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Emergency Preparedness

The Haiti Earthquake and its aftermath should make it perfectly clear that each one of us and every national, provincial and city government, plus every village, block, house; and family-by-family take steps to prepare for emergency disasters.

The help that poured in Haiti from outside world is admirable, and must be praised however; this tragedy must remind us that we as communities need to prepare for both nature and man-caused disasters. Making sure that local builders know how and what to do to make Africa’s houses and buildings safer – UN, the World Bank or the Africa Development Bank should publish and distribute “How to Build A Safe House”. Moreover, these institutions should provide resources to establish a national and local Emergency Preparedness – in a long run this will save lives and money.

Each government, from the village to the national level should have emergency plans and systems that are automatically put in action and adhered to in case of emergency.

Then we get to the issue of survival and the 72 hours or a week’s worth of provisions and water for the period following any disaster, before outside help can get to us. A leading American farm association has an excellent idea to start this effort forward. To establish a global network of strategically placed surplus food depots from which relief could be moved quickly to help and support recovery.

There are many established systems that Africa needs to implement, and The African Times hopes that the over 200,000 dead will awaken all of us, including those in governments to establish emergency preparedness concepts and everyone of us to learn how to deal with disaster emergencies.

Debate - knowledge - opinions - ideas are all part of the AFRICA DIALOG. This is your opportunity to debate and come under the traditional village tree and become a part of the community.

We look forward to your comments...

Nigeria Has a New Leader

Current Vice-President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has become Nigeria’s acting President, after weeks of political turmoil caused by the absence of its ailing leader. Nigeria’s National Assembly voted to declare Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Vice-President, the country’s acting ruler, in a move that appeared to sideline Umaru Yar’Adua, the ailing leader. However, the motion seems to depart from the constitution’s provision for dealing with a presidential absence. This requires President Yar’Adua, who suffers from a heart condition and a chronic kidney problem, to write to the National Assembly if he intends temporarily to transfer powers to his deputy on health grounds. President Yar’Adua has declined to do so – a reluctance that many blame on the President’s inner circle determined not to relinquish power even temporarily. The motion drafted by the Senate and passed by both houses states that Dr. Jonathan “shall henceforth discharge the functions of the office of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federation”. In a televised address to the nation, Nigeria’s new leader, Dr. Jonathan, described the role as a "sacred trust".

SOMALIA

At least six people have been killed in fighting among Somali pirates over a record ransom paid for a hijacked ship. Witnesses say at least four people were killed and several others were wounded recently as pirates battled in the town of Harardhere. In addition, two pirates were killed when rival pirate gangs clashed on the hijacked ship, the MV Maran Centaurus. Harardhere was calm after local elders mediated between factions of pirates. The pirates received between $5 and $7 million to free the Greek-flagged oil tanker and its 28 crew members. Pirates had captured the tanker in the Indian Ocean November 29 with two million barrels of oil on board. Squabbling over ransom money is not unusual, but witnesses say clashes among the pirates were some of the most violent on record. Somali pirates have taken in tens of millions of dollars over the past two years from hijacking ships and holding them hostage. The pirates are still holding 12 ships with more than 200 crew members. 

In another sign of the deteriorating climate in Somalia and the internationalization of that conflict, the U.S. National Guard has announced it will send more than 560 Army Guards from Kansas to security duty in the Horn of Africa this year. Guard spokesperson said the soldiers would deploy after April. After training, they will spend nine months providing security in the small nation of Djibouti, returning in April 2011. Djibouti is located near Somalia and Ethiopia, across the Gulf of Aden from the nation of Yemen. Because of the growing military pressure in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, hundreds of foreign fighters are believed to be relocating to Somalia to fight the isolated UN and US-backed administration there. The announcement comes as French special forces commandos arrived at Arta, a barren patch of Djibouti's jagged coastline some 80 kms from the capital city, in a demonstration of all military sectors – sea, land and air. As desert tanks zoomed onto the shore Mirage jets criss-crossed the open sky. Meanwhile, land troops were dispatched from the mouths of armored personnel carriers and helicopters airlifted artillery guns onto the ground. "It's a show of force. It shows what France is able to do militarily," said one army officer. The troops are a contingent of a 2,500-strong force based in Djibouti.

SOUTH AFRICA

A U.S. appeals court is hearing arguments from a group of multinational corporations seeking to block a lawsuit brought by South African victims of apartheid. The suit seeks up to $400 billion in compensation for the Black victims. The corporations are accused of complicity in human-rights abuses during the years they did business in apartheid South Africa. After years of legal delays, a US court last year gave the green light for the companies to be sued on U.S. soil under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The companies - Daimler AG, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and IBM – were cited in the suite because they had refused to testify during the truth and reconciliation process about their actions during the apartheid years. Recalling the presence of Ford and GM in Port Elizabeth, the late poet Dennis Brutus, in a previous interview with the news show Democracy Now, recalled “…both Ford and GM were using black labor, but it was very cheap black labor, because blacks were not allowed to join trade unions, and they were not allowed to strike, so that they were forced to accept whatever wages they were given. They lived in ghettos near where I lived, actually in the boxes in which the parts had been shipped from the U.S. to be assembled in South Africa. Michael Hausfeld, representing the black South Africans, said: “If companies can affect lives in ways that make those lives worse, so that people are suppressed or terrorized… then anyone who provided the tools to enforce that suppression and terrorism should be responsible.” South Africa ended its opposition to the case in September, shortly after President Jacob Zuma took office. The previous President, Thabo Mbeki, opposed the case on the grounds that it might put off foreign investors.

LIBERIA

Strapped by an understaffed Anti-Corruption Commission, Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf took her campaign to the airwaves with a pledge to repay whistleblowers for solid leads. On a recent morning talk show, she pledged to pay for information leading to money being recovered and to assist with transfers for those fearing to lose their job. International Anti-Corruption Day was marked here with a parade and a new slogan "Your ‘No’ Counts," calling on every person to take a stand against the vice. Corruption was a major cause of the 1989-2003 civil war, from which Liberia is trying to recover. President Sirleaf also responded to claims that she is bringing in Liberians from the U.S. and giving them lucrative government jobs to the disadvantage of Liberians at home. “It is absolutely false,” she declared. “Besides, they (people from the Diaspora) are Liberians. We need them.” Many young people are currently seeking government scholarships to study abroad, and after their studies will want to return home and work, she pointed out. “Should we deny them if they are qualified?”

In a national reconciliation effort, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia began a personal journey on the new roads linking remote 12 villages and the country’s oldest prison soon to be a museum. Camp Belle Yella, once an infamous detention center, is being transformed from a “dungeon of horror to a museum and a center of hope.” According to Alva Mulbah Wolokollie, Belle Yella once held political prisoners, student leaders, perceived and imagined enemies of the ruling regimes, as well as notorious criminals during the era of tyranny and despotism spanning more than two decades. The camp will be used as a tourism site, and the names of some of those tortured there and even killed by past tyrannical regimes displayed in memoriam. After a walk through the bush of almost 3 hours, the President told local residents: “I promised you one year ago that I would come and spend the Christmas with you. Today, I am here. I also promised to officially close down the notorious Belle Yella prison center and transform it into a museum."