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News from cities in Africa NEWS SECTIONS: World news | Election news | News from Europe | News from North America | News from Latin America | News from Asia and Australia | News from Africa | Urban events | NEWS SPECIALS: Local elections in England & Wales 2008 | London elections 2008 | Latest news story | London and Glasgow terrorist attacks 2007 | South African cities face difficult times Cape Town, 13 April 2008: Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille told members of the UN commission on population and development in New York that after a decade of optimism and growth, South African cities faced many problems that threatened the cohesion of urban society in her country. “Urban crime, poverty and corruption are all increasing,” she warned. This trend must be reversed, she continued, saying that local and central government as well as the private sector needed to work together. “The challenge was to right-size the state to fulfil its functions, facilitate competitive market entry both by producers and consumers, and build partnerships with civil society," she suggested. The Mayor explained that the model had become known as the developmental state approach. “It requires high skills levels in government, and dedicated co-operation with the private sector to fuel economic growth - the single greatest priority,” Helen Zille said. Mayor Zille was more upbeat about conditions in her own city, Cape Town. While infrastructure was under great strain, the 5-year development plan was designed to focus on infrastructure-led economic growth. “Cape Town had just been through a 10-year positive cycle where skills and capital chose to stay and invest. Confidence in South Africa's macro-economic policies and financial management resulted in an investment, property, services and construction boom. We have also become known for having academic institutions that turn out the kind of skills the global contemporary knowledge economy demands,” the mayor summarised. However, the city also suffered simultaneously from high unemployment, of arouns 25 per cent, and skill shortages. Zille also said that a shortage of housing fostered a number of urban ills, first and foremost crime. “"We also have a housing waiting list of about 460 000 and 222 informal settlements around the city – 150 000 shacks compared with 28 000 in 1994 – and a growing crime rate." Strong increase in heart disease in African townships and cities Soweto, 14 March 2008: Heart disease is a growing threat to people living in African townships and cities. According to research carried out by the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto (South Africa), African women are at greater risk than men, whereas in western Europe and North America men suffer most. The researchers warn that, while in the past heart disease was caused by infections and malnourishment, nowadays more and more cases are due to obesity and high blood pressure. Simon Stewart, a visiting professor in Soweto from Australia's Baker Heart Research Institute told Reuters that in Soweto, like in other urban areas of Africa, the population had gone from abject poverty to signs of affluence and that was driving more affluent disease. "The traditional risk factors found in the developed world are appearing - things like high blood pressure, obesity, sedentary behaviour and poor diet, with the emergence of fast food outlets," he warned. The study, which was published in the British medical journal The Lancet, evaluated data from more than 4,000 patients, reveals that the number of cases of coronary heart disease had leapt from only a couple a year in the 1970s to between 150 and 200 today. "For a big coronary care unit in London or New York, that's still quite quiet, but for Africa it is enormous. In the past, they would have waited a whole six months for the first patient to come in," Professor Stewart commented. Egypt continues intimidation of Islamic opposition party Cairo, 5 March 2008: Egyptian police continued their arrest campaign against the nation's leading opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood, on Monday and Tuesday (3 and 4 March) when they arrested more than 60 members of the organisation. The arrests come with little more than a month before local municipal elections are to be held in the country. Political observers say the police action was a deliberate attempt by the government to prevent the Islamists from fielding candidates. Local government has long been a stronghold for the ruling National Democratic Party. However prior to the arrests, the Brotherhood had hoped to make in-roads in the local elections this year. Originally scheduled for 2006, the Egyptian government postponed them until this year after the opposition Islamic group won a surprising 25 per cent of seats in the parliamentary elections in late 2005. Brotherhood leaders have repeatedly said that the string of arrests will not inhibit them from participating in the upcoming elections. According to the Brotherhood's Web site, the arrests occurred mainly in the Nile Delta region, when security forces made morning raids on known members homes. "They hope to prevent us from entering the elections and they don't want the Brotherhood to stand as candidates in the election," a spokesman for the banned group told reporters. Candidates for this year’s local elections have to register their intentions between 4 and 14 March. The Muslim Brotherhood is officially banned in Egypt, but is tolerated to some extent. The group renounced violence in the 1970s. The Brotherhood stunned the ruling party during legislative elections in 2005, winning 88 seats in the lower house of