[Onthebarricades] "Food riots" and price protests - Africa
Andy
ldxar1 at tesco.net
Wed Aug 27 05:30:50 PDT 2008
ON THE BARRICADES – Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/
* Reuters factbox: "food riots"
* SOMALIA: Mogadishu troops kill protesters; tens of thousands march,
stones thrown, roads blocked
* SENEGAL: Hundreds protest over food prices
* GABON: Police violently suppress food protests
* SOMALIA/PUNTLAND: Days of protest in regional capital
* KENYA: Repression of food protests
* BURKINA FASO: Food prices lead to strikes, demonstrations
* EGYPT: End to flour subsidy sparks protests, unrest in northern town
* TUNISIA: Militant demonstrations over commodity prices, unemployment - 1
killed by police
* SOUTH AFRICA: Strikes, street demonstrations and road blocks during
COSATU mobilisaiton over prices
* NIGER: Thousand protest over food, electricity
* SWAZILAND: Unions plan food price protest
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15794527.htm
FACTBOX-Food price rises spark protests
15 May 2008 15:12:10 GMT
Source: Reuters
May 15 (Reuters) - Anger over high food prices has sparked protests in
several countries. Surging food prices have posed a particular risk to poor
economies. Here are some details of recent price rise protests and
disturbances:
* BURKINA FASO -- Unions began a three-day general strike on May 13 against
soaring prices for food and fuel products. Several thousand demonstrators
later marched through the capital Ouagadougou in a noisy protest. Protests
had already triggered riots and looting in February during which more than
300 people were arrested. The government has moved to cut import duties and
to subsidise cereals to try to cushion the effects of high prices.
* MOROCCO -- Four unions staged a one-day strike in state schools and other
public services on May 13 to protest against soaring food prices but the
impact was mixed. The strike was seen as a test in a showdown between the
government and trade unions over a food prices crisis ahead of a general
strike planned for May 21.
* CAMEROON -- At least 24 people were killed in protests that erupted in
February and were linked partly to rising living costs. Human rights
activists put the death toll at 100. The government raised state salaries
and suspended customs duties on basic foodstuffs.
* IVORY COAST -- Police in Ivory Coast fired teargas at the end of March to
disperse demonstrators protesting against steep price rises in the
commercial capital, Abidjan.
* MOZAMBIQUE -- At least six people were killed in Mozambique in protests in
February over high fuel prices and living costs. The government agreed to
cut the price of diesel fuel for minibus taxis.
* SENEGAL -- More than 1,000 people, some carrying empty rice sacks, marched
through Senegal's capital Dakar on April 26 to protest against rising food
prices.
* SOMALIA -- A young man was shot dead when thousands protested in Mogadishu
earlier this month over Somali food traders' refusal to take old currency
notes amid spiralling inflation. A shopkeeper shot the young man dead after
dozens of protestors carrying clubs and stones broke into his store.
* SOUTH AFRICA -- Thousands of members of South Africa's powerful labour
federation marched through Johannesburg in April to protest against higher
food and electricity prices.
* HAITI -- Protests in Haiti over high rice prices brought down the prime
minister in April. At least six people were killed in two weeks of riots and
demonstrations in the poorest country in the Americas.
* ARGENTINA -- Striking farmers could lift their latest protest for 24
hours, if the government offers to negotiate. Farmers in Argentina, a
leading exporter of soy, wheat and corn, are locked in a two-month standoff
with the centre-left government over a tax hike on soy exports. Farmer have
already been on strike for three weeks until early April over tax policies
and other government measures, including export bans, aimed at taming food
price inflation.
* PERU -- More than 1,000 women protested outside Peru's Congress earlier
this month, to demand the government do more to counter rising food prices.
Upset by rising fertiliser costs and seeking debt relief, farmners blocked
rail and road links in February. They said a free trade deal with the United
States would flood markets with subsidized agricultural imports.
* BANGLADESH -- In April factory workers protested at Fatullah, 12 km (8
miles) east of the capital, Dhaka, against rising food prices, leaving at
least 50 people injured. Retail prices of wheat, edible oil and pulses had
doubled over the previous 12 months.
* VIETNAM -- Vietnam moved to quell panic over rice supplies on April 28,
banning speculation in the market after a "chaotic" buying binge highlighted
growing global fears about food security.
* AFGHANISTAN -- In the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad some 300 protesters
took to the streets in April over prices.
* RUSSIA - Thousands of people protested against rising food prices across
Russia in May, highlighting one of the biggest challenges before new
president, Dmitry Medvedev. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have
your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com) (Writing by
David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20080506090821907C886652
Somali food prices protest turns violent
May 06 2008 at 10:37AM
Mogadishu, Somalia - Troops fired into tens of thousands of rioting Somalis,
killing two people in the latest eruption of violence over soaring food
prices around the world.
Wielding thick sticks and hurling stones that smashed the windshields of
several cars and buses, the rioters jammed the narrow streets of the Somali
capital on Monday, screaming, "Down with those suffocating us!"
In Mogadishu, demonstrators including women and children marched to protest
the refusal of traders to accept old 1 000-shilling notes, blaming them and
a growing number of counterfeiters for rising food costs.
Within an hour, a reporter for The Associated Press watched their ranks
swell to tens of thousands, and the riot spread to all 13 districts of the
capital. Some threw rocks at shops and chaos erupted at the capital's main
Bakara market.
Hundreds of shops and restaurants in southern Mogadishu closed for fear of
looting. At least four other people were wounded in the violence, witnesses
said.
The price of rice and other staples has risen more than 40 percent since
mid-2007, leading to protests and riots in other nations, including Haiti,
Egypt, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
The Asian Development Bank said on Monday that a billion poor people in Asia
need food aid to help cope with the skyrocketing prices. And the president
of Senegal said the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation should
be dismantled, calling it a "money pit" and blaming it for the food crisis.
Soaring fuel prices, growing demand from the burgeoning middle classes in
India and China and poor weather have contributed to a jump in food prices
worldwide. Africa has been particularly hard-hit.
In Mogadishu, the price of corn meal has more than doubled since January.
Rice has risen during the same period from $26 (about R197,52) to $47,50 for
a 110-pound (50-kilogram) sack.
The cost of food has also been driven up by the plummeting Somali shilling,
which has lost nearly half its value against the US dollar in 2008 because
of growing insecurity and a market clogged with millions of counterfeit
notes. The shilling has tumbled from about 17 000 per US dollar to about 30
000.
"First we have been killed with bullets, now they are killing us with
hunger," said protester Halima Omar Hassan, a porter who hefts goods for
people on her back.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said Monday that he planned to create
a new currency in a bid to fight against counterfeiters who helped spark
massive inflation in the country. Ahmed - speaking in Paris, where he met
with top French officials - did not directly respond to a question about the
current situation in the Somali capital, saying only "the country has been
in chaos, in anarchy for a long time."
He said counterfeiters have long flourished in the lawless country flooding
it with "an incalculable number of fake bills."
"That led us to the kinds of financial and economic problems we're seeing,"
Ahmed told reporters in Paris following his meeting with French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner.
"But today we are determined to fight that and to create ... a new
currency," he said through a French translator.
At the riot on Monday, witnesses said troops opened fire in at least two
areas of the capital, though most soldiers were firing into the air.
One man shot by the troops died on the way to an operating room at the
capital's main hospital, Dr Dahir Dhere said.
And Abdinur Farah, a protester, said his uncle was hit when government
troops opened fire and died before he could reach a hospital.
"He was just peacefully expressing his feelings," said Farah, who was
marching with his uncle, his uncle's two wives and his uncle's six children.
"It is saddening that the very government which is supposed to support him,
killed him."
Somalia has been without a functioning government since the 1991 overthrow
of dictator Siad Barre.
Over the past year, thousands of civilians have been killed and hundreds of
thousands forced from homes in fighting pitting Islamist insurgents against
a UN-sponsored transitional government supported by troops from neighbouring
Ethiopia.
The UN food security unit warned last week that half of Somalia's population
of 7 million faces famine. It blamed an enduring drought as well as soaring
food prices.
In a statement late Sunday, Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade said he had
long called for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, a separate UN
agency, to be moved from Rome to Africa, "near the 'sick ones' it pretends
to care for."
But, "This time, I'm going further: It must be eliminated," he said.
Wade suggested its assets be transferred to the UN International Fund for
Agricultural Development, which he said was more efficient, and that that
agency set up headquarters in Africa "at the heart of the problem." The FAO
declined comment.
Wade's government in Senegal, in western Africa across the continent from
Somalia, responded to protest marches by securing a deal with India that
ensures Senegal's needs of 600 000 tons of rice a year are met for the next
six years.
In Burkina Faso, the government eliminated duties and taxes on rice, salt,
milk and all products used to prepare food for children.
Associated Press Writer Todd Pitman contributed to this report from Dakar,
Senegal. - Sapa-AP
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_East%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=nw20080506152117914C394934
Mogadishu food prices protest continues
May 06 2008 at 04:10PM
Mogadishu - Police opened fire in Mogadishu on Tuesday to disperse thousands
rallying against soaring inflation and food prices, witnesses said, a day
after gunshots from the security forces killed five in similar protests.
More than 10 000 people gathered in the southern neighbourhood of Madina and
marched towards the main Bakara trading district as the value of the local
currency plummeted once again.
Rally leaders vented anger at printers of fake money and traders whose
refusal to accept the local currency is blamed for helping to push inflation
to record levels.
Police fired in the air to disperse some violent protesters, injuring at
least five people in southern Mogadishu and the nearby Lafole district where
demonstrators smashed at least 10 cars, witnesses said.
