Iran has threatened to resume uranium enrichment after the UN Security Council unanimously imposed sanctions for not listening to the international community.

<.Kofi on the way out as the top man at the UN here during one of his many last interviews. It has not been easy for him in the last few years with the war in Iraq, conflict in Lebanon, Israelis and the Palestinian issue, the tsunami in Asia. And many other tragedies like Darfur conflict, Uganda and the LRA, the DRC mission, Sierra Leone –Liberia, the list will not end. He seems to be happy to leave in order to rest from worries on the happenings on the world stage. Kofi was very good to appoint envoys to send around the world. He gave jobs to Many Norwegians, neighbours to Sweden where his wife comes from. Good neighbourliness for a man from Ghana in Africa. He appointed very few Africans as envoys. APN thinks it is okay that he leaves before he envoyies all Norwegian population. We hope his successor will not be Scandinaviarised that easily. We hear he is Asian!

The outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan is angered that he has to leave office without a deal with the Iranians. In his last interviews he has stated that he hopes Iran sees logic in what the international community is telling them.

But Iran has gone ahead to threaten only one day after after the sanctions were imposed.

According to international media, “the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said Iran would work on installing 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz, a key nuclear plant in central Iran.”

The Council says the sanction bans the supply of nuclear materials to the country and freezes assets overseas.

<President George Bush calls for tough measures against Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad!

The Bush administration in Washington is  already calling for more tougher measures. Bush is angered that the Iranian President has announced that he will ignore the UN sanctions against his country. He accuses America for engineering the sanctions because they fear Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East.

President Bush, (below – right) has sworn that he will go after the Iranians, before his term in office is over. But the Iranians do not believe that swearing alone will help Bush’s administration in any way.

BBC reports that, “the resolution demands that Tehran end all uranium enrichment work, which can produce fuel for nuclear plants as well as for bombs. The uranium enrichment plant at Natanz was shut down in 2003 but was re-opened and is earmarked for expansion.”

United Nations Security Council has spoken. Iran will now face international sanctions because the country has refused to stop the production of uranium, suspected by international community may be used to make nuclear weapons.

<Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad elected president last year in June, laughs at the west, and especially president Bush and his administration in Washington, telling him no, he will not obey the sanctions imposed!

The president says he is a friend of the people and claims that their atomic project is only for  peaceful purposes and will continue with the project. The country will ignore the sanctions.

Observers APN has spoken to say Bush is not ready to start another war in the Middle East. This, they say, is the reason that the Iranian president is not ready to listen to Bush who is soon out of office.

Recently, Iran was happy when the US Democrats took over both houses, the Congress and the Senate from President Bush’s Republicans. Iran hopes the Democrats will treat them fairly, “as they call it!”

By Korir, African Press in Norway, APN

africanpress@chello.no

source.anb.bbc

Members of parliament are the law makers. They also have the power to decide on their own salaries! We think Dr. Karanja, in his blog is raising a very serious issue. If you have the power to decide on hiking your own salary, what stops you from overdoing it?

<Dr. Stephen Kabera Karanja is a lawyer by profession living in Norway!

Karanja tells his readers that, “corruption is a serious indictment to level against our “honourable” MPs especially when the power to award themselves pay hikes is endowed on them by law. The recent pay hike that has aroused public hue and cry was purportedly made under the Statute Bill (Miscellaneous Amendment Act) 2006. It is important therefore to define what we mean by corruption here, so as to place their actions on a proper perspective.”

As he continues to share with his readers what he thinks is corruption, he moves to the zone of generality saying, “in general life we associate corruption with bribery, kickbacks, or misappropriation of public funds and property. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines corruption as i) impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle ii) inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means, iii) a departure from the original or from what is pure correct. To what extend can we therefore say that MPs’ actions fall within the parameters of this definition?”

We believe in his argument, but there is a problem when theory is to be put into practice  and enforced when discussing salaries, especially in a case like the one he is discussing in his blog. That of the Kenyan Members of Parliament, with the power to raise their own earnings.

<Kenya’s Parliament – the place MPs’ sat, talked, and in friendship without consideration to the voters, hiked their salaries!

We are aware that, “the first order of business by  the current Kenyan Parliament, which was elected on 30 December 2002, was to increase their pay. They voted themselves huge increases in allowances and travelling expenses. Currently, an MP earns a gross salary of over Ksh 800,000. Recently they increased the salary of the President by 300% from Ksh 700,000 to Ksh 3,200,000. At the same time the MPs proposed for themselves a total of Ksh 1,500,000 each as a handshake at the end of the life of the current parliament. The President, however, as a result of pressure from the public has rejected the high pay accorded to him.”

We in APN ,believe that president Kibaki, below right >, gave into the pressure because he wants to use that as an argument during the next general elections, should he choose to go for the second term. It will be a very good campaign rethoric to tell the voters how he refused money, because he is thinking of their welfare and not his own. And such a rethoric does not fail to win voters. He will say he is for the people and he rejected the hike by greedy members of parliament, because he has the voter’s interest in his heart. Of course, this is a big point for the layman whose vote is so crucial during any election for any office. The voters wants to hear that you think of them, not that you are busy changing laws in parliament to suit your salary hikes.

