Nigeria’s agricultural production, food and beverage processing and consumer marketing are on the
rise, and this is so across Africa and the world at large!
We invite the investment world to come and
join hands with the government of Nigeria to grow
the agriculture, agribusiness and food sector of our
economy, drive profitability and high returns on
investments.
Together, let’s make agriculture and agribusiness
thrive in Nigeria. Come join us in making the sector
the “new oil and gas” sector in Nigeria. When Nigeria
wins, Africa wins. Thank you and God bless you!
Switzerland has more than 100 companies operating in South Africa, creating over 33,000 jobs.
The country ranks number six on the list of investors in the country. It thus plays an important role
in the South African economy with bilateral trade
volume reaching approximately CHF 1.3 billion
in 2014. Switzerland primarily imports precious
metals, in particular platinum, while South Africa
imports pharmaceuticals, machines and precision
instruments, amongst others.
Outlining their financial situation, Mr Gordhan said, “….Prior to 2008-09, South Africa
was doing well with budget surplus, growing by
an average of 4% annually. The external events
halted what could have been an exciting next
few years.” In fact in one of his first statements,
during his first period as Minister of Finance, he
announced that South Africa would have a drop
in R 50 million in revenue. He recalled that “Millions of jobs were lost and we had to find a way to
keep things going”. During that period, South
Africa did not cut social services and left most of
their business incentives, such as support for the
automobile industry intact.
Still a relatively young democracy in 2009,
South Africa had to overcome many of its infrastructural difficulties, such as water and electricity
supplies. “Over the last 20 years we have done a
great job”, he told his audience. But in spite of the
31
BIZ NEWS
progress made he was quick to point out that a
lot of work needed to be done. He admitted that
his country still has “a structural unemployment
problem,” and noted that more professional education is needed in order to create skilled people
to service the economy. South Africa is trying to
deal with “high levels of unemployment. A large
number of young people are unskilled and the lack
of social integration is not helping matters either.
Aware that “education was the principle tool used
by the apartheid government to oppress people…
and overcoming the legacy of the apartheid is not
that simple” the Minister said: “we need to find
some extra money so that students coming from
poorer families are not burdened by some of the
fees that universities charge.”
South Africa continues to face economic difficulties and with low commodity prices - minerals
make up 50% of South African exports - and
the El Niño phenomenon already affecting the
agricultural sector, GDP is being seriously impacted. These are some of the negative contributing factors that have led the finance ministry to
take measures to fight and restore some sanity to
the economy. The Minister assured the chamber
that South Africa not only has put “measures in
place to support the Agricultural sector” it is also
focussing on its revitalisation through which new
jobs will be created. He spoke widely on the R. 10
billion investment in the automobile sector, which
he had also dwelt on in detail while addressing
his interlocutors at Davos.
It is not only the traditional sectors that South
Africa is looking to boost. They are also looking to
expand investment in the oil and gas industry, the
oceans’ economy and shipbuilding. Mr Gordhan
highlighted the importance of the government and
private companies investing in research and development. “We have a lot of platinum for example.
We need to find new uses for it and invest in new
uses in power for platinum.” Another exciting
prospect is South Africa’s work into hydrogen cell
technology, which is receiving a lot of investment
and is hoped to be the solution for the country’s
power problems. He spoke of his government’s
intention to “do more research and development
and more innovation work to turn the commodity
cycle.” He also believes that artisans themselves
need to create new industries in order to emulate
countries like Switzerland. “We have lots of examples of innovations but we have not commercialised
them. The commercialisation seems to go somewhere else; we need the whole process to happen
in South Africa,” he told his listeners.
The deputy director general to the National
Treasury, Mr. Monale Ratsome, who was also
on hand to support the finance minister acknowledged that there had been key worrying
issues over the past few years. One of these is the
country’s inability to provide enough energy for
the South African economy. “Since 2001,” he
said, “South Africa had 2,000 megawatts of power
from renewable” and another 4,000 megawatts
were to be produced soon. This will help cushion
the current power constraints. He believes that
the renewing bids for coal generation, which the
department of Energy has been looking into, will
generate another 2,500 megawatts. With no load
shedding since August 2015, South Africa does
seem to be moving in the right direction.
