Israel-Palestinian deal around the corner on jailed men and women: Close to prisoner swap deal

A pedestrian walks past a painting depicting captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, outside a protest tent calling for his release, near the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem November 23, 2009. REUTERS

 

CAIRO, Monday

Israel has softened its terms for a prisoner swap with Hamas and the two enemies are nearing a deal to exchange hundreds of Palestinian inmates for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, officials said today.

A delegation from Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, planned to meet Egyptian security officials in Cairo later in the day to discuss the deal that Egypt and Germany have been mediating.

Officials close to the talks said Israel had agreed to include in the exchange for the soldier, Gilad Shalit, some 160 prisoners whose release it had vetoed previously.

Shalit, now a Staff Sergeant was captured by Palestinian militants who tunnelled into Israel from the Gaza Strip in 2006. Israel has linked any major easing of its blockade on the territory on the soldier’s return home.

“The Shalit episode is about to be closed,” one of the officials said.

Sources on both sides told Reuters there were hopes that a deal might be struck by the end of the week, when the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha begins.

In Jerusalem, Israeli government officials declined to comment on prospects for a deal with Hamas, a group that has rejected Western demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.

Sources close to the negotiations have said Hamas, in the first part of a deal, would hand over Shalit to Egypt and Israel would release some 350 to 450 prisoners.

In a sign of flexibility from Hamas, the sources said, the group had agreed that some would go into exile rather than return to the West Bank or Gaza Strip.

More prisoners would be released when Shalit was transferred from Egypt to Israel, while other prisoner releases could take several more weeks to complete.

Officials who reported that a deal is approaching said Arabs holding Israeli citizenship are among the 160 newly agreed prisoners slated for release. Israel had objected to including Israeli Arabs in an exchange. (Reuters)

 

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If the Draft constitution goes through: President and MPs must pay taxes, a thing they hate the most.

By WACHIRA KANG’ARU

In Summary

• Prime minister, vice president, military top brass and judges also to give their dues

 

The tax-free, all-expenses-paid lifestyles of the president, vice-president, prime minister and MPs will be history if the draft constitution becomes law.

The new constitution makes it illegal to exempt any State officer from paying taxes.

MPs, who only pay taxes on their salaries — which stand at Sh200,000 — have fought off attempts to tax their allowances, which push their monthly earnings to at least Sh850,000.

Protected by Act

They are protected by the National Assembly Remuneration Act while the Constitutional Office Holders Remuneration Act gives judges and other holders of such positions a tax-free existence.

However, the harmonised draft constitution overrides the two laws and requires everyone to pay taxes.

“No law may exclude or authorise the exclusion of a State officer from payment of tax by the reason of the office held by the State officer; or the nature of the work of the State officer,” the draft says.

To clear doubts over its intentions, the draft goes ahead to define a State officer to include the president, VP, prime minister, ministers, assistant ministers and MPs.

The list of constitutional office holders include the Attorney General, judges, the deputy director of prosecutions and members of constitutional commissions.

The Committee of Experts who crafted the draft have proposed to cast wider the tax nets by bringing on board representatives of the devolved governments — at the regional and county levels. This means that regional governors, heads of counties and members of their assemblies will be required to pay taxes.

The Chief of General Staff and commanders of the Army, Air Force and the Navy and senior military officers will also pay taxes.

Currently, a wide array of top public officials is exempt from taxes, even though the holders earn good salaries. The holders are also allowed to import luxury cars duty-free.

MPs in particular have made public their disgust at attempts to tax their allowances and they shot down proposals by the then Finance minister Amos Kimunya in the 2008/2009 budget.

The motion was defeated with MPs accusing Mr Kimunya of introducing populist ideas to create conflict between the electorate and lawmakers.

Most of those opposed to taxation of their allowances argued the nature of the work, which includes fund-raising for funerals, school fees, hospital bills and development projects, made it difficult to comply with the tax proposal.

MPs earn about Sh850,000 each a month, out of which only the basic salary of Sh200,000 is taxed. The allowances are mainly made up of mileage and entertainment perks, which are tax-free. The president is paid Sh2 million a month and is not taxed.