"Security forces opened fire at demonstrators smashing cars, injuring three
of them," said Abdukadir Mohamed, a resident of Lafole, a district south of
the capital. Police in Madina wounded two protesters who stoned a security
patrol.
An important local cleric added his voice to the clamour over the worsening
food crisis in the war-torn and impoverished nation.
"This is the worst problem facing the planet. Nobody cares about civilians
and traders are harming us even more than Somalia's armed enemies now,"
Sheikh Mohamoud Abdulle told the crowd in Bakara.
"We can no longer ignore what is happening and we must respond to the best
of our ability," he said.
On Monday, rioters had set tyres on fire and smashed shop windows in the
trading district, drawing a fierce response from Somali security whose shots
had left five demonstrators dead, according to witnesses.
Traders, fearing for their lives, started accepting the Somali shilling
again on Tuesday, but the value of the local currency continued to plummet,
dropping from 25 000 to 31 000 shillings against the dollar.
"We are now accepting the Somali shillings, but the dollar's exchange rate
has shot through the sky, rising by nearly 6 000 shillings," said Hussein
Moalim Ali, a forex trader in Bakara market.
Although there are no official inflation figures, UN monitors say cereal
prices have increased by between 110 and 375 percent in the past year as
central Somalia has endured its worst drought in recent memory.
In 1991, when the country descended into lawlessness after the ouster of
dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, the greenback was exchanging at an average of 4
000 shillings. Since then, it has had no central bank to regulate inflation.
A shortage of dollars has led to a bumper crop of fake 1 000-shilling
notes - the only available denomination - appearing in market places and
fuelling the inflation problem in the country.
"We are urging security men in the market to kill anybody bringing fake
notes," said traders' spokesman Abbas Mohamed.
A vibrant market in mobile phones, weapons and basic foodstuffs had helped
to keep Somalia's inflation in check over the years.
But last week, the UN warned that hyperinflation and a sharp devaluation of
the Somali shilling had increased food prices, threatening the livelihood of
millions of people.
The dire situation has been exacerbated by relentless conflict as well as
the delayed start to the April-June rainy season.
Global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the
World Bank, sparking riots and protests in several poor countries.
The World Food Programme is seeking contributions for a $755-million
emergency fund while the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is raising
$1,7-billion to provide seeds to the poor and boost output.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/06/africa/AF-GEN-Somalia-Food-Riot.php
Youths damage shops, burn tires in food protest
The Associated Press
Published: May 6, 2008
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Hundreds of youths lobbed stones at shops and cars and
blocked roads with blazing tires here Tuesday in a second day of violence
over soaring food prices.
The unrest marked the latest upheaval for a population brutalized by rival
militias and troops in one of the world's most dangerous war zones.
Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Ethiopian troops supporting the
shaky U.N.-backed government of torturing and killing civilians in the
capital, Mogadishu — slitting throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping
women. Ethiopia vehemently denied the charges.
Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in December 2006 expecting to remain only
for weeks. They speedily drove out Islamist fighters who had seized control
of most of southern Somalia including Mogadishu.
But since then they have got bogged down and failed to halt the Islamists
who are now using roadside bombs and occasional suicide attacks. Besides the
insurgency, Somalia has been rent by years of violence between militias of
rival clan warlords.
Disturbances continued on the streets of Mogadishu Tuesday over high food
prices and few cars were on the streets.
Thousands of shops remained shuttered as young men hurled stones but the
unrest was not as widespread as Monday when tens of thousands took to the
streets in rioting that spread across the capital. Troops fired into the
crowds then, killing two people.
The protests were sparked by shopkeepers' refusal to accept some bank notes,
apparently because so many are counterfeit.
"Down with those printing the fake money!" the young men yelled Tuesday.
"Down with opportunists!"
Protester Abdinur Ileyke said: "We will not allow them to trade while we are
dying (of hunger) before their eyes."
On Tuesday, shop owners met and agreed to begin accepting the notes again.
In Mogadishu, the price of corn meal has more than doubled since January and
rice has risen from US$26 (€16.82) to US$47.50 (€30.72) for a 110-pound
(50-kilogram) sack.
Food costs also have been driven up by the plummeting Somali shilling, which
tumbled from about 17,000 to the U.S. dollar to about 30,000.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said Monday that he would create a
new currency to fight against counterfeiters who helped spark massive
inflation.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since the 1991 overthrow
of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The U.N. food security unit warned last week that half Somalia's 7 million
people face famine. It blamed an enduring drought and soaring food prices.
Last week, a U.S. airstrike killed the suspected al-Qaida leader in Somalia
and 24 others. It was the first successful strike against a significant
figure of several such attacks in Somalia. The United States fears the
country is a breeding ground and safe haven for international terrorists.
On Tuesday, Islamist fighters said an overnight U.S. airstrike blasted a
remote area of central Somalia hours after armed civilians met there, but
the U.S. military denied the claim.
Two Islamist insurgents said they heard airplanes overnight and about 10
explosions in the Odam rural area, where armed civilians had met Monday. The
fighters, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said
no one was hurt.
But a spokesman for the U.S. military's Central Command in Tampa, Florida,
said there was no strike. "We had no activities there overnight," said Capt.
Matt Hasson.
Last week's attack threatens to derail planned May 10 peace talks. The
biggest alliance supporting the insurgency said it might pull out because
the strike undermined the U.N.-sponsored conference.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0505/breaking29.htm
May 5, 2008, 10:51
Mogadishu hit by food price protests
Thousands of Somalis protested in Mogadishu's streets today, angry at food
traders refusing to take old currency notes that have been blamed for
spiralling inflation, witnesses said.
"The whole city is up in smoke," protestor Hussein Abdikadir told Reuters
while rolling a tyre he said he was planning to burn in the Buulahubey
neighbourhood of southern Mogadishu.
"Traders have refused to take old notes. Food prices are high and we have
nothing to eat. We will protest until the traders agree to take the notes
and sell us food," he said.
The Somali shilling is valued at roughly 34,000 to the dollar - more than
double what is was a year ago - and many blame counterfeiters who mint the
notes for the fall in value.
That has been doubly compounded by sharply rising world food prices, leaving
many in the lawless Horn of Africa nation of 10 million short of money to
buy food, prompting several protests or riots in the past six months.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20080505150558421C678102
Security forces kill Somali food protester
May 05 2008 at 03:53PM
Mogadishu - Somali security forces on Monday opened fired at crowds
protesting rising food prices in Mogadishu, killing one and wounding four
others, witnesses said.
"A police patrol opened fire on a crowd in K4 area, killing one and wounding
another," said Ahmad Ali Bashir, a witness.
Three other demonstrators were wounded in Bakara market and near the sea
port, all in southern Mogadishu, they said.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_East%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=nw20080507090355721C861469
Somali food protest 'turns ugly'
May 07 2008 at 09:44AM
Mogadishu, Somalia - Hundreds of youths lobbed stones at shops and cars and
blocked roads with blazing tires during second day of violence over soaring
food prices.
The unrest marked the latest upheaval for a population brutalised by rival
militias and troops in one of the world's most dangerous war zones.
Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Ethiopian troops supporting the
shaky UN-backed government of torturing and killing civilians in the
capital, Mogadishu - slitting throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping
women. Ethiopia vehemently denied the charges.
Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in December 2006 expecting to remain only
for weeks. They speedily drove out Islamist fighters who had seized control
of most of southern Somalia including Mogadishu.
But since then they have got bogged down and failed to halt the Islamists
who are now using roadside bombs and occasional suicide attacks. Besides the
insurgency, Somalia has been rent by years of violence between militias of
rival clan warlords.
Disturbances continued on the streets of Mogadishu on Tuesday over high food
prices and few cars were on the streets.
Thousands of shops remained shuttered as young men hurled stones but the
unrest was not as widespread as Monday when tens of thousands took to the
streets in rioting that spread across the capital. Troops fired into the
crowds then, killing two people.
The protests were sparked by shopkeepers' refusal to accept some bank notes,
apparently because so many are counterfeit.
"Down with those printing the fake money!" the young men yelled on Tuesday.
"Down with opportunists!"
Protester Abdinur Ileyke said: "We will not allow them to trade while we are
dying (of hunger) before their eyes."
On Tuesday, shop owners met and agreed to begin accepting the notes again.
In Mogadishu, the price of corn meal has more than doubled since January and
rice has risen from $26 (about R196,51) to $47,50 for a 50-kilogram sack.
Food costs also have been driven up by the plummeting Somali shilling, which
tumbled from about 17 000 to the US dollar to about 30 000.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said Monday that he would create a
new currency to fight against counterfeiters who helped spark massive
inflation.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since the 1991 overthrow
of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The UN food security unit warned last week that half Somalia's 7 million
people face famine. It blamed an enduring drought and soaring food prices.
Last week, a US airstrike killed the suspected al-Qaida leader in Somalia
and 24 others. It was the first successful strike against a significant
figure of several such attacks in Somalia.
The United States fears the country is a breeding ground and safe haven for
international terrorists.
On Tuesday, Islamist fighters said an overnight US airstrike blasted a
remote area of central Somalia hours after armed civilians met there, but
the US military denied the claim.
Two Islamist insurgents said they heard airplanes overnight and about 10
explosions in the Odam rural area, where armed civilians had met Monday.
The fighters, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation,
said no one was hurt.
But a spokesperson for the US military's Central Command in Tampa, Florida,
said there was no strike. "We had no activities there overnight," said Capt
Matt Hasson.
Last week's attack threatens to derail planned May 10 peace talks. The
biggest alliance supporting the insurgency said it might pull out because
the strike undermined the UN-sponsored conference.