Ratsome also noted that in order to promote
investment into South Africa, the Department of
Trade and Industry is creating a one-stop shop for
all businesses trading in South Africa. This will
offer one contact points for businesses to resolve
anything from registration to facilitating the
inward flow of investment.
Minister Gordhan said that while in Davos,
his team had been “asking individuals about their
specific problems and we have been suggesting to
them to come to us and tell us what can we do
to support them when coming to South Africa”
Another area of investment that came up for
mention was tourism. “We need to support this
sector as it absolves a lot of labour”, said Ratsome.
“We do not want to put all our funds in to sectors
that are wobbling and miss other opportunities”
The chairman of the meeting, Mr Saager
touched on the issue of competition for investment with South Africa’s neighbours, such as
Zambia and Angola. Far from demonstrating
any sign of worries Mr. Gordhan was pleased that
these other countries were flourishing. “It is our
ambition to encourage development across the
continent. We have played a formidable role in
building fiscal and other institutions on the whole
continent. We have trained tax administrators,
customs officers, auditors etc.” Regardless of the
competition the Minister believes that “there is
no country that can match the attractive business
environment in South Africa probably for the
next ten years,”
Mr. Monale Ratsome contributing to the discussion
32
March/April 2016
FASHION
I’m Living My Dream
– Dabota Cosmetics Boss
By Lade Ojo
Dabota Lawson Aku is a beauty entrepreneur with a cosmetics line called Dabota
Cosmetics. The ex-beauty queen (Miss Nigeria UK) has also worked in different facets
in the entertainment world from modelling and filming before settling on what she
calls her passion. In this interview, she speaks about her brand, childhood dream and
her views about Nigeria after having spent over a decade abroad.
over the years with the woman who I admire so
much, IMAN. She is an African woman, she puts
her name and her face to the business and it was a
successful brand. I think that is the new generation
that will take over. And what better place could that
person have come from if not Nigeria, especially
with my training in business, understanding how
it works and my past experience in the world of
modelling, pageants, fashion.
So your products are for black women?
My products are for coloured women. I prefer
to call them coloured women. In terms of product
Dabota Lawson
Africa Link: Tell us about how you started
your cosmetics line
Dabota: I’m a trained accountant; I studied
financial economy at the University of Leicester
in the UK and went on to the London School
of Finance where I did chartered management
accounting. Over the years, I have had several
experiences in different fields both in entertainment and with my professional background in
finance management until it hit a point when I
wanted both my business ability and passion under
one roof. I am very passionate about health and
beauty. I prefer the line of cosmetics in terms of
make-up and skin care.
To be honest with you,
I feel more comfortable here
in Nigeria. The opportunities are better. When you
do something good, you are
actually celebrated and
acknowledged.
Why delve into makeup after obtaining
all these degrees?
It’s my passion. I wake up in the morning and
the first thing that comes to my mind is ‘how am
I going to put together my look today?’ I like to
experiment with my makeup line. I like the finished results, not just on me, but on other people
as well. I love to see good makeup on people’s faces.
Talking about your line, how did the idea develop?
I wanted to create something that would stand
out for Africa. A lot of people go out of their way
to buy products from other countries. I felt it is
high time for us to do something too, not just put
out a makeup brand out there but to put one that
is easily identifiable with somebody. It’s been done
March/April 2016
quality, I have been getting a lot of fantastic reviews. Right now, we have foundations, powders,
lipsticks, lip glosses, contour kids, blushers, bronzers, primers, we have our own brushes as well and
we are still expanding.
What is life like as a beauty queen?
From a very young age, I started participating in
different pageants. As a little girl, I never saw myself
as a princess; I saw myself as a queen. I wanted to be
a queen so bad that there was no summer holiday
I travelled abroad without buying a plastic crown
to catwalk in front of a mirror as a beauty queen. I
believed it and people started calling me queen until
I eventually won the pageant. They said ‘finally we
can rest’. I just love being a queen. I said to myself, if
I’m not royalty by blood then God would make me
to be a queen and that I must be recognised in this
world. As a student in the UK, I went for the beauty
pageant for the first time and I won. I became Miss
Nigeria UK in December 2009.