The Kenya people should take Karanja’s arguments seriously. He is not accusing the members of parliament of stealing, because when you read between the lines, you understand clearly that he is telling the lawmakers to be considerate, and have the people as their interest number one and the country’s economy instead of huge salary increases that they gave themselves on the first day of house business. It is important to note that Kenya is not a rich country and yet, “it is no doubt that Kenyan MPs, and Ministers are the highest paid politicians in the world. A comparison made with pay of leaders in most developed countries like USA and Britain and some African countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda by International Jurist Commission – Kenya leaves no doubt to the veracity of this assertion. Furthermore, the high pay compares poorly with the low per capita economic figures in Kenya and the poor performance of the MPs in the parliament. The parliament suffers from chronic lack of quorum, as most MPs do not regularly attend parliamentary sessions. According to the Guardian in 2004 MPs spent 57 days in parliament. Last year their workload was even smaller and only five pieces of legislation were passed. The huge salary awards also compare grimly with the dismal pay Kenyans get in general and the fact that most of the population lives on less than a one US dollar per day.”

The Kenya government led by president Kibaki is doing its best, and to show the interest in fighting corruption, “a recent public survey conducted in Kenya sponsored by the government cited the Parliament as the most corrupt institution. The survey conclusion was based on the general public perception that the hefty increases in pay and emoluments MPs have rewarded themselves in the recent years were unjustified and a blatant abuse of office. The Kenya Times newspaper continues to say that in the case of MPs, the report says, the result could also have been based on the simple expression of general displeasure with the National Assembly or individual MPs based on particular examples of corruption in individual terms. In addition the report said that though MPs are rarely in bribery-demand situations, on the contrary they are alleged to initiate them at least during election campaigns. Others rate the lawmakers as corrupt due to the manner in which they widely buy their way into the National Assembly, the report says. Other factors such as salary levels and the motivation of personnel, the report says, may also have contributed to their lower rankings compared to those of government institutions.”

It is tragic that most of those who are now actively raising their salaries in parliament using the authority that the law gives them as legislators are favouring themselves, and it is true as Karanja states that, “the fact that one is authorised by law to perform certain duties and actions does not imply that the law empowers misuse of that power. What the MPs have done with impunity is to misuse the power granted to them (i.e. to reasonably assess and reward themselves proper pay). They have increased their pay without due regard to the general level of salaries paid to ordinary workers (it does not matter that CEOs and other senior civil servants are paid more, this are not ordinary workers). They have not also taken consideration of the general performance of the economy as well as regard of what other MPs and political leaders earn in the world. Their actions are therefore improper and unlawful. They are also an ethical because they go contrary to the expectation of the majority of the people as the survey above has indicated. The high pay increase is as such a departure from the original and from what is pure correct (reasonable assessment). Furthermore, the high pecks increase is a manifestation of pure greed, which has impaired MPs integrity, virtue and moral principles. It amounts to pure looting and plunder of public resources and economy.”

After having read and understood Karanja’s message, we saw no reason to condemn his arguments on salary hikes, because it is truly sad that Kenyan MPs’ gave themselves high priority the first day at work.  In his blog Karanja is, however, excusing himself to his readers.

It seems to us as if he thinks they might misunderstand him, now that he tells them that he is not out to condemn the MPs’  stressing that, “it is not the objective of this, >(“his” added by APN) >Blog to condemn all MPs wholesale, ” adding that, “It is, however, the duty of the electorate to thoroughly scrutinise every MP and to ensure that those who fail to pass the test are voted out during the next general election. The electorate has also the sacred duty to salvage the image of the Parliament from a corrupt house to a house of integrity by kicking out the rotten elements. As the ICJ-Kenya has asked “are Kenyans therefore willing to elect leaders who will reduce pay perks for MPs and other senior public servants to a level that our economy can afford?” Moreover, this Blog asks are Kenyans willing to elect persons of integrity who will serve public interest and not MPs’ personal interests first?”

According to APN, the Kenyan MPs’ took the opportunity to make themselves rich quickly, and we have no apologies to make on that point, because many of them, when they were not in power shouted the loudest that the Kenyan public, and there welfare should be accorded priority at all times, just like Kibaki has now shown by refusing the money the MPs’ wanted him to pocket. If Kibaki had taken the money, the MPs’ would have celebrated and used that as an good excuse to approve money for themselves when the house resumes business after Christmas recess.

By Korir, African Press in Norway, africanpress@chello.no

Source. http://killcoruption.blogspot.com/

COMMENTARY

1. Karanja Says:
   December 24th, 2006 at 12:21 am e

A very positive step by a group being labeled “terrorists”. Caste system is a form of discrimination in societies that practice it and is very difficult to break.

It is encouraging to see that the union of Islamic courts are ready to deal with the problem head on.

It gives hope to many people in Somalia and those against any form of discrimination.

Above is a reaction by Dr Karanja to APN’s story below:

• Wedding that has caused pain in Somalia!

• Posted by africanpress on December 23rd, 2006

  <Sahal Abdi-kafi.