Due to public pressure, the Parliamentary Service Commission appointed a tribunal to collect public views on MPs’ taxes and pay.

During the hearings, Kenya Revenue Authority strongly recommended taxation of the entire pay of MPs, saying taxation was a “nuisance and painful to everyone” but paying taxes was not optional.

The tribunal, headed by retired judge Akilano Akiwumi, handed its report to National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende two weeks ago even though its contents are yet to be made public.

Mr Marende said the report would be tabled in the House once he has read it. However, those who have seen the report said it proposed taxation of MPs’ salaries and allowances in addition to setting clear pay and allowances for the vice-president and the prime minister.

If the draft constitution becomes law, the president, PM, ministers and MPs will start paying taxes after the 2012 elections.

 

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Kenya ODM cracks: Raila and Ruto row over Mau deepens

Mothers who have been camping at Kapkembu in Kuresoi wait for free drugs at a Red Cross tent on Monday. They left their homes in Mau Forest following an order requiring them to vacate the water source. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Agriculture minister William Ruto have disagreed on the eviction. Photo/JOSEPH KIHERI

Posted Monday, November 23 2009 at 22:00

Agriculture minister William Ruto signalled his determination to defend Mau settlers, describing the leaders behind the evictions as “heartless”.

In apparent reference to Prime Minister Raila Odinga who has been pushing for the rehabilitation of the Mau, Mr Ruto said leaders who failed to recognise the suffering of the settlers were unfit to hold public office.

Speaking in Isiolo, Mr Ruto said it was unfair to refer to the Mau settlers as criminals who should be herded out of the “only place the call home.”

“People who evict others from the Mau, dump them by the roadside with their children and without food and shelter and even term their crying as crocodile tears are unfit to be leaders,” Mr Ruto said.

The minister, who has in the past opposed the evictions from the country’s largest source of water, said the success of a government was measured by the way it treated the poor and vulnerable.

“We have no moral authority to lead if we treat the vulnerable the way we have treated those evicted from the Mau,” Mr Ruto said in what could lead to the worsening of ties between him and the Prime Minister.

At the weekend, Mr Odinga launched a scathing criticism against some Rift Valley leaders whom he accused of having benefited from illegal allocation of land in the Mau.

“Those who are inciting them (settlers) and shedding crocodile tears were beneficiaries of thousands of acres of land, and if they are honest, let them settle the squatters in their lands,” the PM said.

Party leader

And on Monday, Mr Odinga was at it again when he criticised some leaders for being “selfish” by opposing the evictions.

The opposing views taken by the two leaders are likely to widen the rift within ODM where the PM is the party leader and Mr Ruto one of the two deputy party leaders.

While addressing a “Green and Competitive Electricity Conference” in Nairobi, Mr Odinga told politicians to keep politics out of the evictions.

He also defended the government against claims that the eviction was ruthless. “The government is trying to do it as humanely as possible.”

He also said the eviction was not only focused on Mau but would also target all the water towers in the country.

At the same time, ministers John Michuki (Environment) and Kiraitu Murungi (Energy) supported efforts to eject squatters from water towers.

Mr Murungi showered praise on the Prime Minister for his “relentless war” over the conservation of the Mau “at the expense of his political career.”

Meanwhile, political rallies in Maasai Mau have been banned. Narok South district commissioner Chimwaga Mongo said the move was to ensure that politicians do not inflame passions over the evictions.

Narok South MP Nkoidila ole Lankas and Narok County councillors Salanket ole Nchoe and Jackson ole Kamue welcomed the ban. Evictions in the Maasai Mau are set to begin next month.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church yesterday said that the evictions were not being conducted in a humane way.

John Cardinal Njue, who chairs the church’s Episcopal Conference, its highest decision-making body in Kenya, said subjecting the settlers to suffering was inhumane and the government should intervene to save the settlers from further suffering.

He also said the eviction policy should not only target the poor but it should be extended to the individuals occupying chunks of forest land within Mau. He was speaking at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Molo during a Peace and Reconciliation Mass on Sunday.

Expressed outrage

Bishop Cornelius Korir of Eldoret diocese of the Catholic Church also expressed outrage over the evictions.

Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey, Emgwen MP Elijah Lagat, former nominated MP Mark Too and former Army Geneneral Augustine Cheruiyot said the eviction plan should be halted until the government showed respect to humanity.

Additional reporting by Alphonce Shiundu, Julius Sigei, Tom Matoke, George Sayagie and Oliver Mulanda

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EU names Belgian PM first president for a united Europe: Will African Union go the same way to have a one President for the whole continent as Gaddafi has been proposing?

Belgium’s Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy arrives at a news conference after being elected as EU president during a EU leaders summit in Brussels November 19, 2009. Photo/REUTERS

By REUTERSPosted Friday, November 20 2009 at 09:30

 

BRUSSELS

European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc’s first president on Thursday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the world stage.

They also chose Baroness Catherine Ashton, a Briton little known even in her own country, as EU foreign affairs chief under a deal that kept out more established figures such as Tony Blair, and raised questions about how the bloc plans to lift its profile.

The appointments are intended to bolster the EU’s standing and help it to match the rise of emerging powers such as China following the global economic crisis, but neither Ashton nor Van Rompuy is a familiar figure outside Europe.

“I believe my experience will speak for itself. Am I an ego on legs? No I’m not. Do I want to be seen to be out there saying everything all the time? No I don’t. Judge me on what I do and I think you’ll pleased with the outcome,” Ashton told reporters.

Von Rompuy promised to move “step by step” to help Europe out of “exceptionally difficult times, a period of anxiety, uncertainty and lack of confidence.”

Van Rompuy, 62, and Ashton, 53, are compromise candidates who plan to use quiet diplomacy and consensus. At least initially they will not have the weight in foreign capitals that a better-known figure such as Blair, a former British prime minister, would have had.

Agreement on the positions took weeks, undermining efforts to present the bloc as a united force, partly because Britain had demanded Blair should be president.

The breakthrough came when Prime Minister Gordon Brown dropped that demand and backed EU Trade Commissioner Ashton as foreign affairs chief and vice-president of the EU’s executive European Commission instead.

The role of president of the council of EU leaders was created under the Lisbon treaty, which takes effect on December 1 and creates a diplomatic corps to be headed by Ashton. She replaces Spaniard Javier Solana.

The White House said Washington had no stronger partner than Europe in advancing security and prosperity around the world.

“These two new positions, and related changes to take effect on December 1 as a result of the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, will strengthen the EU and enable it to be an even stronger partner to the United States,” it said.

EU leaders had sought a political balance to satisfy member states and the European Parliament, whose approval is needed for Ashton. This was achieved by appointing a center-right president and a center-left high representative for foreign affairs.

Van Rompuy, who will not need the assembly’s approval, won plaudits for holding together Belgium’s fragile coalition government after becoming prime minister less than a year ago.

Ashton, a former member of the House of Lords, Britain’s upper house of parliament, has little foreign affairs experience. But she has made a good impression as trade commissioner.

“I’m one of those people that believe that characters can grow into jobs,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Blair had long been the front-runner but many other states wanted a candidate more likely to lead by consensus, and Germany and France joined forces to block his candidacy.

They remain powerful forces in the EU although they have none of the top jobs which also include a Portuguese, Jose Manuel Barroso, as European Commission President.

Barroso will now complete the line-up of the Commission under him and Ashton. Deals are sure to have been made on some of the jobs during the consultations on the top jobs led by Sweden, which holds the EU presidency for the rest of this year.

EU diplomats said it was now all but certain that former French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier would be commissioner for the EU’s internal market, one of the most powerful and most sought-after positions in Barroso’s team.

Failure to agree on the top jobs would have highlighted divisions in a bloc representing nearly 500 million people, and undermined the goal of boosting the EU’s image abroad.

In backing Ashton, the leaders also answered calls by many EU officials for a woman to have one of the Union’s top posts.

 

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PM getting unpopular among the Kalenjins due to Mau Forest evictions: Plot to jeer Raila flops after councillor pockets cash

By Osinde Obare, Dedan Okanga and Peter Mutai

A plan orchestrated by a section of Rift Valley ODM leaders to have Prime Minister Raila Odinga heckled during his visit to West Pokot District flopped.