Tell us about your modelling career
In the modelling industry, the girl with the prettiest face, especially when you are black is not what
they are looking for. They want skinny, skinny, girls,
so I was always struggling when I went for audition.
They said to me I was too big or that my nose looks
funny. But when I actually did what I had been
dreaming of, it came to pass and it has taken me thus
far even up till now. Everything that is happening
to me is what always dreamt of since I was a child.
I didn’t just wish it I believed in it. From the car I
drive to place I live today; just everything, the way I
wanted it, is how it’s happening. The power of your
thoughts is amazing. I tell people it is God that gave
my cosmetics line to me. I did very well in school and
in the entertainment sector. It was so difficult for my
parents to swallow it because they didn’t believe in
the entertainment industry here. They felt that they
had spent so much money to train me and wanted me
Some of her products
33
FASHION
to practice my career, but here I am doing cosmetics,
working out my passion.
How do you feel, coming back to Nigeria?
It’s been okay. To be honest with you, I feel
more comfortable here in Nigeria. The opportunities are better. When you do something good,
you are actually celebrated, you are actually acknowledged because you are in your own country.
Overseas, even when you want to emulate their
ways, they know you that you are not one of them.
It’s really tough. But when you come back home,
it’s a different ball game. Look at where I am now
in four years. I lived in the UK for ten years, going
to school, having part-time jobs and everything
else. Yes, it was good to a point but everything happened when I came home. As tough as people say
Nigeria is, if you are a Nigerian and determined,
there is nowhere that you cannot go to. Here you
have access to everywhere. People say Nigerians are
bad but this is the only place I know somebody can
dash you something. Abroad, people don’t dash
you anything. You work for everything.
What’s your beauty routine like?
I’m very particular about what I put on my
skin. I have had several situations and I have
had a very sensitive skin. So things that would
not ordinarily affect people affect me. I prefer to
use natural products on my skin. When I really
want to take care of myself, I do honey and oat
face mask, I scrub my face with sugar and lemon
to exfoliate my skin, I put a lot of moisturisers
at night, it actually does work more than during
the day. When you put moisturisers and you sleep
with air conditioner or fan, the next day if you
touch your skin it feels different. I also use goat
milk shower gels. Things like that are what I do
on a regular basis to make sure that I’m looking
bright. When it comes to my face, I don’t go to
the Spas, I usually buy home spa equipment and
try every now and again. But regular face wash,
face mask, moisturizers is what I do. I take care
of myself from the inside too. I don’t joke with
my multivitamins.
Why More Take To Wearing Wigs
By Lade Ojo
Funmi has been wearing weaves since adulthood. For her, it lasts longer and she does not have to visit the saloon every weekend to
wash and set her permed hair. However, according to her, two years ago, she suddenly developed a kind of allergy anytime she did
a weave; it itched and itched. So, she ditched weaves and decided to go with wigs.
Years ago, wigs used to be our mothers and
grandmothers favourite. It was fashionable for
one to wear a wig as a young lady. But according
to Ojuolape Asekun, a beauty enthusiast, more
celebrities and fashionistas now adorn modern and
versatile styles now being created as wigs.
One of such celebrity is Nollywood diva and
mother of three, Omoni Oboli, who hitherto
wore her natural hair. She was reported to have
alternated the look with different wigs because
she wanted to save more time as she got busy on
movie sets.
Singer, Omawunmi Megbele is another celebrity known to be a regular user of wigs. Nowadays,
it is even hard to tell the difference between a wig
and sew-in as there are professional stylists who
have mastered the skill. And these fancy wigs come
with bands and combs installed, so the wearer does
not have to be afraid of it pulling off at a social
gathering or in public places.
Asekun gives reasons why more people now
embrace wearing wigs to include:
•One doesn’t need to sit through the construction
of the wig, whereas you’d have to be present if you
were having your hair installed or sewn-in.