Associated Press writers Michelle Faul and Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi,
Kenya, and Anita Powell in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this
report. - Sapa-AP
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/06/world/fg-somalia6
At least 5 killed in Somalia food riots
Armed troops and shopkeepers clash with stone-throwing crowds protesting
soaring prices and collapsing currency.
By Edmund S, Ers, and Lutfi Sheriff Mohammed
May 06, 2008
Thousands of angry Somalis rioted Monday over rising food prices and the
collapse of the nation’s currency, culminating in clashes with government
troops and armed shopkeepers that killed at least five protesters, witnesses
and officials said.
Shops and markets throughout Mogadishu quickly shut their doors as
protesters, including many women and children, stoned storefronts and
chanted slogans accusing traders of cheating them.
“I’ve never demonstrated before, but I’m not ashamed because if you can’t
eat, you will do whatever you can,” said Abdullahi Mohammed, 57, of
Mogadishu. “Before I was eating three times a day, but now sometimes it’s
not even once.”
Somalia’s beleaguered population is already coping with a civil war that
began with the collapse of the government in 1991. But recently, the Horn of
Africa nation’s food industry, which previously thrived thanks to private
traders, has been grappling with soaring inflation, spurred by an explosion
of counterfeit currency over the past year and the global spike in food
prices. Somalia imports at least 60% of its grain and its local crops this
year were devastated by a cycle of drought and flooding.
As a result, prices for rice, maize, sorghum and other cereals are up
between 100% and 400% over the past year. A sack of rice that sold for $32
only one month ago is now going for $52.
At the same time, the nation’s currency, the shilling, has lost half its
value against the U.S. dollar over the past year, requiring consumers to
carry sacks of money just to buy common grocery items.
Somalia joins a growing list of African countries where rising food prices
have led to violence, including Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Egypt.
Monday’s riots followed a smaller outbreak in the Somali capital last month.
Around the same time, rioters also looted two World Food Program trucks in
Mogadishu, apparently encouraged by a local government official who
announced on the radio that people should vent their frustration against the
WFP convoy rather than steal from local shops. The stolen food was
eventually returned to the WFP, with a government apology, according to a
spokesman for the program.
In recent days, unrest returned when shop owners, who had already been
pressuring customers to pay in dollars, said they would no longer accept
old, worn-out shillings.
Consumers blame traders for exploiting the current crisis, but retailers
insist their own suppliers will no longer accept Somalia’s older bills, some
of which date back to before 1991.
“I can’t accept the old money because I can’t use it to buy products again
from my wholesalers,” said Obey Mahad, who runs a food shop in the capital.
Traders fault the government for failing to address the violence and
lawlessness that have driven hundreds of importers to flee the country, and
for doing nothing to stop the printing of fake currency. Critics say
government officials may even be linked to the counterfeiting rings.
The U.N.-recognized transitional government is barely holding on to power,
supported by thousands of Ethiopian troops who in 2006 helped it topple an
Islamic regime that controlled Mogadishu.
During a news conference Monday, Mogadishu Mayor Mohammed Dheere blamed the
riots on traders and ordered them to accept all bills.
“They have almost of the money in the country,” Dheere said. “And they [feel
they] can just refuse whenever they want and accept whenever they want.”
The U.S. government, which supports the presence of Ethiopian troops in
Somalia, views the ongoing instability as a threat to global anti-terrorism
efforts. Last week, the U.S. military killed a top Islamist leader with
alleged links to Al Qaeda during an airstrike in central Somalia.
Even before the food and currency crises, aid groups had issued stark
warnings about an impending humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia. About 2.6
million Somalis, more than one-fourth of the population, are in need of food
aid, up 40% since January, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization. Rising prices are fueling a surge in unemployment among the
urban poor, who previously found work selling firewood or doing laundry but
now are unable to find even casual labor.
“I’m very worried because Somalia has so many people on the edge,” said
Peter Smerdon, spokesman for the World Food Program in Nairobi, which is
feeding nearly 2 million Somalis. “If rising food prices continue, Somalia
is going to get hammered. If the government can’t do anything, the question
is can aid agencies step up?”
edmund.sanders at latimes.com
Special correspondent Mohammed reported from Mogadishu and Times staff
writer Sanders from Nairobi, Kenya.
http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/west_africa/0,2172,168474,00.html
Hundreds protest against food prices in Senegal
Surging food prices have posed a particular risk to poor people
April 27, 2008, 08:00
More than 1 000 people, some carrying empty rice sacks, marched through
Senegal's capital Dakar yesterday to protest against rising food prices, the
latest such demonstration in impoverished West Africa. Aid experts say
soaring global prices for foodstuffs and fuel threaten to push 100 million
people worldwide into hunger, and governments in the poorest countries are
scrambling to find ways to mitigate the effects.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, whose nation imports more than 80% of
its rice needs, announced an ambitious plan last week to increase rice
production five-fold to 500 000 tonnes in a season. But many people say the
measures are not enough to prevent rice, the daily staple, from becoming a
luxury. They accuse Wade of focusing on glamorous infrastructure projects to
the detriment of his people's more basic needs. "President Wade has to stop
his prestigious expenses," shouted Ousmane Ndiaye, a 42-year-old teacher, as
other demonstrators chanted behind him.
"The measures announced so far will not get Senegal out of this food
crisis," he said. Parts of Dakar have been transformed over the past year as
four-lane highways and luxury hotels -- most of them unfinished -- began
springing up for the city to host an Islamic summit last month. But behind
the new palm-fringed oceanside highway, residents in its most populous
neighbourhoods are struggling to contend with rising prices for basic
utilities as well as food.
"Water is expensive, electricity is expensive," said one female protester,
utility bills stuck to her chest. The security forces monitored the
demonstration but kept a low profile, unlike in Cameroon where dozens of
people were killed in February during riots fuelled by anger over the cost
of living. - Reuters
http://www.feedzilla.com/news-archive/world-news/2008-04-25-africa-gabon.html
Gabonese police attack fresh protests at soaring prices (AFP via Yahoo!
News)
Police violently broke up fresh protests on Friday against soaring food
prices in the capital Libreville, witnesses and organisers said, a day after
Gabon decided to suspend food taxes temporarily.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804210734.html
Somalia: Second Day of Protests in Puntland Capital
Garowe Online (Garowe)
19 April 2008
Posted to the web 21 April 2008
Puntland
Somalis in the northern region of Puntland took to the streets Saturday for
the second straight day of protests against hyperinflation and the worsening
economic situation, Radio Garowe reported.
Hundreds of protestors including women and students walked up and down the
main streets in Garowe, the capital of the northern region of Puntland.
Protestors chanted words directed against the policies of the Puntland
government and the local business community, with angry crowds blaming
traders for the rising price of goods.
Unlike Friday, protestors today did not block roads or throw stones at
government buildings and business centers.
However, most businesses remained closed for fear of looters hiding among
the demonstrators.
Garowe police arrested at least four men involving in criminal activities
while the peaceful protest was in progress, police officials said.
The government of Puntland has not yet commented on two days of protests in
the capital city.
On Thursday, a Puntland Cabinet meeting concluded with the government
deciding to lower the taxes on necessary goods by 25% and impose a fixed
exchange rate for the U.S. dollar.
Puntland government officials want money changers to trade $100 U.S. dollars
for a fixed rate of 1,800,000 Shillings. But the market value exchange rate
now stands at 3,200,000 Shillings per $100 U.S. dollars.
It is not clear how a fixed exchange rate can be applied in Puntland, but
the government issued a similar decree last year that had no affect on the
market.
Critics allege Puntland government officials and allied business interests
are directly involved in the printing of counterfeit Shillings, an illegal
practice that has affected markets across Somalia.
The Puntland Ministry of Finance recently denied reports that Shillings were
being minted locally.
http://www.afrol.com/articles/29173
Four arrested in Nairobi food protests
afrol News, 2 June - Four protesters were arrested last Saturday in the
Kenyan capital Nairobi for protesting against the soaring food prizes.
Police described their demonstration as illegal and fired tear gas to
disperse the crowd counted in hundreds. Demonstrators were waving placards
demanding government to cut down prizes of staple food like maize meal in
the country.
Kenya has been hit by a rapid increase of over 6% inflation between March
and April this year (21.8% to 26.6%)mainly because of current hikes in food
prizes worldwide.
Although President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya acknowledged that Kenyans are
feeling the burden of increased prize in basic commodities he has however
urged them to also admit that the rest of the world is feeling the pressure
too.
In a speech published on the state house website, he revealed that his
government plans to import 3 million bags of maize in the next two months as
part of cushioning for the shocks.
Mr. Kibaki further said that his government was increasing funding for
expansion of the strategic grain reserve from 4 million to 8 million bags of
maize in the next two years as a medium term measure.
"The government is also making available, cheaper fertilizer through the
national cereals and produce board, which will in turn lower the cost of
maize production in the country. In addition to the political challenges we
faced early this year, we are also facing serious social challenges caused
by the rapid rise in the cost of living over the last few months. The
government is also making available, cheaper fertilizer through the national
cereals and produce board, which will in turn lower the cost of maize
production in the country", the president added.
The recently published report prepared by Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations had projected an increase in a
range from less than 10 percent for rice and sugar, under 20 percent for
wheat, around 30 percent for butter, coarse grains and oilseeds to over 50
percent for vegetable oils.
The report further estimates about 850 million people in the world today
suffering from hunger and about 820 million live in developing countries.