Sources claimed the plan failed after a local civic leader disappeared with Sh100,000 meant to hire youths to boo the PM.

Security was tight at Makutano Stadium after the district security team got wind from intelligence agencies of the plot to humiliate the PM.

A contingent of police officers comprising regular, administration and General Service Unit patrolled

Makutano township and the stadium to forestall any attempt to disrupt the rally.

Fuelled tension

The presence of GSU officers, summoned from Chepchoina in Kwanza District, fuelled tension.

The local security team led by West Pokot DC Allan Machari and his Pokot North counterpart Joseph Motari monitored the situation as the public trooped to the stadium to wait for the arrival of the Prime Minister.

Police confirmed they were privy to report on the planned heckling organised by an influential ODM leader in the North Rift.

“It is true there were plans to heckle the PM but we monitored the situation to take action against any person out to disrupt the rally,” West Pokot OCPD David Wambua told The Standard on Sunday.

A source said a Cabinet minister had dished out money for the heckling mission.

But MPs from the region allied to the minister dismissed the claims and instead blamed his rivals for imagining the scheme to tarnish the minister’s

name.

“He has massive support in the entire region and can therefore not waste energy thinking about hiring

hecklers,” said an MP on telephone.

Officers were positioned at every corner of the stadium as other officers in civilian clothes mingled with the crowd.

The source claimed the minister met with 20 civic leaders from Pokot in Eldoret, where the plot was

hatched.

One of the councillors, who attended the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity, said they received cash and their leader was given Sh100,000 to mobilise youth to heckle the PM.

“The scheme to heckle the PM has failed because our leader went underground with the money meant to hire the youth,” he said.

At the stadium, Raila accused some ministers from Rift Valley of being disrespectful to decisions of the

Cabinet and asked them to quit the Government.

“If some of the ministers are dissatisfied with what is resolved by the Cabinet, they should quit because we must observe discipline,” said the PM.

Nominated MP Musa Sirma disclosed a plot by some Rift Valley leaders to use the Mau issue to move out

of ODM.

“We know their greedy plans of wanting to scuttle the party and break out using the Mau issue, but let them know the people support ODM,” said Sirma.

Eldoret ODM politician Jackson Kibor seemed to read from the same script with the PM when he castigated

some disgruntled ministers of undermining the Government.

“Whatever decision agreed by the Cabinet should be respected and there is no need for some ministers

going against such decision,” said Kibor.

Stolen victory

ODM chairman Henry Kosgey urged the Kalenjin community to stay in ODM.

He asked the community to support Raila’s quest for the presidency and avoid listening to leaders misleading them.

“Don’t be cheated that going alone would help the community ascend to power. Though our victory was stolen in the last General Election, let us support Raila and ODM as we did last time,” urged Kosgey.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Kosgey, Regional Development Minister Fred Gumo, Education Assistant Minister Ayiecho Olweny

and MPs Wilson Litole, Julius Murgor, and Sirma.

Earlier, Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny had dismissed Raila’s call for ministers dissatisfied with Cabinet

decisions to quit the Government.

Kutuny hosts Agriculture Minister William Ruto in Kitale today for a fund drive in aid of Anglican Church of Kenya.

Meanwhile, Raila visits the South Rift today for the first time since a row over the Mau Forest evictions erupted.

He will be in Chepalungu constituency, represented in Parliament by one of his fiercest critics Isaac Ruto.

The Prime Minister is expected to preside over the establishment of district headquarters at Siongiroi.

The PM, who has been criticised by a section of Rift Valley MPs since the Mau evictions started last week, is expected to use the ceremony to reach out to residents who overwhelmingly voted for him in the last General Election.

Raila will first preside over a fundraising for Siongiroi Catholic Church before moving to the site to lay the

foundation stone and thereafter address a rally.

His visit to the region comes barely four months after he toured the area and reversed an earlier decision to have the headquarters located at Sigor.

Ruto did not attend the meeting saying he had not been invited by the PM’s office and only learnt about it through Sirma.

Parallel rallies

Raila is expected to be accompanied by Roads Minister Franklin Bett, Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, Lands Minister James Orengo,

Fisheries Minister Paul Otuoma and Sirma.