•You can always take the wig off and let your
natural hair breathe
•It’s much easier to style hair on a mannequin
than on your own head
34
•One can change hairstyles more frequently with
wigs. On the other hand it would be tedious
having to sit through weave installation process
every two weeks.
•It is less damaging to your hair because there is
not thread pulling at your hair.
•It is much easier to wash natural hair thoroughly
and more frequently.
6.Do brush out the curls on a curly wig with a
paddle brush for a more realistic look. Do keep
your natural hair smooth and flat underneath
and covered with a wig cap.
Ladies, wigs are in and now is the time to rock that
celebrity hairstyle you’ve always admired without
sitting to have it sewn in.
Wigs are no longer our grandmother’s little secret but there
are a few know-how we must
apply to get the best look with it.
1.
Don’t wear a wig straight
from the package. Do take it
to a hairstylist to have it cut
into a shape and style that
suits your face.
2.
Do get the most natural
looking wig as possible in a
modern style.
3.Don’t go for outrageous colours and be very careful with
retro styles.
4.Do go age-appropriate. Sure,
short wigs are fun but can
make your average 21 year
old look 57
5.For the love of your edges, don’t
be a frequent user of wig glue.
March/April 2016
AU NEWS
26TH ORDINARY SESSION OF AU’S ASSEMBLY:
Diversity is Africa’s Biggest Strength and
Enduring Splendour – Chairperson Dlamini Zuma
By Staff Correspondent
for Africa’s transformation. However, Dr Dlamini
Zuma lamented the paradox between this richness
and the fact that “the majority of Africans are poor”.
Urging Africa to resolve this paradox, she said
“We have allowed for far too long, the diversity of
our lands, soil, workforce, oceans and forests to be
taken away as raw materials, thus exporting jobs and
supplementary revenue streams, along with the means
of our own development”.
Turning to the theme of the summit “Year of Human Rights with a focus on the Rights of Women”,
Dr Dlamini Zuma said Africa must continue to place
people and their basic human rights at the center of
Agenda 2063. She observed that under Agenda 2063,
Africa has refused to be indifferent or silent about
the evil of violent extremism, gender based violence,
AU Commission Chairperson Dlamini Zuma
the suffering and misery of people as a result of wars
and conflict, before adding that the African pledge
under the agenda is to use its diversity as a force for
peace and democracy.
Dr Dlamini Zuma said the continent must put
an end to the culture that limits the full participation
of women and girls in all spheres of society if it is to
realise its full potential. “There is progress, but not
at the level approved in Agenda 2063”, she observed.
Photos: AU
Speaking at the opening session of the 26th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in
Addis Ababa on 30 January 2016, the AUC Chairperson also congratulated a group of Zimbabweans
who sang a song dedicated to Agenda 2063, and
encouraged artists everywhere to embrace the Agenda
“as it is our individual and collective aspirations that
are captured in it”. The song was introduced to the
Heads of State and government, their delegations
and other summit delegates at the beginning of the
opening ceremony proceedings.
“The great diversity of Africa is its biggest strength
and enduring splendour”, said Dr Dlamini Zuma,
referring to Africa’s ancient civilisations, the wealth
of its minerals, its natural beauty, flora and fauna,
and abundant energy reserves, which are necessary
Photos: AU
African Union Commission Chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has called
for consideration of proposals for free movement of people in Africa, for leaders to
place people at the center of Agenda 2063, to advance the human rights of all peoples, to put an end to the culture that limits the participation of women and girls. Dr
Dlamini Zuma also called for an end to indifference to the needs of others, and that
of the people of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.
The outgoing Chairperson of AU, President Mugabe embracing the in-coming Chair, President Idriss Deby of Chad
March/April 2016
35
AU NEWS
The AUC Chairperson reiterated the need to create
jobs and equip young people with the necessary skills
for the transformation of the continent. In this vein,
she recognised the intergenerational dialogue that
took place at the African Union on the side lines of
the summit, recalling the desire of the youth that
participated to be agents of change in the advocacy
for peace. “They want to be educated and skilled, so
that they can become the engine and the drivers of
our renaissance and transformation”.
