Daily News on Issues Affecting Africa for June 12, 2013

In South Africa, President Zuma has said that Mandela is responding to treatment. The Managing Director of the World Bank Group discussed in a press release the potential for youth in Niger. After Kenyan MPs invoked massive public anger with their ask for a large pay raise, they settled on Tuesday for a smaller amount. The first draft of a new constitution in Tanzania recognizes the rights of minority groups that have been ignored since independence 50 years ago. Tuareg rebels in Mali have agreed to sign a deal that would bring on nationwide polls July 28th. The ICC has offered to try Ruto (Kenya) in East Africa, but there are still concerns about the body's relationship with the continent. A Zimbabwean activist on Facebook calling himself 'Baba Jukwa' is taking the country's leaders to task. The President of South Sudan has agreed to hand off oil disputes with nearby Sudan to African Union mediators. Finally, according to Zanzibar's Department of Environment, "rising sea levels have resulted in seawater mixing with fresh water supplies and contaminating the wells."

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Zuma: Mandela is responding to treatment
Speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Zuma said: "We are happy to report that former president Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment. We are happy with the progress he is making during these difficult days. We appreciate the support from the international community. We are proud to call him our own. We ask you to continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers." Meanwhile, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday he was "one of the greatest admirers" of Mandela and pledged to perpetuate his ideals. Speaking to France Info radio while in New Zealand, the Dalai Lama said South Africa's anti-apartheid icons like Mandela and Desmond Tutu were ageing and frail and "logically they are going to go." "The important thing is to preserve his memory," the Dalai Lama said. "Nelson Mandela is very ill, Desmond Tutu also quite old ... [The] important thing is their teaching, their spirit must carry."
To read more please visit the Mail & Guardian site here

Boosting Youth Employment in Niger
In Niger, a country where 67% of the population is under 25 years of age, the problem of youth unemployment and underemployment is acute, given that the lack of job opportunities threatens to undermine the country's political and economic stability. "You, the young people of Niger, have the potential to become an engine for development..."
To read more please visit the AllAfrica site here

Kenyan MPs Settle for Lower Pay Rise
Kenya's members of parliament have finally come to an agreement over their new salary, local media reported. Parliamentarians on Tuesday agreed with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to a gross monthly salary of $6,300 after a deadlock in negotiations prompted several public protests against the elected politicians. They will also get a $59,500 car grant and tax free mileage allowance and a pension as per a contributory scheme. The SRC had said the benefits were subject to the availability of funds, local media reported. The MPs had initially wanted their salaries revised to around $10,000 per month, drawing criticism across the country.
To read more visit Al Jazeera English here

Tanzania's Forgotten Minority Groups Win Rights
Minority groups now have a reason to celebrate, thanks to the first draft of a new constitution for the Federation of the United Republic of Tanzania that has recognised them. Article 45 of the draft, unveiled last week, recognises minority groups such as hunter-gatherers — mainly the Hadzabe and Akiye ethnic groups — for the first time since Independence, over 50 years ago. The Hadzabe and Akiye, whose combined population in the country does not exceed 2,000, live in northern Tanzania and their livelihood depends on wild fruits, honey, and wild meat. Article 45 specifically provides that the state shall put in place…
To read more please visit the East African site here

Mali Tuaregs and Bamako on brink of election deal
Rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) groups, that want autonomy for the northern Tuareg homeland they call Azawad, said they were prepared to ink a document put forward by regional mediator Burkina Faso. "We won't obstruct the process," an official in the Tuareg delegation told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday. "When the time comes, we'll sign no problem."  The MNLA controls the key northern town of Kidal and has been reluctant to let government troops step in to secure the planned July 28 presidential ballot.
To read more please visit the Mail & Guardian site here

The International Criminal Court's Africa Problem
African political leaders widely believe that the the International Criminal Court is unfairly targeting Africans. At the recent African Union summit held on May 26-27, the AU's Assembly adopted a decision requesting the International Criminal Court refer back to Kenya its cases against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyata and Vice President William Ruto. This is the latest in a series of decisions since 2008 in which the African Union expressed its displeasure with the ICC.
To read more please visit the Al Jazeera English here

'Baba Jukwa' raises Zanu (PF) hackles (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwean politics is being shaken up by an unexpected source — a Facebook page being run by "Baba Jukwa", who produces daily revelations of wrongdoing by the country's leaders. His exposés range from alleged plans by President Robert Mugabe's party to rig general elections that are scheduled to take place this year, to naming officials who led the government crackdown against the opposition in the western region of Matabeleland, which killed as many as 20,000 people in the 1980s.
To read more please visit the Business Day Live site here

South Sudan 'will not go to war' over oil dispute
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has said he would refer oil arguments with neighbouring Sudan to African Union mediators, vowing not to take the country back to war. Speaking on Monday, he said Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was mobilising for war, something he would not inflict on South Sudan if it could be avoided. "The people of South Sudan should remain calm and patient as we work with the African Union to resolve this impasse with Sudan," Kiir told reporters, while condemning the "aggressive attitude" of Khartoum.
To read more please visit Al Jazeera English here

Zanzibar's Encroaching Ocean Means Less Water
Khadija Komboani's nearest well is filled with salt water thanks to the rising sea around Tanzania's Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar. And until recently, the 36-year-old mother of 12 from Nungwi village in Unguja on the northernmost part of Zanzibar, spent most of her day walking to her nearest fresh water supply to collect safe drinking water. "The water is very salty so it can't be used for anything. You will use a lot of soap and water if you use it for washing clothes or dishes. Another difficulty is that you can't use it for cooking or drinking. That is why we had to walk for long distances to collect water from fresh water wells," Komboani tells IPS.
To read more please visit the AllAfrica site here