On Saturday, Ruto said he would not attend the function as he reads mischief on the visit to his constituency.

He was forced to cancel a meeting, which he had called at the same venue, saying this could cause tension.

 

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Kenya minister goes to court to try and clear his name: His name may be in the Waki list at the ICC

By Judy Ogutu

Agriculture Minister William Ruto now wants a report linking him to post-election violence squashed.

The minister moved to court to challenge the authenticity of the report, saying he was not given a chance to defend himself before the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) report was published.

Ruto says there is no evidence linking him to the violence, and that the allegations against him “are a result of an illegality, irrationality, breach of the rule of law, and disregard of constitutionality and denial of legitimate expectations”.

He further posits that the “conclusions drawn by the respondent in the report are arbitrary, oppressive, violate the applicable laws, offend public policy, and were made in a situation where the respondent became the investigator, prosecutor and judge”. Ruto says he was not notified of the adverse conclusions in the report, and only learnt of them when he bought a copy. He says he has never been involved in violence, stating that he addressed public rallies where he appealed to Kenyans to maintain peace.

Ruto denies ever participating in the violence and says KNCHR findings have seriously dented his reputation, affected his liberty, career, and fundamental rights.

The minister becomes the second politician to challenge the report by KNCHR. Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, has also filed a similar suit, which has been set for hearing in February by two judges, Justice Roselyn Wendoh and Justice Abida Ali Aroni.

The Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence chaired by Court of Appeal judge, Justice Philip Waki, relied on the KNCHR’s report, among others, to draw a list of people allegedly behind the violence. The violence that following the disputed December 2007 presidential election claimed about 1,300 lives.

In his application, Kenyatta says he was never given an opportunity to give his side of the story to the KNCHR before it compiled its report.

In response, the commission says Kenyatta and other politicians adversely mentioned in the report, were invited to give their side of the story, but they failed to do so.

Ruto yesterday filed an urgent suit at High Court in Nairobi, saying it ought to be heard urgently given the gravity of the issue and injury to his reputation.

Fair trial

Through his advocate, Katwa Kigen, Ruto says KNCHR claims he is among the people who were involved in planning, inciting, and financing the violence were baseless and ought to be quashed.

Lady Justice Roselyn Wendoh allowed him to apply for orders seeking to quash allegations that he participated or was involved in the violence in KNCHR report, On the Brink of the Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya’s Post 2007 Election violence.

She also directed him to file and serve the main suit on KNCHR within 21 days.

Ruto complains he was not informed of the allegations or allowed to meet his accusers. But he admits being informally asked by KNCHR to give accounts of post-election violence a day after it announced its intentions to investigate the chaos.

“I did call on them at a meeting, which was informal. I was asked if I knew anything about the logistics of the violence. I explained all I knew and my understanding of the violence, which was to the effect that it was initially, a protest over elections that had not been transparent and that in most instances it became violent because the police used excessive force to quell the protest. All I knew about post-election violence was in the public domain.”

“The applicant was not given notice with particulars, seeking his response to the allegations made in the report that he participated in the planning, inciting and financing post-election violence,” Katwa says of his client.

 

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PHILIPPINES: Funding shortfall brings health, food security risks, UN warns

Photo: Jason Gutierrez/IRIN

A policeman tries to control a mob of cold and hungry flood survivors during a relief distribution campaign by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Muntinlupa district, south of Manila

BANGKOK, 18 November 2009 (IRIN) – The UN has warned of serious health risks and food security problems over a lack of funding to assist the Philippines after the country was hit by three major storms and typhoons.

“The emergency response is being hampered by low levels of funding, particularly in areas such as agriculture, protection, shelter and education of children,” Jacqueline Badcock, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Philippines, said in a statement on 18 November.

The UN launched a flash appeal for US$74 million in Manila on 7 October after tropical storm Ketsana flooded the nation’s capital and outlying regions in late September.

Before the country could recover, Typhoon Parma hit on 3 October, and then Typhoon Mirinae on 31 October, bringing widespread damage and misery. The additional devastation, which has affected 10 million people, led to a revised appeal this week of $143.7 million from humanitarian agencies.