On Western Sahara, Dr Dlamini Zuma noted
that, since Africa pushed for a referendum 25 years
ago, the country now has a whole generation languishing in refugee camps. “We can no longer be
indifferent to the position of the people of Western
Sahara”, she added.
The Commission Chairperson extended a welcome to newly elected Heads of State, Mr John
Magufuli of Tanzania and Mr Roch Marc Christian
Kabore of Burkina Faso as well as President Alassane
Outtara of Cote D’Ivoire and President Alpha Conde
of Guinea who were re-elected. In concluding her
remarks, Dr Dlamini Zuma thanked President
Robert Mugabe who was Chairperson of the Union
in 2015 for his “excellent guidance”.
United Nations Secretary General Mr Ban Ki
Moon congratulated the AU for deciding to focus on
human rights as its theme for 2016. He said women
should be able to fully take part in society, including
in the highest levels of state structures and in peace
and security. The age of exclusion is over, he expressed.
He welcomed the AU proposal to deploy human
rights observers to Burundi.
In his last address as UN Chief, he applauded
the efforts of the African Union Mission in Somalia
(AMISOM) in bringing peace to Somalia. He also
said he was impressed by the many health workers
who rushed to help in the Ebola affected countries
“while the world was running away”, and appreciated
the AU leadership and its efforts to deploy hundreds
of health workers.
Mr Mahmoud Abbas President of the State of
Palestine and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organisation Executive Committee acknowledged
Africa’s continued support for the liberation of
Palestine. “The status quo cannot be accepted any
longer and we will continue working to achieve
and reach our national rights and to develop our
economy”, he said.
In his last speech as Chairperson of the AU,
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe lamented the
continued dominance of the developed countries over
world affairs, as well as the lack of African representation in the UN Security Council. Loud cheers erupted
when he called for reform of the United Nations.
Mr Mugabe dwelt on issues of peace and secu-
36
A group photo of the African leaders present at the Session
rity saying that, despite continuing conflicts in
some parts of the continent, “we witnessed some
successes and overall, there was political stability”.
He complimented the Amani Field Exercises II,
saying it means the continent can now deploy
the African Standby Force as a tool for conflict
prevention and a step towards silencing the guns.
He too called for the freedom of the people of
Western Sahara. President Mugabe said climate
change has become a real threat, saying the current El Nino phenomenon is increasing chances
of hunger and disease.
On the organisation of summits, the President
reported that the Heads of State and Government
had resolved to begin their summits, “as they did
today”, in closed session to discuss topical issues
such as peace and security, governance and financing of the African Union.
President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad took over
the baton from President Mugabe as the Chair-
person of AU for 2016. In his acceptance speech,
he urged the continent to take advantage of its
increased profile in the international system and
organise itself to defend its interests. He also
said there was need to give the AU the means
to attain its objectives, saying it is unacceptable
that the functioning of the AU is financed by the
outside world. He urged the continent to be action
oriented in order to change its history. He spoke
strongly against terrorism, saying the continent
should ensure its own security using its own
human resources.
The full new bureau to serve with Mr. Deby
include: First Vice Chairperson, President Yayi
Boni of the Republic of Benin; Second Vice
Chairperson, President Paul Kagame of the
Republic of Rwanda; Third Vice Chairperson,
Honorable Ageila Salah Issa, Speaker of the House
of Representatives of the State of Libya; Rapporteur- President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
March/April 2016
SPORT
"I will work tirelessly to bring football back to FIFA
and FIFA back to football. This is what we want to do."
By Tunde Bamidele
The World football governing body, FIFA, may have gone through its most turbulent period in its 112-year history. And it may have turned a new leaf when on February 26 the 45-year-old Italian/Swiss, Gianni Infantino, was elected to succeed
fellow Swiss, Sepp Blatter as president. But it is too early to shout hurray.
The body is mined with corruption scandals
and its past leaders are being pursued by both the
American and Swiss justice.