The report alludes to growing demand for biofuel as another factor
contributing to higher prices. World fuel ethanol production has tripled
between 2000 and 2007 and is expected to double again between now and 2017
to reach 127 billion litres a year. The growth in biofuel production adds to
demand for grains, oilseeds and sugar, contributing to higher crop prices.
The protests come at a time when Kenya is still recovering from the
country's disputed presidential election in December that had left 1,500
people dead and an estimated 600,000 people displaced in the aftermath of
post-elections violence. Granaries and farms were also burnt to ashes,
contributing to the current shortages in food supplies.
Meanwhile, heads of states from United Nations' member countries are
expected to address and deliberate on food security issues in the face of
soaring food prices and the new challenges of climate change and energy
security in upcoming 'High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the
Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy will be in Rome Italy from 3 to 5
June 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/31/2261419.htm
Kenya police disperse food protesters
Posted Sat May 31, 2008 11:37pm AEST
Kenyan police have fired teargas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators
protesting against high food prices in the east African country.
Food prices have risen sharply in the region's biggest economy since a
political crisis over a disputed election led to food shortages.
Annual inflation rose to 26.6 per cent in April from 21.8 per cent in March
because of food prices.
"The government must subsidise the cost of food, it is not fair for the poor
to be suffering with high food prices yet the government has not increased
salaries," one of the organisers, Tom Aosa, said.
Several protesters were bundled into police cars during the march. Nairobi's
police chief Tito Kilonzi said the demonstration was illegal. Four people
were arrested, he told reporters.
The marchers carried placards urging the government to slash the cost of
maize flour, a Kenyan staple, to 30 shillings ($0.50) from the current 80
shillings.
"On Monday [a public holiday] your families will eat chicken, meat, and
chapattis, what do you expect us to eat, if we cannot afford to make Ugali,
leaves?" shouted one angry protester.
Sharp hikes for essential food and fuel have triggered riots and protests in
African countries from neighbouring Somalia to Cameroon and Senegal in West
Africa.
In Kenya, violence after President Mwai Kibaki's disputed election last
December killed more then 1,200 and displaced 300,000 others, while maize in
granaries and on farms was set ablaze.
Mr Kibaki has ordered the state cereals board to import three million bags
of maize for the country as the agricultural sector gets back on its feet.
- Reuters
http://story.australianherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08dd24cec417021/id/365815/cs/1/
Sporadic food riots break out in Kenya
Australian Herald
Saturday 31st May, 2008
Demonstrators in Kenya have called on the government to introduce subsidies
to battle rising food prices.
Police said they arrested four demonstrators, who were demanding that the
government slash the price of maize.
Inflation in the east African nation jumped to 26.6 percent in April from
21.8 percent the previous month due to the rising cost of food.
Upward global pressure on food prices has been exacerbated in Kenya by the
post-election violence as grain stores were set on fire and farmers quit
their fields to flee the fighting.
Some 350,000 people fled their homes after December's elections, when
violent clashes followed opposition leader Raila Odinga's claims that
President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity rigged the elections.
More than 1,000 people died in clashes between rival tribes affiliated to
the political parties.
Sharply-rising food prices have already triggered sometimes-deadly protests
in African nations such as Somalia, Senegal and Burkina Faso.
http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/east_africa/0,2172,170633,00.html
Kenya police disperse food protesters
Hundreds of demonstrators protested against high food prices in the east
African country
May 31, 2008, 14:00
Kenyan police fired teargas today to disperse hundreds of demonstrators
protesting against high food prices in the east African country.
Food prices have risen sharply in the region's biggest economy since a
political crisis over a disputed election led to food shortages. Annual
inflation rose to 26.6% in April from 21.8% in March because of food prices.
"The government must subsidise the cost of food, it is not fair for the poor
to be suffering with high food prices yet the government has not increased
salaries," said Tom Aosa, one of the organisers.
Four people arrested
Several protesters were bundled into police cars during the march. Nairobi's
police chief Tito Kilonzi said the demonstration was illegal. Four people
were arrested, he told reporters.
The marchers carried placards urging the government to slash the cost of
maize flour, a Kenyan staple, to 30 shillings from the current 80 shillings.
Sharp hikes for essential food and fuel have triggered riots and protests in
African countries from neighbouring Somalia to Cameroon and Senegal in West
Africa.
In Kenya, violence after President Mwai Kibaki's disputed election last
December killed more then 1 200 and displaced 300 000 others, while maize in
granaries and on farms was set ablaze. Kibaki has ordered the state cereals
board to import three million bags of maize for the country as the
agricultural sector gets back on its feet. - Reuters
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2332634,00.html
Police arrest 8 at food protest
31/05/2008 20:08 - (SA)
Nairobi - Kenyan police fired tear gas and arrested eight people during a
protest on Saturday over high food prices, an organiser said.
Hundreds of people took part in the demonstration to complain that high
inflation had made it difficult for many poor Kenyans to feed their
families, organizer George Nyongesa said.
Nyongesa said the protest was peaceful and sanctioned by a permit, but
police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Eight people were detained without charge, though one has since been
released, Nyongesa said.
Police did not return calls seeking comment.
Kenya has been doubly hit by globally rising food prices and by riots that
followed disputed elections in December. More than 1 000 people were killed
in the riots, and at least a tenth of the country's crop was destroyed. Many
farmers have still not returned home.
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-05/2008-05-14-voa36.cfm?CFID=23779245&CFTOKEN=43280315
Burkina Faso Strikers Demand Pay Increase, Protest Rising Prices
By Ricci Shryock
Dakar
14 May 2008
Shryock report - Download (MP3)
Shryock report - Listen (MP3)
Protesters in Burkina Faso have marched in the streets of the capital
Ouagadougou on the second day of a partially-observed general strike against
rising prices. Strikers from the government sector are also demanding a pay
increase. For VOA, Ricci Shryock reports from Dakar, Senegal.
A demonstration held by the labor union in Ouagadougou, placard reads: 'Life
is expensive, do you want our flesh,' (File)
Residents in Burkina Faso marched in the streets of several cities,
protesting salary freezes and the rising cost of living. Some carried pots
and pans and empty sacks of rice.
They also demanded the government raise their wages.
At the end of the march, organizers from the West African country's unions
and civil organizations urged people to continue the strike Thursday.
There was heavy security.
The secretary general of the main union behind the protest, Tole Sagnoon,
said people must wake up and change things, and they must be ready to
continue the struggle.
Marchers say their salaries are not enough to pay for simple products such
as bread and rice. They are calling for the government to pay them a
retroactive 25 percent increase in their salaries, beginning from January
2001.
Ouagadougou resident Diane Sanwide says her salary does not stretch far
enough to cover her monthly expenses.
Sanwide says she decided to march, because the issue is important and needs
to be addressed by the government.
A journalist in Ouagadougou, Zoumana Wonogo, says the government tried to
prevent the protest by releasing a statement Monday that promised formal
talks with union and civil leaders in September.
"The government says it is not a problem concerning only Burkina Faso. And
in this way, the government begged the association to wait for another
moment," said Wonogo.
In a letter earlier in the month, Burkina Faso Minister of Labor Jerome
Bougouma said the government cannot provide salary increases, but it is
working to cut taxes on food and gas.
Union leaders said they went ahead with the strike because they want
immediate government policies and not just promises of future change. Higher
prices have hit self-employed people in the informal sector even harder.
Since Monday, students have not gone to class and administrators at the
state-owned electricity company have been on strike, so residents cannot pay
their electricity bills.
More than half a dozen African countries have experienced riots in recent
months because of protests tied to food shortages and escalating prices.
International financial and aid organizations are focusing on needed
improvements within agricultural sectors that can help provide food for
local populations.
U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon said the world needs to provide $1.7 billion to
help African farmers buy seeds and fertilizers.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011210997
Egyptians Protest End To Flour Subsidy
ShareThis
June 9, 2008 5:48 a.m. EST
Joseph Mayton - AHN Middle East Correspondent
Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - Thousands of Egyptians in a northern coastal town took
to the streets as the government cut the long-running subsidy on flour
rations. The incident is the most recent in months of battles between the
average citizen and the government, who Egyptians blame as not doing enough
to curtail rising food prices and low wages.
Since the beginning of the year, the World Bank has reported the cost of
living for Egypt to have risen as much as 50 percent, possibly more. This,
doubled with little to no increase on salaries has left many Egyptians
struggling to feed their families.
According to police reports, some 8,000 protestors sealed off a main road in
the town of Burullus for seven hours, burning tires to stop traffic.
Police responded by firing teargas and charging the crowd with batons in an
attempt to disperse the masses. At least three demonstrators were
hospitalized due to the gas.
Security forces arrested 30 people, the state-owned Al Ahram daily newspaper
reported. The paper added that one security source revealed that rubber
bullets had been fired into the crowds.
The move to end subsidies on flour has been replaced with the government's
decision to supply bakeries with cheaper flour instead, a move that has
angered much of the nation.
http://africa.reuters.com/business/news/usnBAN752720.html
Egyptians protest bread shortages, clash with police
Sat 7 Jun 2008, 13:38 GMT
[-] Text [+]
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of Egyptian demonstrators sealed off a road and
burned tyres on Saturday to protest at bread shortages in the northern
coastal town of Burullus, security sources said.
Police used teargas and batons to disperse the crowds and three protesters
were hospitalised suffering from teargas inhalation, the sources said.
One security source said rubber bullets had been fired at the crowd.
Protesters accused local officials and bakeries of stealing flour earmarked
for subsidised bread, causing shortages.
High wheat prices have put great strain on Egypt's bread subsidy system,
where the urban poor depend on cheap bread to survive.
