New definitions and interpretations of "human rights" threaten real rights -- and now this argument is being dragged into the debate about climate change
Michela Wrong's new book on Kenyan corruption-buster John Githongo has been an immediate hit, serialised in Kenya's Daily Nation and selling fast everywhere. This characteristically outspoken review by Sir Edward Clay explains why.
Sir Edward was British High Commissioner in Nairobi at the time of the Githongo saga and was reprimanded by his own masters and the Kenyan government for his comments on corruption. He has a strong message for aid donors whose largesse supports ruling cliques in Africa.
President Obama's offer of AIDS relief to Zimbabwe is conditional on it not going anywhere near the pockets of Mugabe and his gang. But the good news is that there are many things Zimbabweans can do themselves to restore prosperity, even with Robert Mugabe still at the helm: all is not lost, despite the horrors of recent years. This author is part of a group of African think-tanks that compiled a list of practical and relatively simple policy recommendations for recovery in the recent The Zimbabwe Papers.
Zimbabwe can recover - if its people are allowed to. For all the catastrophic policies of President Robert Mugabe, there are still enough experienced and dedicated business people, judges, civil servants and even policemen to make the country work again once the right freedoms are in place.
President Obama has revamped the Bush policy of heath aid to poor countries by widening its scope beyond AIDS to all diseases: it looks like a great idea but it is full of unintended consequences.