  Sahal Abdi-kafi has lost his family trust. His  family no longer associate themselves with him after he wedded his girlfriend ZamZam Ahmed, regarded as a member of Somalia’s lower caste – the Yahar community.

  The family had refused him to marry from the Yahar community but he ignored them, saying he was, “encouraged by an edict from the Islamist group which has taken control of the capital, Mogadishu, and much of southern Somalia this year after 15 years of lawlessness.”

  The two, Sahal and Zamzam, had been in love and met often secretly. And the more they met their love blossomed after five years love affair which has now ended in marriage.

  BBC quotes Sahal saying, “We were very different – in lifestyle, in thinking, in tastes,” said Sahal, who runs a big electronics shop in Mogadishu’s main Bakara Market and who comes from a prominent family of merchants.”

  Communities look at each other in many ways and make conclussions on their social status. BBC reports that, ”Zamzam’s father has died and her mother sells the popular stimulant khat.”

  It is believed that Sahal’s parents may have disapproved of the relationship because of Zamzam’s status. Sahal has told BBC, that they fell in love, adding, “we expected the heavens to fall when my parents would come to know of our affair, we expected the worst and were prepared for the worst.”

  Social status is very important for many communities but, “after centuries of deep divisions, cross caste weddings like Sahal and Zamzam’s are now becoming more common.”

  According to media reports, “Union of Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed recently said Somalis should marry good Muslims, whatever caste they were from, in an effort to break down centuries of prejudice.”

  Now after the Islamic Courts have taken power in the capital they have started to allow marriages between communities saying, “Islam recommends choosing your partner according to whether they follow their religion and whether they are of good character but not because of their social level.”

  By Korir, African Press in Norway, APN

  africanpress@chello.no

  source.bbc 

<Vice president Atiku Abubakar campaigns for presidency!

Atiku Abubakar has been thrown out of the  ruling party. He is the country’s vice president. He fell out with President Olesegun Obasanjo in September this year.

According to BBC, “the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) urged President Olusegun Obasanjo to replace his deputy with a party member. But Mr Abubakar’s spokesman says constitutionally the vice-president is allowed to remain in office.”

<President Obasanjo’s term ends soon!

The cause of their fall out was because Mr. Obasanjo wanted a third term, which is unconstitutional. Obasanjo was aware that his deputy would seek the presidency, so he started early to accuse him of fraud in order to tarnish his name.

The vice president did not want to support Obasanjo to get a third term as president. That would have meant no candidacy for him fro the presidency.

Many leaders in African are reluctant to vacate their seats. They would rather rule until takes them away. It is tragic thinking an behaviour.

BBC reports that, “the vice-president was suspended from the PDP in September after Nigeria’s anti-corruption body accused him of fraudulently using $125m (£64m) of public funds for personal business interests.”

For the vice president the case is different. He says his problems are politically motivated, because his opponents would like to stop him from contesting the presidency in April 2007.

In most African countries, falling out with your boss can easily send you to jail, or you loose your job.

There is a likelihood that Abubakar will soon be arrested and arraigned in court on fraud charges. That can easily cause him his presidential ambition.

The Nigerian story is not far from the Ugandan story when Museveni wanted a third term.

President Museveni, left got enraged when Kizza Besigye, on the right, started his lust for power in the top seat. Besigye turned his back to Museveni only to feel Museveni’s wrath when he got stabbed from behind and thrown to languish in prison!

President Museveni wasted no time in getting Kizza Besigye out of the way by sending him to jail aimed at distracting of his opponent’s campaign. He was not ready to have Besigye spoil for him to get his third term in office.

He used Parliament to manipulate his will and got his third term.

Observers knew that Museveni would have resorted to force, if he had lost the elections. His opponent, Mr Besigye was accused and arrested, languishing in detentions during presidential campaigns for no apparent reason but power struggle. Only to be released when Museveni had campaigned well and knew he would win.

By African Press in Norway, APN

africanpress@chello.no

source.bbc

<Michael Jackson in London recently.

Former Jackson accountants will now be sued by the singer who is dissatisfied with them. He feels they used him to make illegal deals while charging him highly.

According to media reports, “the singer alleges negligence and breach of trust against the firm in a suit filed in Los Angeles. He is claiming unspecified damages and an audit of money paid to Bernstein, Fox, Whitman, Goldman & Sloan.”

Jackson accuses his former accountants for keeping him in the dark on money issues. The suit filed says, “the firm – which has not commented on the claims – did not keep him informed about money matters.”

A few months ago, “Mr Jackson parted company with his lawyers, who claimed they they had not been paid for representing him in a case brought by a finance company. However, the singer claimed he had fired New York-based Wachtel & Masyr.”

On the other hand the, “Finance company Prescient Acquisition Group has been suing the singer, saying it is owed $48m (£24.5m). The firm alleges it helped Mr Jackson find investors to help pay off a $272.5m (£139.1m) debt, and arrange $537.5m (£274.5m) in financing to secure the Beatles’ back catalogue.”

After the acquittal of child abuse charges in Carlifornia in 2005, Mr Jackson wants to, “rebuild his music career.”

By Korir, African Press in Norway, APN

africanpress@chello.no

source.bbc