The demand for subsidised bread has grown and the heavy subsidy has
increased the incentive to divert subsidised flour illegally to other uses.
Egypt said in May it would add at least 17 million people to the ranks of
ration card holders to ease the effect of rising food prices.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07142958.htm
Egypt police clash with protesters, arrest 30
07 Jun 2008 21:15:15 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds details from paper, updates report on causes)
CAIRO, June 7 (Reuters) - Thousands of Egyptian demonstrators clashed with
police to protest a decision by local authorities to end distribution of
flour rations in the northern coastal town of Burullus, security sources
said.
The state-owned al-Ahram newspaper said around 8,000 protestors sealed off a
road for seven hours, using burning tyres to stop traffic.
Police used teargas and batons to disperse the crowds and three protesters
were hospitalised after inhaling teargas, security sources said. Police made
30 arrests, according to al-Ahram.
One security source said rubber bullets had been fired at the crowd.
Security sources said earlier the protests were caused by bread shortages,
but subsequent reports said the protestors, primarily local fisherman, were
angered by the local authority's decision to end direct distribution of
flour rations in favour of supplying bakeries with the flour.
High wheat prices have put great strain on Egypt's bread subsidy system,
where the urban poor depend on cheap bread to survive.
The demand for subsidised bread has grown and the heavy subsidy has
increased the incentive to divert subsidised flour illegally to other uses.
Egypt said in May it would add at least 17 million people to the ranks of
ration card holders to ease the effect of rising food prices. (Writing by
Aziz El-Kaissouni, editing by Mary Gabriel)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25048249/
Egyptians clash with police in bread riot
Like much of the world, Egypt has been wracked by rising food prices
updated 8:27 p.m. ET June 8, 2008
CAIRO, Egypt - Thousands of demonstrators fought with police after a protest
over flour rations in a town on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, a security
official and state media said Sunday.
The state-owned daily Al-Ahram said some 8,000 protesters sealed off the
main Cairo-Mediterranean highway for seven hours Saturday and burnt tires to
stop traffic. Police fired tear gas and arrested dozens to disperse the
crowd,
A security official said police were questioning 87 suspects.
The protesters were angered by the decision of authorities in Burullus to
stop distributing subsidized flour directly to residents and instead deliver
it exclusively to bakeries, the official said on condition of anonymity
because he is not authorized to give statements.
Fishermen in Burullus prefer to bake a type of bread suited to long fishing
voyages instead of buying the standard subsidized bread from bakeries.
There have also been accusations by the government that people are selling
the subsidized flour on the black market for a profit, leading to shortages.
Like much of the rest of the world, Egypt has been wracked by rising food
prices and stagnant wages, resulting in protests and demonstrations.
There has also been a shortage of the subsidized bread relied on by vast
segments of this impoverished country of 76.5 million.
Some 10 people were reported killed since the beginning of the year after
scuffles in bread lines.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011191117
Rising Prices Fuel Tensions In Tunisia, 1 Protester Killed
ShareThis
June 6, 2008 4:08 p.m. EST
Linda Young - AHN Editor
Tunis, Tunisia (AHN) - Weeks of protests in the North African country of
Tunisia over high unemployment, poor living conditions and high prices of
essentials boiled over into violence on Friday leaving one person dead and
others injured.
When some members of a crowd of protesters in Tunisia attacked police in the
south-western town of Redeyef, the officers opened fire on the crowd. The
protests took place in the Gafsa mining region of the central part of the
country.
And the violent clashes between police and protesters in Tunisia were not
the only protests as incidents occurred in other countries where
dissatisfaction over the cost of living has created unrest.
Police in Mumbai arrested 20 people during protests over inflation there and
India saw its second day of protests disrupt road and rail traffic in some
places on Friday.
On Thursday, angry opposition party protesters gathered in Malaysia to
express their concerns over the government's decision to raise fuel prices.
Rising fuel prices are making fuel unfordable for some individuals sparking
social unrest.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/06/africa/AF-GEN-Tunisia-Protest-Violence.php
One dead, several injured in clashes between police, protesters in Tunisia,
officials say
The Associated Press
Published: June 6, 2008
TUNIS, Tunisia: Violent clashes erupted Friday between protesters and police
in central Tunisia, leaving one person dead and at least eight other people
injured, government and labor union officials said.
Some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and police responded by opening fire
as months of intermittent protest over high unemployment and poor living
conditions in the Gafsa mining region took a violent turn.
In the clashes Friday in the town of Redeyef, a 25-year-old protester was
killed and ten other people were injured, said local labor union leader
Messaoud Romdhani. Government officials confirmed one person had died, but
counted five protesters and three police officers injured.
Earlier the government issued a statement warning that some protesters had
thrown "incendiary bottles" despite warning shots from security forces.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/07/world/fg-tunisia7
Archive for Saturday, June 07, 2008
1 killed, 8 hurt in protests in central Tunisia
June 07, 2008
Violent clashes erupted Friday between protesters and police in central
Tunisia, leaving one person dead and at least eight injured, government and
labor union officials said.
Some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and police opened fire as months of
intermittent protests over unemployment and living conditions in the Gafsa
mining region took a violent turn.
A 25-year-old protester was killed in the town of Redeyef and 10 people were
injured, said local labor union leader Messaoud Romdhani. Government
officials confirmed that one person had died, but counted five protesters
and three police officers injured.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Finance%20And%20Labour&set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=nw20080716171033794C279480
Textile workers support protests
July 16 2008 at 05:26PM
Almost 80 percent of all clothing and textile workers in the Free State and
Northern Cape took part in Cosatu's protest action against electricity
prises, the Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) said
on Wednesday.
Deputy general-secretary for the union Andre Kriel said 77 percent of
workers in the two provinces took part in the protest action by staying away
from work on Wednesday.
Thousands of people took part in protest marches in Bloemfontein and
Kimberley and handed over memorandums to government and Eskom.
Kriel said the clothing and textile industries in the two provinces came to
a standstill.
He said last week 88 percent of clothing, textile and footwear workers in
the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal participated in Cosatu's first day of
mass action against the "electricity crisis".
Kriel said in the Free State large companies such as Amica Fashions, Apple
Jeans, Manhood Clothing and Top Denim in Botshabelo and In Focus, Tradelink,
SA Cloth and Robin Clothing in Qwa Qwa reported workers participating in the
protest action.
"Clothing and textile workers are the lowest paid in manufacturing and their
budgets are already stretched thin by rising fuel, transport and food
prices," Kriel said in a statement.
He said the increasing electricity prices would add to the difficulties
workers were experiencing. - Sapa
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080716175209279C599608
Thousands march in support of Cosatu protest
July 16 2008 at 06:11PM
Thousands of workers took to the streets in the Free State, Northern Cape,
and Mpumalanga on Wednesday in support of the Congress of SA Trade Unions'
(Cosatu) protest against rocketing food and electricity prices.
Marchers in Bloemfontein urged government not to let ordinary people pay for
its failure not to invest in power in the 1990s.
"We must not be the victims of this electricity crisis," said Bheki
Ntshalintshali, Cosatu deputy general secretary.
"We cannot afford the 27,5 percent increase in electricity," he told
protesters at the Lebohang building.
Further increases meant workers would suffer the most, especially if
employers started retrenching people.
He implicated President Thabo Mbeki and Deputy President Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka amongst those whose mistakes workers had to pay for.
"We are called to pay the cost for mistakes of others," he said.
In a memorandum handed to Free State premier Beatrice Marshoff, the trade
union federation demanded that the electrification programme to poor
households not be compromised.
Cosatu said the mining industry should also not be "sacrificed" in an effort
to manage the crisis.
Earlier on Wednesday, several hundred bus passengers were stranded at the
Central Park bus terminal in Bloemfontein's central business district (CBD)
due to drivers taking part in the one day stayaway.
All operations at the Beatrix gold mine of Gold Fields were affected by the
Cosatu action, while De Beers said there was no impact on three of the four
operations in the Northern Cape and Free State.
The Free State health department said only about 200 workers, out of about
16 000, were absent from work.
Almost 80 percent of all clothing and textile workers in the Free State and
Northern Cape took part in the protest action, the Southern African Clothing
& Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU) said.
In Kimberley in the Northern Cape, about 2 000 workers marched through the
streets.
Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi addressed the crowd at Eskom's
offices before the marchers moved to the buildings of the old Northern Cape
Legislature in Kimberley.
And in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, over a thousand workers heeded the call to
protest.
Mpumalanga Cosatu spokesperson Raymond Mnguni said more than 60 percent of
businesses ground to a halt and many shops, factories and companies closed
for the day.
"Many production industries operated on skeleton staff," he said.
Memorandums were handed over to senior managers from Eskom and Sasol who
said they would take them to their bosses to find a way forward, said
Mnguni.
The marches were considered by Cosatu to be a good build-up to a national
strike on August 6.
Meanwhile, Cosatu in the Western Cape has distanced itself from an email
doing the rounds suggesting that the province will be on strike on Wednesday
July 23.
"This email goes as far as threatening violence against those who may defy
this strike action," the union said.
However, no protest action was scheduled for the province that day, and
Cosatu did not condone violence or intimidatory tactics to coerce people to
action.
"We believe in our cause and given our support see no reason for such
tactics in any case," the federation said. - Sapa
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2354370,00.html
Dbn CBD shuts down for protest
09/07/2008 09:58 - (SA)
Durban - Businesses in Durban's city centre closed shop on Wednesday morning
ahead of a planned trade union protest against spiralling food, fuel and
other costs.
Taxis and buses were also not operating.