parliament and becoming the country's largest opposition bloc. Local city council elections were originally scheduled for 2006, but the government postponed them for two years. The city council elections have become more important because the constitutional changes now require any presidential candidate to have the backing of at least 140 municipal counsellors. Nairobi power sharing pact mirrors national agreement Nairobi, 2 March 2008: Geoffrey Majiwa from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is the new mayor of Nairobi, while Njoroge Chege from the presidential PNU party is his deputy, following a power sharing agreement between the two parties. The pact mirrors a similar agreement reached at national level by President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Following the disputed presidential elections of 27 December 2007, Odinga accused the President of stealing the vote. The dispute led to violence across Kenya, killing more than 1,000 people. Former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan mediated a national power sharing agreement whereby Kibaki remained President while Odinga became executive Prime Minister. The dispute over the mayoral elections was resolved Wednesday evening after two hours of consultations. The mayoral elections ended in disarray on Monday (25 February) after the two candidates tied with 42 votes each. On Tuesday Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta issued a directive that civic leaders reconvene and conclude the exercise by casting the lot. But both sides engaged in heated debate with ODM councillors maintaining that Wednesday's business was to swear in Majiwa as the mayor while PNU insisted that minister's directive which was to cast the lot, had to be respected. But later in the afternoon the two sides came to a compromise ending the stalemate and the two were sworn in, in a peaceful ceremony. The two teams pledged to work in harmony and transform the City Council. The parties further agreed on equal distribution in the 15 council committees. PNU took the finance, planning, works as well as internal audit committees while ODM settled for the rest. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to take part in local elections Cairo, 27 February 2008: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says it will participate in local elections scheduled for 8 April despite a recent wave of arrests of its members. The banned but somewhat tolerated Islamist group says the crackdown is forcing it to change its strategy, and some candidates may keep their affiliation with the Brotherhood a secret in order to be allowed to run. The leader of the influential Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, said the arrests will not keep the group from running in upcoming municipal elections. He spoke to reporters in the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters a day after police arrested more than 100 Brotherhood members in Cairo and five other provinces. He said the authorities appear to be arresting anyone who might make a good candidate. He said the government "thinks this this will stop us from exercising our right to defend this good nation." But, he added, the Brotherhood had decided to participate in the elections. Leaders of the group say more than 500 Muslim Brothers are currently in police custody, including those detained Wednesday. Akef said he expects that thousands of Brotherhood members will be arrested before local elections take place on 8 April 2008. He says the approach of the security forces is causing the group to adjust in order to achieve its goals. He said in addition to its well-known candidates, the Brotherhood may also put forward candidates whose affiliation with the group has not been publicized. Muslim Brotherhood members run for office as independents. The Muslim Brotherhood is officially banned in Egypt, but is tolerated to some extent. The group renounced violence in the 1970s. The Brotherhood stunned the ruling party during legislative elections in 2005, winning 88 seats in the lower house of parliament and becoming the country's largest opposition bloc. Local city council elections were originally scheduled for 2006, but the government postponed them for two years. The city council elections have become more important because the constitutional changes now require any presidential candidate to have the backing of at least 140 municipal counsellors. (Report by Challiss McDonough, VoA) Islamists arrested as Egypt prepares for local elections Cairo, 18 February 2008: Egypt President Hosni Mubarak has finally agreed to local elections after they were postponed in 2006 because of fears that the Muslim Brotherhood might outperform the President’s ruling National Democratic Party. In 2005, the Brotherhood surprised the country by winning more than 20 per cent of parliamentary seats. But just to make sure that the Islamist movement will not again be too successful, police have been detaining Muslim Brotherhood members planning to stand as candidates. According to Reuters, almost 450 Brotherhood members have been taken into custody, most of them without charge. The outcome of the local elections, scheduled for 8 April, could have national implications as any independent candidate for the presidency needs the backing of at least 140 local councillors in addition to endorsements from member of the upper and lower houses of parliament. At the last local elections, held in 2002, more than 50,000 seats were at stake across Egypt. Officially the 2006 elections were postponed because the government insisted a new local government law was needed. But, says Reuters, no such law was put before parliament. Power blackout