For now, though all eyes will be on Infantino
to see the changes he plans to institute during the
three years he has ahead of him.
Until his election at the Emergency FIFA
Congress, Infantino was Secretary-General of the
European football governing body, UEFA.
Infantino defeated four other contenders for
the post. He declared his candidature only when it
was clear his former boss, UEFA president, Michel
Platini, hitherto considered the hot favourite
would not run. Platini was banned by the FIFA
Appeals Committee on December 21 thereby
upholding an earlier ban inflicted on him by the
body’s Ethics Committee.
Together with Blatter, he was facing charges
of breaching FIFA’s ethical rules by accepting a
"disloyal payment" of $2million (£1.6m) nineyears after completing a consultancy service. He
has already appealed against the ruling.
Infantino may have enjoyed support from the
European group but was certainly not considered
the front runner in the run up to the elections.
The battle was said to have been between Sheikh
Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain and
Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, who had in
fact competed and lost against Sept Blatter during
last year’s race. France’s Jerome Champagne and
South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale were outsiders. They
both did not even enjoy the support of their home
countries’ Federations.
But why was Sheikh Salman Al-Khalifa considered one of the hot favourites? He apparently
believed he had secured the official blessing of the
African Football Confederation (CAF) with its
54 members, the largest regional groupings. And
going by precedence any candidate that secured
the African backing was sure of victory. What
was more, he was sure of the backing of the Asian
grouping with its 53 member states. Thus mathematically he believed the job was his. To bolster
the African backing, Ghana’s FA President Kwesi
March/April 2016
Nyantakyi made public statements confirming
the African position. Alas, that block voting was
never going to hold sway. Immediately after the
CAF executive gave its ‘official’ support, dissenting
voices made it clear that that paternalistic attitude
was not going to be adhered to.
The first round of voting the stage was set for a
return to the ‘status quo’ when Infantino topped
with 88 votes – just three more than second placed
Sheikh Salman.
Prince Ali Al Hussein, who only nine months
earlier had come close to defeating Blatter, placed
a distant third with 27 votes; while former FIFA
Secretary-General, Jérôme Champagne, garnered
a paltry seven votes.
South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale, already a rank
outsider, had apparently seen the writing on the
wall and opted to withdraw on Election Day after
a well-rehearsed and powerful speech with a rider:
“It is now your problem.”
However, failing to secure the 104 votes necessary to be elected, for the first time since the
election of Joao Havalenge in 1974, when the
Brazilian beat 13-year incumbent Stanley Rous of
England, the FIFA Presidential election went into
a second round; where a simple majority of more
than 50% - 104 of 207 - was sufficient for victory.
In the second round of voting the UEFA
Secretary-General secured the necessary margin
after building on his first round victory to boost
his vote tally to 115 while Sheikh Salman could
only muster three more to finish on 88.
Prince Ali Al Hussein was the biggest loser as his
vote tally dropped from 27 to just four, while Jérôme
Champagne did not even muster a single vote.
The unexpected victory of Infantino over Salman, named a heavy favourite in the lead-up to
the election, surprised some observers.
United States Soccer Federation President,
Sunil Gulati and other CONCACAF federations,
are believed to have played a key role in Infantino's
f victory, reportedly shifting their vote from
Prince Ali to Infantino. In his victory statement,
Infantino, a 45-year-old lawyer said: "I will work
tirelessly to bring football back to FIFA and FIFA
back to football. This is what we want to do."
He added: "I feel a lot of emotion and have
not realised yet what has happened today. It is
still very fresh and it's been a long and exciting
journey and I probably need some time to chill
out and see what has happened."
Infantino, who will complete the rest of Blatter's
presidential term, serving through May 2019, added:
"I want to work with all of you together in order to
restore and rebuild a new era of FIFA where we can
put again football at the centre of the stage.
"FIFA has gone through sad times, moments of
crisis, but those times are over. We need to implement the reform and implement good governance
and transparency. We also need to have respect.
Mr. Infantino after his election (Pic by FIFA)
37
SPORT
We're going to win back this respect through
hard work, commitment and we're going to make
sure we can finally focus on this wonderful game."