Metro police spokesperson Superintendent John Tyala said Durban was quiet
and that no blockades or incidents of intimidation had been reported by
shortly after 09:00.
Businesses along the city's busier streets in the central business district
were shuttered and even traders and hawkers were absent.
On Tuesday, the chairperson of KwaZulu-Natal's largest taxi association
warned employers that their vehicles would "go up in flames" if they did not
support the strike organised by the Congress of South African Trade Unions
(Cosatu).
Eugene Hadebe, the province's Transport Alliance boss, threw down the
gauntlet.
"We want the bosses to collect workers from the places where they live.
Their vehicles will go up in flames. I am warning them," he said.
Protests in Cape Town, Durban and Newcastle
He was speaking ahead of a series of protests and stayaways organised by
Cosatu in Cape Town, Durban and Newcastle.
Hadebe said the alliance's members would also be joining the two Cosatu
marches in Durban and Newcastle.
Newcastle police spokesperson Captain Shooz Magudulela said protesters had
been gathering at Trim Park in the town since early morning.
"But there have been no incidents so far...we are monitoring them."
He said there had also been no blockades on any roads.
Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi was expected to address marchers in
Durban later on Wednesday. They were expected to gather at Curries Fountain
stadium from 10:00 and then make their way to the city centre.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Finance%20And%20Labour&set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=nw20080709125203176C246431
Durban businesses hit by Cosatu protest
July 09 2008 at 02:05PM
Durban businesses on Wednesday reported that up to 80 percent of their
labour failed to turn up for work ahead of the planned Cosatu protest
against spiralling food, fuel and other costs.
Denise Chendip, acting chief executive for the Durban Chamber of Commerce,
said all businesses had agreed that the mass action had affected them
considerably in terms of production.
"There is about 80 percent absenteeism in labour intensive companies. Many
companies had negotiated with their shop stewards and staff to close for
today (Wednesday) and cover up for it over the weekend."
By midday on Wednesday, Chendip said the Chamber had not received any
reports of business staff being intimidated or shops being damaged.
Businesses along the city's busy Smith and West streets were shuttered and
even traders and hawkers were absent. Taxis and buses were also not
operating.
A growing crowd of 3 000 protesters converged at Durban's Curries Fountain
stadium and started marching towards the city centre by 10.30am.
A Sapa reporter at the scene said protesters were singing Jacob Zuma's
trademark tune Umshini Wam.
One was seen with a replica of a machine gun made out of plastic piping.
Among the marchers were senior alliance leaders, including SA Communist
Party general secretary Blade Nzimande, and leaders of the Denosa nurses'
union.
By midday Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi had joined in the
protest. There was a heavy police presence including a water cannon along
the route.
Prosecutors at the Durban Magistrate's Court and the Commercial Crime Court
said all cases would be remanded due to the protest.
"Many accused that are out on bail have not pitched up because they had no
transport to come to court. Proceedings have been hindered by this protest,"
said a prosecutor, who declined to be named.
The city's main taxi and bus rank at Warwick Triangle was closed. Bus
terminals were also empty.
Metro police spokesperson Superintendent John Tyala said no blockades or
incidents of intimidation had been reported.
However, SA Police Service spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge
confirmed a blockade by taxis on the N2 southbound near the Petro Port
station.
"About 20 taxis blocked the road and police are there at the scene. We are
going to tow them away. They are going to pay hefty prices for the release
of their vehicles."
No arrests had been made, and no incidents of violence were reported, Mdunge
said.
The chamber's spokesperson Zama Phakathi earlier told Sapa that hundreds of
businesses had been closed and that due to taxis and buses being
non-operational many people were stranded without transport to work. - Sapa
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2354772,00.html
2 000 join rainy Cosatu protest
09/07/2008 20:05 - (SA)
Cape Town - About 2 000 people, many of them carrying umbrellas, braved
spitting rain on Wednesday to march on Parliament in a Cosatu-led protest
against rising electricity and food prices.
The protest, along with a call for a day-long general work stay-away in the
Western Cape, was timed to coincide with similar marches in KwaZulu-Natal.
March leaders handed over a memorandum to representatives of Parliament,
Eskom and organised business.
The memorandum said Cosatu demanded as "an absolutely basic principle" that
the costs of electricity cuts should not be borne by the poorest in society,
and that workers should not be retrenched because of the cuts.
Chairperson of the SA Communist Party in the province, Karl Cloete, told
marchers that South Africa's coal mines, its major source of power
generation, should be nationalised along with Sasol, which was producing 40%
of the country's fuel, but still charging international prices.
Working-class plight
He said the Western Cape message ahead of the 2009 general election was that
it was the tripartite alliance that had to govern, not just the African
National Congress.
The coming ANC Western Cape provincial conference had to produce leadership
that understood the plight of the working class, he said.
Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said labour had been negotiating
these issues with the government and business at Nedlac for some time, but
with no result.
"If there's no solution, we will bring this country to a standstill," he
said.
He repeated Cosatu's call for a basic income grant, which had already been
rejected by the government.
He said the grant would cost the country R25m, while the government each
year gave back R137bn to the wealthy in tax cuts.
"Now isn't that just criminal... how can we give money back to the wealthy
when people don't have enough to eat?" he asked.
Although the march was billed as a tripartite alliance event, there was no
speaker from the African National Congress.
Ehrenreich said ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha had been scheduled
to speak, but was ill and had sent apologies.
The march was initially called off on Tuesday morning, as rainstorms
continued to soak the city centre, but was reinstated after plans had
already been made to hold an indoor rally instead.
Ehrenreich said initial indications were that there had been a stay-away
rate of more than 50% in most sectors.
"The strike was an incredible success. A clear message has been sent to the
government that policies are hurting people, and there's a need for urgent
action," he said.
Some sectors not affected
Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Albert Schuitmaker
said the feedback his organisation had had was that no particular industry
sector was badly affected by the strike, and many were not affected at all.
Some individual companies had felt its effects - one had reported a 90%
stayaway.
But in the clothing sector, for example, although one company was badly
affected, five others reported no problem at all.
"It appears that it did not have a major impact," he said.
He said all companies operated on a no-work, no-pay rule.
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2362704,00.html
Protesters hand memo to MEC
23/07/2008 15:52 - (SA)
Want to know more?
Answerit can help.
· Cosatu protests hit 4 provinces
· Cosatu protesters 'disgusted'
· Thousands expected to protest
· Commuters left stranded
· Cosatu calls on civil society
Johannesburg - A second memorandum was handed to MEC for local government
Qedani Mahlangu by Congress of SA Trade Union members protesting over rising
prices in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Cosatu's Gauteng secretary Siphiwe Mgcina delivered the document, saying he
hoped the government would communicate with the union federation's leaders
to find a lasting resolution to the electricity crisis.
"On behalf of government I have taken the memorandum so that we can evaluate
it and find a solution," said Mahlangu.
She thanked marchers for their peaceful behaviour throughout the day and
said the government would meet Cosatu before the national stayaway on August
6.
Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini said marchers turned out in numbers in
response to "the war declared by capitalists".
'Johannesburg can stand still'
"They (capitalists) were driven by the desire to privatise Eskom, therefore
the streets of Johannesburg can just stand still," he said.
Dlamini said workers and the poor should not suffer because of Eskom, and
blamed the company for the retrenchments of miners.
He said those responsible for high food prices should be criminally charged,
labelling them as greedy.
Earlier a memorandum of demands was given to Eskom.
"We know the increase in electricity prices has affected the working class
and we are working with stakeholders to minimise the effect," Hugh McGibbon,
Eskom's general manager in the central region, told some 25 000 protesters.
The march was part of mass action in Johannesburg, the Eastern Cape, North
West and Limpopo against rising electricity and food prices.
"The memorandum is about serious issues and we will treat it seriously,"
McGibbon said as protesters chanted "no to electricity hikes", referring to
a 27.5% increase in Eskom tariffs.
Alternative energy sources
The document detailed demands, including that workers not be retrenched as a
result of power cuts. It also called on the government to invest in the
development of alternative energy sources.
Earlier, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said: "Together we have
formed a broad coalition of organisations prepared to register their disgust
at the spiralling cost of living affecting people."
He said those who complained about disruptions in the city centre should be
thankful that there was a solid trade union movement that could organise
workers in a disciplined way.
Dressed in red t-shirts and caps, Cosatu members held placards reading "Away
with food prices" and "Away with high fuel prices".
Entrepreneurs were selling food and vuvuzelas to the group. The march was
expected to see road closures in the city until 15:00.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Finance%20And%20Labour&set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=nw20080723125044617C532393
Protesters show 'disgust' about rising prices
July 23 2008 at 01:04PM
A 25 000-strong protest march in Johannesburg on Wednesday showed how
"disgusted" people were at the spiralling costs of living, said Cosatu
general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
"Together we have formed a broad coalition of organisations prepared to
register their disgust at the spiralling cost of living affecting people,"
Vavi said as the crowd excitedly welcomed him with a song and the blowing of
vuvuzelas.
He chanted "amandla", to which the crowd replied: "awethu" outside the
Braamfontein offices of Eskom where the Congress of SA Trade Unions would
hand over a memorandum protesting against rising electricity prices.
Vavi said the protests had also brought the Eastern Cape, North West and
Limpopo to a standstill.
He said those who complained about disruptions in the city centre should be
thankful that there was a solid trade union movement that could organise
workers in a disciplined way.
Johannesburg metro police estimated that some 25 000 people were
participating in the march.
Earlier, Cosatu's Gauteng chairperson Thuthas Tseki said the government
should drop interest rates and intervene against rising food and fuel
prices.