leaves Zimbabwe cities without water and electricity Harare, 6 February 2008: Following a major power blackout over the weekend of 2/3 February, which the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority blamed on a system malfunction, most parts of Harare still had no electricity or water two days later. Nearby Chitungwiza has had no water or power for nine days. Electricity in Bulawayo has been turned off almost daily for four to 12 hours at a time. Bulawayo reservoirs are full, but residents have had no water for the past four days. In eastern Mutare, residents said electric power had been available for up to 12 hours a day in the past two days; previously it was on for just two hours a day. In Gweru, Midlands, residents had gone without water for four days and some living in the high-density suburb of Mkoba were digging wells and selling water. But the flow of electricity had improved in Gweru since the national blackout last the weekend. Electric power was erratic in Masvingo, but the south-central town has a steady supply of water, which some attribute to the fact that the water system is still controlled by the municipality rather than the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, which has taken over many city water systems in the country in the past year. (Report by Patience Rusere, VoA) Liberia decides mayoral elections too expensive Monrovia, 17 Janaury 2008: The Liberian Supreme Court has angered opposition politicians with the announcement that forthcoming mayoral elections would be cancelled on cost grounds, with city leaders instead chosen by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Municipal elections have not been held in Liberia since 1985 on account of successive civil wars, with many hoping the scheduled elections of 2008 would see a resumption of local democratic norms in the beleaguered West African state. The decision to accord the powers to Johnson-Sirleaf, a former World Bank official and finance minister, was slammed by the official opposition. However a spokesperson for the court said: "The decision of the supreme court is based on what the government told us - on its complaints that there is no money in the coffers to hold elections," Algerian government bans radical Islamic party from local elections Algiers, 23 November 2007: Algeria's Ministry of the Interior upheld a ban on political participation by members of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in local elections on 29 November 2007. This is the second time the party has been excluded from the political process since its members were granted amnesty in 2006 under the National Peace and Reconciliation Charter. The banned Islamist party was not allowed to field candidates in the parliamentary elections earlier this year. The interior ministry dropped the names of all FIS candidates from electoral lists, thwarting efforts by the party to integrate into other parties' lists or form independent rosters. Party leadership has called on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to allow them to run, under the spirit of the Peace and National Reconciliation Charter, but to no avail. FIS second-in-command Ali Belhadj's application to run for municipal council in his home of Kouba was denied. Belhadj was also rejected by the interior ministry as a candidate in the legislative elections earlier this year. Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni has vowed not to authorize members of the dissolved FIS, claiming they are responsible for the security crisis of the 1990s that resulted in 200,000 casualties and 20 billion dollars in economic losses. He also opposed the establishment of a new political party to replace the dissolved one, saying he would not consider a radical Islamist party as long as he was interior minister. (Report by Said Jameh, Magharebia) Government parties are hopeful of winning majority of seats in Algerian local elections Algiers, 15 November 2007: Campaigning has began for Algeria's local and provincial elections, scheduled for 29 November. Twenty-three political parties and 465 independent candidates have declared their participation in the elections. Parties and independents have fielded a total of 8,647 candidate lists, vying for a majority of seats in 1,541 municipal councils and 48 provincial councils. Political hopefuls have until polling day to persuade the nation's roughly 18 million voters, with more than half of them women, to go to the polls. The elections were originally scheduled for the beginning of October, but were postponed at the request of political parties because of overlap with the month of Ramadan and the beginning of the new school year. The last municipal elections were held in October 2002, when the National Liberation Front won the majority of seats. An amendment made last summer to the electoral law restricts participation in local elections to parties that have either received at least four per cent of the vote in their districts over the previous three elections or received signatures of support from at least three of registered voters in their electorates. Under the new standard, just nine parties satisfied the first condition; many critics perceived the government's changes to be a move against smaller parties. However, fourteen of the so-called small parties have surprised the government by obtaining the necessary signatures to field candidates in the current elections. Polls have shown the ruling coalition, consisting of the National Liberation Front, the National Rally for Democracy and the Movement of Society for Peace are likely to retain the majority of seats in the November elections. (Report by Said Jameh, Magharebia) Nairobi’s slum dwellers