Strange Fruit

Holding out for a Hero

2011-12-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

Two untested and influential Africans and one great website drifted to the top of my news pile today.

1. The website: a fantastic Kenyan website, apparently based on an anti-corruption intiative from India, to track and report bribery and corruption from public officials. This is my drum and I'll beat it all day, people. Anti-corruption. Accountability. Africa, let's do this.

2. President Michael Sata of Zambia, who has had a very busy first 90 days in office and who seems to be on a massive anti-corruption drive. It remains to be seen whether he will move on from firing corrupt and inept officials to strengthening the systems intended to hold government to account. It's easy to fire people, much harder to work on systemic problems that are also intended to check one's own power. Secondly, he still has work to do to reduce unemployment and fulfil his other election promises. Lastly, (thirdly - third term - get it?), will he leave office when the time comes?

3. The new prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Gambian Fatou Bensouda. I look forward to seeing her work. I look forward to seeing how the African Union handles her. Al-Arabaiya has published this interview with her. She seems to have al-Bashir on her radar.

Two to watch.

I live in hope.

Unchecked and All-Powerful

2011-12-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

No, not the markets. (Although why news outlets looked to the markets when Kim Jong-il died, as if to direct how we should react to the event, when North Korea doesn't even affect them, is telling)

The credit ratings agencies. I sincerely hope more news outlets take the baton from this excellent News Statesman primer article and sniff out the truth. I suspect that will happen ~~when~~ if the agencies downgrade European countries and suddenly there is an incentive to tackle a problem that African nations have been grappling with for decades.

1. Who runs these agencies?
2. How can they be considered independent when there is no published register of interests or sponsors?
3. Which sources do they use in making their decisions?
4. How representative are their committees that make these ratings decisions that affect whole countries and the livelihoods of millions of people? Do they have voices from the developing world?

In particular, I think this area of financial services needs urgent reform. If credit ratings agencies are to have their opinions taken as gospel and no one can get credit without their ratings, then we definitely need oversight of this key linchpin of the industry.

Market Values

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

I would only add, "What does our CEO get if he messes up?"

"A fifty million dollar golden farewell."

*waves at CEO's of banks and large corporations*

Dark Chocolate

2011-12-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

A love letter.

Dear Guardian,

Thanks for being the only national outlet to recognise the beauty needs of non-Caucasians with a lovely blog full of useful tips on make-up and lovely things.

The world may be going to hell in a handcart but there is no reason to ride out the next ten years of the ~~depression~~ recession looking grim, dahling.

Intolerable

2011-12-21T07:12:00.000-08:00

Just as I was digesting news of Suarez's 8-match ban, I heard that Chelsea's John Terry will be formally charged for his alleged racial abuse of QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

I am pleased that the FA is taking the charges seriously, and hope they will be consistent in following such charges up.

I am also very curious. From the outset I was very surprised that Anton Ferdinand was sticking to his guns in accusing Terry of racial abuse, especially as Terry is the very popular England Captain and I'm sure a lot of smack talk that probably borders on racist, or is overtly racist, is brushed off many a black player's shoulders.

Case in point: Gus Poyet's attack on Patrice Evra's complaint against Luis Suarez for racist language.

From the Guardian: "I believe Luis Suárez, it's simple," Poyet said. "I played football for seven years in Spain and was called everything because I was from South America, and I never went out crying like a baby, like Patrice Evra, saying that someone had said something to me."

I don't think that just because it happens, players should but up with it. Talking smack happens, but racist abuse is never excusable. Why should black players just put up with it? There is no equivalent insult for the players or supporters who hurl racist abuse. It is painful. Unless you have suffered racist abuse, and I have, albeit only once, you don't get it.

Many, like Poyet, don't want to rock the boat. He's welcome to be a matyr for the cause, but there is no reason anyone else has to be. Ferdinand has stuck to his guns, leading me to think that either this was the straw that broke the camel's back, or it a was really, really bad incident. Having examined the evidence, the Crown Prosecution Service seems to think it can reasonably expect to secure a conviction. Terry has consistently denied the accusations and I want to know whether he genuinely was misheard (and if so, what exactly was he saying? Struggling to think of what rhymes with it, to be honest), or whether he could not bring himself to apologise. Either way, the matter has not been defused, and although Chelsea has vowed to stand by their man, I suspect there might be more to this than meets the eye. I look forward to hearing the full story in court.

Holding the Line

2011-12-19T10:16:00.000-08:00

It's easy to find something utterly infuriating, downright disappointing or plain bizarre in news coming out of Africa everyday. But it's also easy to let the good news get swamped.

So, for my first post back I'd like to give Kenya's judiciary a round of applause for holding the line against its own government on its obligations to comply with the International Criminal Court (ICC). The problem is the one-man travelling ICC warrant that is Sudan's President Bashir. The warrant for his arrest was issued in 2009 on on five counts of crimes against humanity, two counts of war crimes and three counts of genocide relating to the conflict in Darfur. However, the AU came out in his corner, voting not to comply with the ICC's request to arrest him if he should visit their territories. There is a perception that the ICC is prejudiced against African states*, however Kenya is signatory to the treaties regarding the ICC and is bound by law to enforce its warrants. The judges aren't being political, it's a point of law. African governments need to start obeying their own laws, treaties and statutes if we are ever going to strengthen accountability and rule of law.

Thank you for holding the line.

*Maybe. But the best way to tackle this would surely be to just not commit war crimes? Free the ICC up to tackle the Assads etc in the rest of the world?They aren't making the charges up, folks.