"Everything is shooting through the roof... If the government doesn't
respond, we will continue protesting," he said.
Dressed in red t-shirts and caps, members of the trade union federation held
placards reading "Away with food prices" and "Away with high fuel prices".
Entrepreneurs were selling food and vuvuzelas to the group whose march would
see road closures in the city centre from 11am until 3pm.
Cosatu is also planning a national stayaway for August 6. - Sapa
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Finance%20And%20Labour&set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=nw20080723130706670C602864
'Workers have good reason to protest'
July 23 2008 at 01:11PM
Cosatu members have good reason to protest, concludes an Ipsos Markinor
survey released on Wednesday as the trade union federation staged protests
against rising electricity and food prices.
The survey found that the majority of Congress of SA Trade Union members did
not think the government was handling rising costs well.
"Looking at income and price trends, Cosatu members have good reason to be
unhappy," said the research house.
"During the period May 2007 to May 2008 food prices increased by 16,8
percent while earnings per capita increased by 12 percent.
"Furthermore, during the same period fuel prices increased by 35,6 percent,
which together with the prices of goods such as medical care and health
expenses, transport, housing, household operation goods and services and
personal care goods grew much faster than the said 12 percent earnings
increases.
"This implies that workers were in real terms becoming poorer during the
past year."
In the Ipsos Markinor survey, some 66 percent of Cosatu members questioned
believed that the government was "not at all handling the increase in the
petrol price well".
Another 68 percent felt the same about rising food prices while 54 percent
said the electricity crisis was not being handled well.
"Cosatu members were extremely worried about... bread and butter issues," it
said.
The government scored better in Cosatu's books when it came to promoting
equality between men and women, distributing welfare grants and improving
basic health services.
The research suggested that Cosatu's decision to stage mass protests was not
only aimed against the government but also the private sector.
"Cosatu wants to emphasise to society the extent of the crisis and the
necessity that it should be dealt with through targeted action."
The findings of the study are based on answers received in the Pulse of the
People series, a survey taken every six months by Ipsos Markinor among 3 500
South Africans from all provinces, language groups and religions. The
opinions of Cosatu members were filtered out from the total survey. - Sapa
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-23-voa61.cfm?rss=africa
Thousands Disrupt Johannesburg Traffic in Protest Over Rising Prices
By VOA News
23 July 2008
Demonstrators in Johannesburg, 23 Jul 2008
South African police say an estimated 25,000 demonstrators shut down central
Johannesburg for several hours Wednesday to protest the country's rising
cost of food, fuel and electricity.
The mass demonstration was peaceful, but it disrupted businesses, commuter
services, and street traffic until about noon local time.
The protest was part of rolling demonstrations organized by the Congress of
South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU), the country's largest umbrella
organization for trade unions.
Organizers said demonstrators are registering their "disgust" with the
government and employers over high prices.
Among other things, protesters denounced plans to hike the electricity
tariff by 27.5 percent.
The rolling demonstrations began earlier this year and are expected to
continue indefinitely.
Increasing food prices have sparked riots in at least five African countries
this year - Ivory Coast, Niger, Cameroon, Senegal and Burkina Faso.
United Nations officials have warned that food prices are likely to keep
rising.
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2362681,00.html
Cosatu protests hit 4 provinces
23/07/2008 14:57 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Tens of thousands of workers downed tools in four provinces
on Wednesday to voice their "disgust" with rising living costs.
Commuters were left stranded while mining industries and essential services
ground to a near halt as the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) flexed its
muscles in Johannesburg, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and North West.
"Together we have formed a broad coalition of organisations prepared to
register their disgust at the spiralling cost of living affecting people,"
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told some 25 000 workers at a
Johannesburg march.
Cosatu handed over a memorandum of demands to Eskom's general manager in the
central region, Hugh McGibbon, at the electricity utility's office in
Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
"We know the increase in electricity prices has affected the working class
and we are working with stakeholders to minimise the effect," McGibbon told
protesters chanting "no to electricity hikes", referring to a 27.5% increase
in Eskom tariffs.
The document detailed demands that workers not be retrenched as a result of
power cuts and called on the government to invest in the development of
alternative energy sources.
Four cities brought to a standstill
Earlier, Vavi told protesters that the stayaway had brought cities in four
provinces to a standstill.
He said those who complained about disruptions should be thankful that there
was a solid trade union movement that could organise workers in a
disciplined way.
The marches all proceeded peacefully amid a strong police presence.
Meanwhile, Ipsos Markinor released a survey concluding that Cosatu members
had good reason to protest. The survey found that the majority of Cosatu
members did not think the government was handling rising costs well.
Some 66% of Cosatu members questioned believed that the government was "not
at all handling the increase in the petrol price well". Another 68% felt the
same about rising food prices while 54% said the electricity crisis was not
being handled well.
The findings of the study were based on answers received in the Pulse of the
People series, a survey taken every six months by Ipsos Markinor among 3 500
South Africans from all provinces, language groups and religions. The
opinions of Cosatu members were filtered out from the total survey.
http://africa.reuters.com/business/news/usnBAN345817.html
South African workers protest, mines halted
Wed 23 Jul 2008, 11:46 GMT
By James Macharia
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Thousands of striking South African workers brought
mines and businesses to a halt on Wednesday across four provinces to protest
against a jump in electricity, food and fuel prices.
Carrying placards reading "Away with high food prices!" and "Down with high
fuel prices!" the protesters snarled traffic in central Johannesburg.
The one-day walkout is part of a series of rolling strikes being held around
the country, Africa's biggest economy, by labour unions to protest against
rising inflation, high interest rates and likely job cuts after a power
crisis engulfed the country this year.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and its allies,
including mineworkers, want to pressure the government to tilt policy to the
left. Union leaders warned cabinet ministers to heed their demands or be
swept aside.
COSATU, an ally of the ruling ANC, said its nearly two million members
wanted government to pay more attention to workers.
"We don't want to pay tax on bread, salt, paraffin and fish oil," Zwelinzima
Vavi, COSATU's General Secretary told about 25,000 workers at a rally
outside offices owned by state power utility Eskom in Johannesburg.
"To the Finance Minister, we say you are not indispensable."
COSATU plans to hold a national strike on August 6, when the country's mines
and other businesses are expected to halt.
A sharp rise in the price of petrol, milk and bread, and a series of
interest rate hikes meant to curb inflation have stoked labour's
determination to change government policies.
There is rising political tension in South Africa and fear of an economic
downturn. Growth has averaged about 5 percent in recent years but dropped
sharply in the first quarter of 2008 as the impact of the power crisis hurt
mines and manufacturing.
The strike shut mines and car makers, disrupted textile factories and
brought business to a standstill in Gauteng, the province in which South
Africa's commercial capital Johannesburg is located, the Eastern Cape, North
West and Limpopo provinces.
MINES SHUT
The country's top three gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, the world's third
largest gold producer, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold said some of their mines
had been shut and others partially affected.
Anglo Platinum, the world's top producer of the precious metal, was largely
unaffected.
Economists said little could be done to change policy.
"It causes an air of instability in the country when it hurts production,"
Russell Lamberti, an economist at ETM said.
"I doubt, however, that there is any chance of a change of policy to sort
out price increases. A price cap would distort the market, while we in South
Africa are still paying low electricity prices by global standards. If Eskom
is not allowed to raise prices, their business will become unviable."
Car maker Volkswagen's main South African factory, near the eastern port
city of Port Elizabeth, was shut, as were those of Ford Motor Company and
Daimler AG.
Unions fear job losses linked to the electricity crisis that began in
January when a near collapse of the system led to a five-day shut down of
platinum and gold mines.
Eskom has been rationing electricity to large industrial customers since
then, with mining houses threatening to shed jobs because of lower output.
Critics blame President Thabo Mbeki's government for not investing in power
generation. Unions say their workers should not be made to pay for the
government's lack of planning. A 27.5 percent hike in power tariffs has
further annoyed unions.
http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-24_2362626
Gold firms hammered by protest
Jul 23 2008 2:00PM
Johannesburg - Gold producers with operations on the Witwatersrand were the
hardest hit by Wednesday's stay-away by members of Congress of Trade Unions
of SA (Cosatu).
Cosatu protested in Gauteng, the North West, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape on
Wednesday as part of its series of one-day protests in each province,
culminating in a nationwide stay-away on August 6.
Trade union members are protesting against rising food, fuel and electricity
prices, which are fast eroding their members' monthly income.
Gold Fields said 91% of underground night and morning shifts at its Kloof
operations were absent from work, and while attendance in mechanised areas
of South Deep was 90%, there was almost no attendance in other areas of the
mine.
Gold Fields spokesperson Daniel Thole said it was "too early to assess the
impact on production", but added that typical approximate daily production
at Kloof was about 95kg.
"We anticipate all operations to be back to normal by tonight," Thole said.
At Harmony Gold Mining Gauteng and North West, mines and surface operations
supported the strike.
"We have contractors at work at some of the operations; we also have some of
our plants processing for the next 12 hours," said Harmony spokesperson
Amelia Soares, who added that mineworkers should return to work tonight to
commence the night shift.
She said between 30kg and 32kg of gold would be lost.
AngloGold Ashanti reported little impact with its three major mining
operations in the affected areas reportedly unaffected.
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Business%20Report&fArticleId=4521837
Food protests affect Harmony operations
July 23, 2008
Johannesburg - Harmony Gold's operations in Gauteng and the North West
Province have been hit by Thursday's strike.
"All operations in the two provinces have been affected," Harmony
spokeswoman Amelia Soares said.
"However, our contractors are at work - but the mine workers are on strike."