ask for security of tenure Nairobi, 29 August 2007: A network of Catholic parishes in the slums of Kenya’s capital Nairobi has issued a memorandum to politicians, asking them to make commitments in this election year to improve life in the informal settlements. They point out that currently the major towns of Kenya were facing a housing crisis that had widespread economic, political and social implications for the whole country. “The majority of people living in urban areas are slum dwellers. Many of these slums, or informal settlements, are located near dangerous and polluted areas including rubbish dumps, streams, mosquito-infected swamps and windy dust bowls.” The paper continues: “In the City of Nairobi, over 200 slum communities are home to 2.5 out of 4 million people. The residents of Nairobi informal settlements constitute 60 per cent of the city's total population and yet they are crowded onto only five per cent of the total land area in the City, paying rents to the structure owners.” “Despite Kenya ratifying the covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, the state provides no housing for the poor, who are thus being forced to live in deplorable conditions. The main problem is the lack of land tenure. The constant threat of eviction traps the dwellers into slum condition and a cycle of poverty.” “Without security of tenure, a slum dweller has no initiative to improve or invest in permanent housing. Vast number of residents in the informal settlements lives in very high levels of dehumanizing poverty, giving rise to challenges such as brewing of illicit brews, prostitution, hunger, drug abuse and trafficking, theft, domestic violence and insecurity.” The slum dwellers say the situation was not without hope but comprehensive legislative and constitutional reforms in the area of land rights must be put in place to solve the problem. “The government should create the conditions that would allow the achievement of housing rights. We ask to whoever will be elected to enforce immediately a proper legislation to ensure the land tenure of the residents of the slums. This is a policy, which will create a chain of positive investments, which will improve the Kenyan economy and the life of the slum residents, with no economic costs, only benefits for the government and the whole country.” Forced evictions Malawi government reluctant to prepare for local elections Lilongwe, 28 August 2007: Malawi’s government and most political parties have shown little interest in local government elections for fear of exposing weaknesses which could negatively affect their performance in the 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections. According to the country’s leading newspaper, The Nation, a source close to the Malawi Electoral Commission  said that almost all major political parties except for the opposition Malawi Congress Party have been reluctant to commit themselves to the local polls, which were expected to give indicators for the general elections. Local Government and Rural Development Minister George Chaponda made it clear that the local elections were not on the ministry's priority list since the government was preoccupied with the national budget. Chaponda, who is also Director of Research in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said the party had nothing to say on the elections as it was more interested to see that the budget is passed. Earlier this year, the government had prepared a bill, which would have allowed local elections to take place in November 2007. However, by late August the bill was still not presented to parliament for debate. An opposition spokesman said that local elections were vital for democratic development in Malawi but the government had always found excuses for not calling them. A member of the government is reported to have even said that the absence of elected local councillors were irrelevant as the government empowered town and city chief executive officers to handle local government finance. South Africa will use old and new names for 2010 World Cup cities Johannesburg, 12 August 2007: Representatives of football’s world body FIFA and organisers of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa said that the country’s policy of renaming cities would not have a negative effect on the staging of the games. The organisers proposed that, internationally, the new names would be coupled with the former ones. Of the 10 cities presented to FIFA to host World Cup games, those affected by the process are Mangaung (Bloemfontein), Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), and Tshwane (capital Pretoria). The South African government has been systematically re-naming places since coming to power after the fall of the whites-only apartheid regime in 1994, seeking to remove titles deemed offensive and to honour black heroes. Irvin Khoza, chairman of the Local Organising Committee told the press that for international purpose it was important double-barrel names were used, a combination of both old and new names for the cities. Investment and tourist organisations tasked with promoting South Africa internationally say it would take years to familiarise the world with the name changes. For the time being they too will use the old names in promotional material. Zimbabwe’s cities remain tense after protests against Mugabe Harare, 27 July 2007: Harare and other major Zimbabwean cities remained tense after demonstrations by members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) in Harare, Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo protesting against President Robert Mugabe's declaration to the parliament on 24 July 2007 that he will push on with changes