In a statement released shortly after Infantino’s
victory, an unfazed Blatter said of his successor:
“He has all the qualities to stabilize FIFA again."
He praised Infantino's "experience, expertise,
strategic and diplomatic skills.”
Infantino now faces a Herculean task restoring the battered image of the body charged with
administering ‘the beautiful game’.
Criminal investigations in the United States
and Switzerland have resulted in the indictment
of dozens of football officials for corruption, many
of them serving or former presidents of national
or continental associations.
In addition, FIFA has been forced to investigate
the awarding of several World Cup finals, especially the decision to grant the 2018 tournament
to Russia and the 2022 finals to Qatar.
Swiss authorities are reviewing more than 150
reports of suspicious financial activities linked to
those awards and said they had sent more documents, including an internal FIFA report to US
investigators. Infantino’s election has generally
been warmly received across board.
Gary Lineker, an outspoken critic of FIFA and
former president Blatter, wished Infantino "all the
best" following his appointment.
The former England striker added on Twitter:
"He's got one hell of a job on his hands but seems
a decent chap. Needs a sizeable new broom."
Portuguese great Luis Figo added his congratulatory tweet: "Finally the change arrived. It's time for
a new era in FIFA." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly
Mutko said: "I am happy. We supported him from
the start. World football needs such a pragmatist."
German Football Federation interim president
Rainer Koch said: "We are happy and relieved with
Gianni Infantino's victory and the fact that European
football will continue to have a strong influence."
Norway's Karen Espelund, a member of UEFA
Executive Committee, added: "We needed someone credible; we needed a clean winner, a clean
man. I believe we have that in Gianni."
International Olympic Committee president,
Thomas Bach, said he was looking forward to
working with Infantino for "the sake of sport".
US Soccer President, Sunil Gulati, tweeted:
"Congratulations. We look forward to working
together to embrace reform and good governance."
Meanwhile, the head of CAF, Issa Hayatou
wrote to congratulate him on behalf of the CAF
Executive Committee and 'the African football family', wrote, "Be assured of the continued support of
CAF, African members of the new FIFA Council,
as well as our commitment to strengthening the
excellent relationship between CAF and FIFA …"
But some still felt aggrieved with his victory.
FIFPro, the world players’ union, expressed their
displeasure in a statement released after the
election.“FIFPro takes a dim view of today’s FIFA
election that leaves the new President, Gianni
Infantino, entrenched in a governance structure
and culture that is open to corrupt practices.”
Nonetheless, most of the world will be willing
to give the 45-year-old the benefit of some grace
period hoping to see what he will be able to do to
bring the glory days back to FIFA.
Profile of the new FIFA President
Name: Gianni Infantino | Age: 45
Nationality: Italian/Swiss
Current Position: FIFA President
Nigeria: FC Barcelona to Establish
Football Academy in Lagos
This was disclosed by the Director of Social
Area, Pau Vilanova during a courtesy visit to the
Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode,
adding that the club had special interest in the
city considering its population and other laudable
achievement recorded by the State.
In his own statement the Head of the Barcelona
Academy, Oscar Grao, explained that the city was
chosen because of its status as the fastest growing
megacity, adding, "We have 17 football Academies
across the world. We have in America, China
Canada and others. But there was none in Africa."
"For us, it is an honour to be here. The establishment of such school in this part of Africa is very
important. I think we have a special philosophy
about the game that is how we defend and attack.
38
Photo: Premium Times
FC Barcelona has concluded plans to
establish its football academy in Lagos,
making it first Barcelona Academy in
Africa, reported The Guardian.
Pau Vilanova presenting a jersey of the club to Governor Akinwumi Ambode
March/April 2016
G
U
E
S
T
-
H
O
U
S
E
Das G u e s t-H ous e
mit Cha r me
Casa Heinrich
Guest-House
Heinrichstrasse 68
8005 Zürich
Tel. 044 271 04 77
Fax 044 271 04 47
[email protected]
www.casaheinrich-guesthouse.ch
40
March/April 2016

NEWS - Africa Link

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