Harmony is the fifth largest gold producer in the world.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions was staging a one-day stay away against
rising food and electricity prices in Limpopo, North West, Eastern Cape and
Gauteng on Wednesday. - Sapa
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Top&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080723105042415C818531
Protesters paint Joburg red
July 23 2008 at 10:51AM
Hundreds of protesters started arriving in the Johannesburg city centre
ahead of a Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) protest against rising
electricity and fuel prices on Wednesday.
Cosatu members gathered at the Beyers Naude square carried signs saying
"Away with food prices" and "Away with high fuel prices". Others were
holding up placards complaining about a 27,5 percent hike in electricity
prices.
Protesters, dressed in red T-shirts, were singing songs and blowing on
vuvuzelas as a strong police contingent kept a close watch.
Commuters have been left stranded as most taxi, bus and train operators are
expected to join in the Johannesburg march which would see road closures in
the city centre from 11am until 3pm.
"But we have made arrangements for those coming to the march. They will be
bussed in," said Gauteng Cosatu secretary Siphiwe Mgcina.
Soweto commuter George Myeza said he left home later than usual because he
knew it would not be easy to commute to his workplace in Victory Park,
Johannesburg.
"There were only a few taxis but the real problem is the trains not
running," Myeza told Sapa.
Metro police are expecting at least 10 000 protesters to take part in the
march. Members of the Gauteng African National Congress are also
participating.
Cosatu, which held protests in the Free State, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga
last week, is also staging protests in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and North
West on Wednesday.
A national stayaway is planned for August 6. - Sapa
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?from=rss_The%20Star&fArticleId=4521975
Protesters stream into city centre over high prices
July 23, 2008 Edition 4
Staff Reporters and Sapa
Thousands of Cosatu members today descended on Beyers Naude Square in the
Joburg city centre from where they were to march in protest against rising
food and electricity prices.
Scores of commuters were left stranded as many taxi and bus drivers adhered
to the one-day stayaway, also taking place in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and
North West.
Train services were hit hard and Metrorail spokesperson Sibusiso Ngomane
said it was because most of their drivers, who belong to the
Cosatu-affiliated SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union, had taken the day
off to join the strike.
Essential services were not expected to be affected by the strike.
The Johannesburg Hospital reported a full complement of workers this morning
and were not expecting any trouble.
Metro police spokesperson Edna Momonyane said they, together with the SA
Police Service, were ready to take control of the march. Their presence was
visible at the gathering point.
It was not clear which schools were not open. Children in Soweto and in the
city were seen earlier this morning walking to school.
By 11am about 4 000 protesters had arrived at the square as union leaders
were preparing to address them before they proceeded to Eskom's offices in
Braamfotein to deliver a memorandum.
The march was to proceed to the Local Government offices in Sauer Street to
deliver another memorandum.
Clad in union T-shirts and waving banners and placards denouncing the
escalating food, fuel and electricity prices, protesters sang freedom songs,
shouted slogans and blew vuvuzelas.
"No to 27,5% Eskom tariff increase", "Away with high food prices", and "No
to high interest rates", some of the placards said.
The Cosatu-driven strike is part of a countrywide build up to a national
stayaway scheduled to bring the country to a halt on August 6.
This morning, hordes of people swarmed into the city centre shortly before
the 11am scheduled start of the march.
Busloads arrived from as far as Carltonville, Randfontein and other mining
towns around the city, trickling in as early as 9am.
Cosatu's Gauteng chairperson Mosanku Tseki said about 60 000 workers were
expected to participate in today's event.
Among the protesters was 39-year-old Charmaine van Schalkwyk of Eldorado
Park, south of Joburg.
"I've come to support the strike because I am unemployed, and my husband can
no longer afford to provide the family with food and other basic needs," she
said.
Hlengiwe Sithole, who lives in the CBD and works at the Home Affairs
Department said: "I'm joining the strike because of the high inflation rate.
We want the government to do something about it, because even the 10,9%
increase we got this year, makes no difference."
Commuters from Soweto waited for hours in long queues, with others getting
lifts from motorists driving into the city. Hundreds more were left stranded
at the usually busy Noord Street taxi rank.
According to Cosatu provincial secretary Siphiwe Mgcina, commuters were left
stranded because most taxi, bus and train operators had joined the march.
One of many people affected was Soweto resident Puseletso Mafilikoane, who
waited at the Bara taxi rank hoping for a miracle this morning, knowing that
taxis had been disrupted.
She waited for more than two hours with some colleagues, even after a queue
marshal told them there would be no taxis. They were scared of losing their
jobs at Checkers in Fourways if they did not get to work on time.
A depressed Mafilikoane said it had taken her three years to find a job
after she passed matric in 2004. "I will do anything to keep my job," she
said.
The Star visited different businesses in Diagonal, Market and Commissioner
streets, where it was business as usual.
Shop owners said they would close their businesses if marchers threatened
them.
SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Neren Rau said member chambers
contacted had reported no problems this morning. Disruptions are also not
expected, but the loss of productivity is, he said.
"We do expect huge losses to the economy," he added.
Anglo American spokesperson Pranill Ramchander said the company's operations
were not affected by the strike, as they were outside the strike areas.
"Essentially none of our coal operations are affected."
Cosatu has held protests in the Free State, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga,
leading up to the national stayaway.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080806141515584C557620
Protesters 'burn tyres' in Johannesburg
August 06 2008 at 02:27PM
Metro police have dispersed 2000 protesters who were burning tyres on the
Honeydew stretch of Beyers Naude Drive in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said police addressed the crowd who had gathered
in support of the Congress of SA Trade Unions' march over rising electricity
prices, and asked them to disperse.
The crowed complied with the request and police removed the burning tyres.
"We are going to monitor the situation the whole day because these
protesters might return," Minnaar said.
Metro police and the SA Police Service were on the scene.
Earlier on Wednesday the protesters danced and sung in the road, blocking
Beyers Naude Drive as far as Peter Road in Honeydew, said Minnaar.
"Beyers Naude has since been opened and the traffic is flowing freely," he
said. - Sapa
http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/west_africa/0,2172,173018,00.html
Thousands protest in Niger against power, food woe
July 10, 2008, 20:30
Around 30 000 people marched through Niger's capital Niamey to protest
against the high cost of living and electricity blackouts caused by
disruptions in power supplies from neighbouring Nigeria.
It was one of the biggest public protests seen in recent years in the
landlocked Sahel state, which is a leading world exporter of uranium but,
like many African nations, has suffered the squeeze of sharp increases in
oil and food prices.
Witnesses said the protesters shouted slogans complaining about the high
cost of basic food products and about frequent daily power outages which
have been affecting Niamey and other cities in the former French colony over
the last two months.
Niger's national electricity company, NIGELEC, imports 90% of its needs from
neighbouring Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa's biggest oil producer. It has
recently suffered serious disruptions in these supplies, causing the
blackouts.
"Niger is in danger and the authorities must snap out of their indifference
towards NIGELEC's catastrophic situation and the high cost of living," said
Badje Hima, coordinator of the Citizens' Convergence coalition which
organised the march.
Hima said it made no sense for Niger, a top supplier to the world of the
nuclear reactor fuel uranium, to be suffering power shortages. The coalition
was demanding that the government negotiate the acquisition of a nuclear
power plant for the country, so it could have an independent supply of
energy.
In addition to power and food cost problems, Niger's government is also
faced with a rebellion by Tuareg-led rebels in the uranium-producing
northern Agadez region.
These nomadic insurgents, grouped in the rebel Niger Justice Movement (MNJ),
have since last year attacked army posts and convoys, killed at least 70
government troops and briefly abducted employees of uranium companies from
France and China.
President Mamadou Tandja's government, which dismisses the MNJ rebels as
bandits and smugglers of arms and drugs, has ruled out any negotiations
unless they first lay down their arms. It says the armed forces have killed
at least 200 rebel fighters.
Stoking social tensions in Niger, prices of food staples like rice, maize
and sorghum have risen more than 20 percent since the beginning of the year,
driven up by soaring world grain and oil prices that have triggered a global
food crisis.
One in five children dies before their fifth birthday in Niger, one of the
world's poorest nations, and aid agencies fear rising food prices could put
decent nutrition beyond the reach of several million people even if the next
harvest is good.
The country suffered a humanitarian emergency in 2005 that threatened 3.5
million people with famine after drought and locusts the previous year wiped
out crops in many villages. - Reuters
http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200807281109DOWJONESDJONLINE000387_univ.xml
Swaziland Unions Plan September Protests Over Food Prices7-28-08 11:09 AM
EDT | E-mail Article | Print Article
MBABANE, Swaziland (AFP)--Trade union members in Swaziland are to stage a
mass protest in September to voice their anger at rising food prices, the
country's main labor federation announced Monday.
Jan Sithole, general secretary of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions,
said members would take to the streets from Sept. 3 to Sept. 4 after the
government failed to reply to a letter outlining their grievances.
"We have already written to the Labor Advisory Board notifying them of the
intended action," Sithole told AFP.
"Given government's failure to respond to our concerns and the ever
increasing food prices that have greatly affected our members, we have since
resolved to embark on a staggered action. The first installment is slated
for Sept. 3 to Sept. 4," Sithole said.
The unions also want the government to reverse a ban on political parties
contesting a parliamentary election taking place later this year in Africa's
last absolute monarchy.
"We want the 2008 elections and beyond to be held under a multi-party
system," said Sithole.
Swaziland, which celebrates its 40th anniversary of independence from the
U.K. on Sept. 6, is one of Africa's poorest nations with more than
two-thirds of its 1 million people living below the poverty line.
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