to the constitution. The NCA has been a leading advocate of a complete rewrite of the constitution - one of the political opposition's main demands in South African brokered crisis talks. The government proposed amendment would reshape the electoral landscape eight months before presidential and general elections set for March 2008. Opening parliament's last session before those elections, Mugabe said the ruling ZANU-PF government will push through constitutional amendment Number 18 which adds scores of seats in the lower and upper houses, among other changes. The president recently rejected the opposition’s demand - in the context of crisis talks mediated by South Africa - for a complete overhaul of the basic document. Police arrested some 60 protestors around the country and beat up a number of NCA demonstrators and bystanders, according to witnesses. Police in Zimbabwe’s capital with automatic rifles, batons and dogs fell upon the protesters in Harare and unleashed tear gas as water canon stood by. No arrests were reported, though. (Report by Blessing Zulu, VoA) Cape Town Mayor Zille elected leader of South Africa’s main opposition party Cape Town, 7 May 2007: Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille sought to allay fears over her commitment to her office following her election this weekend as the leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance. Elected as the party's second leader at the federal congress convened to select a new head following the resignation of longstanding founding leader Tony Leon, Zille said the party's task was to reconnect with black voters and end the African National Congress' monopoly on South African political life. Zille was overwhelmingly elected to the post, winning 786 votes over the 228 of her nearest rival, DA Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip and federal chairperson Joe Seremane, the third candidate, who secured only 65 votes. Long regarded as the frontrunner for the post, Zille's election came as little surprise but the new leader will have to work hard to put recent disputes in Cape Town behind her, while rebranding her party away from its perception as the choice of white professionals. Though hailed for her crusading journalism during the apartheid era, a recent spat with ANC councillors in Cape Town almost saw her post abolished by the regional government. Doubts have also been voiced about her ability to lead the city as a national political figure and her ability to lead her party outside of parliament. Addressing delegates in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, she argued fighting crime was her priority but also highlighted the HIV and Aids pandemic and education as some of the issues she would be focusing on. Analysts concede that Tony Leon had transformed his party during 13 years at the helm, with its vote share rising from 1.7% to 12% during that time. Though the principal opposition party to the majority ANC in parliament, its remains impeded by a perception of being a whites-only party. However, they also argue that the complacent and scandal-hit ANC will not be able to hold on to power indefinitely as apartheid becomes a distant memory. South African cities warned against exceeding 2010 World Cup budgets Cape Town, 9 March 2007: South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel warned that the government was not going to bail out cities that still needed more funds to build stadiums for the 2010 Football World Cup. Manuel said the R8.4 billion provided by the government was enough. "We have taken a very strong view that stadiums which comply with FIFA, we will fund. But if any city would like bells and whistles on top of that, they would have to pay for it. So if cities want all kinds of things above FIFA requirements, the tax payers, the rate payers in the cities will pay for it," the minister made clear. Meanwhile, South Africa’s governing party ANC has slammed Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille over the latest delay in building the 2010 Green Point stadium. This follows Zille's announcement that the city could not sign contracts with the preferred bidder because it needed an additional R180 million. Zille also wants the national treasury to pay for any escalation costs exceeding 10 per cent. An ANC spokesman said Mayor Zille should keep the professional fees at 12 per cent and the escalation fees at 10 per cent. He warned that if Cape Town lost the 2010 games it would be a massive loss in investment in infrastructure, road, rail and as well as private investment which would migrate to other hosting cities.

This year's most outstanding mayors World Mayor South African cities face difficult time (Photo: Cape Town with Table Top Mountain) Strong increase in heart disease in African townships and cities Egypt continues intimidation of Islamic opposition party Nairobi’s power sharing pact mirrors national agreement Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to take part in local elections Islamists arrested as Egypt prepares for local elections Power blackout leaves Zimbabwe cities without water and electricity Liberia decides mayoral elections too expensive Algerian government bans radical Islamic party from local elections Government parties are hopeful of winning majority of seats in Algeria local elections Nairobi slum dwellers ask for security of tenure Malawi government reluctant to prepare for local elections South Africa will use old and new names for 2010 World Cup cities Zimbabwe’s cities remain tense after protests against Mugabe CapeTown Mayor Zille elected leader of South Africa's main opposition party South African cities warned against exceeding 2010 World Cup budgets