Donors have only handed over $26 million in funding to date – about 36 percent of the original $74 million requested, or 18.6 percent of the revised $143.7 million, according to the UN.

If funding levels do not increase substantially, about 1.7 million people living in or displaced from areas that are still flooded face serious health and protection risks, warned Badcock’s office.

Some 350,000 people may not be able to return to or rebuild their homes and more than one million children may not be able to resume their education, it said.

The disasters severely affected the critical planting season in Northern Luzon, the country’s main agricultural region, and preliminary assessments cited in the revised appeal showed some 100,000-120,000 farming households had lost 100 percent of their production and assets.

The emergency response is being hampered by low levels of funding, particularly in areas such as agriculture, protection, shelter and education of children

“The November planting season might be missed, which has longer-term implications for food security,” the statement added.

In a separate interview, Badcock told IRIN that donors had been waiting for more information about the scale of damage caused, and that the first appeal had not fully assessed the extent of the devastation.

“The extent of the appeal and the damage was not really well understood by everybody until all the assessments were done,” she said.

“This revised [appeal] has a lot more analysis … we hope it will provide more clarity and confidence to the donors that these are real needs.”

Early recovery

The total revised amount of $143,774,080 will cover the immediate and early recovery needs of 4.2 million people, including more than 520,000 children under the age of five. This is twice the population covered under the original appeal.

The revised appeal is planned to run until March 2010 and is being presented on 18 November to donors and the government in Manila, UN officials said.

“The urgent needs remain the people who live in evacuation centres, who need continuing assistance with food and shelter,” said Badcock.

“Then there are farms where the water is going down. We need to get those farmers rehabilitated and planting out for the next season, and their families need food for the next three months because they lost their harvest,” she said.

“Water and sanitation remain critical, particularly in the flooded areas, where there are huge Filariasis and Dengue concerns.”

Early recovery efforts are needed to assist people in restoring their livelihoods, as well as fully restoring schools that are damaged or being used as evacuation centres, she said.

The appeal is being made by UN agencies, NGOs, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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Soccer is already being used to educate young people about HIV/AIDS

SOUTH AFRICA: World Cup to help create HIV awareness

Photo: Tomas de Mul/IRIN

JOHANNESBURG, – In less than seven months South Africa will host the world’s biggest single sporting event – the FIFA World Cup. The chance to reach millions of local and visiting football fans presents a golden opportunity, not only for the country’s business and tourism sectors, but also for its efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.

Health officials, activists and civil society organisations met in Johannesburg on 18 November to plan how to make the most of the event, which will span 30 days and take place in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces.

Recent international media reports have suggested that the World Cup could aggravate the country’s already severe HIV/AIDS epidemic, but several speakers saw the event as a chance to address the health crisis, among them former soccer player Ronny Zondi, who represented the Sport and Entertainment Sector of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), the body coordinating HIV activities linked to the World Cup.

Stadiums, fan parks, hotels and bars are all potential venues where HIV prevention messages could be promoted, condoms and pamphlets distributed, and voluntary counselling and HIV testing made available. The need for all the organizations involved to work with each other and FIFA and its local organizing committee (LOC) to avoid duplication of efforts and confused messaging was emphasized.

LOC Chief Medical Officer Dr Victor Ramathesele urged participants to tap into FIFA’s marketing expertise to push HIV/AIDS messages before and during the World Cup.

Noluntu Ntloko, from FIFA’s marketing division, briefed participants on restrictions on the use of registered World Cup trademarks, or branding that could conflict with that of its sponsors and commercial partners, and encouraged organizations to channel any planned HIV activities through the LOC.

Through its Football for Hope Movement, FIFA is already partnering with civil society organizations involved in HIV/AIDS initiatives. One such partner, Grassroots Soccer, works with a local NGO, Sonke Gender Justice, to train soccer coaches to teach young people about HIV and AIDS.

Rather than limiting their efforts to duration of the event, several organizations are planning campaigns that will last the entire year and reach people all over the continent.

Wayne Alexander, of Dance4Life, an international initiative that enlists young people to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, told the meeting about Fair Play for Africa, a campaign to mobilise communities to advocate for quality healthcare for all Africans, and to hold their governments accountable for health provision. So far 200 NGOs have committed to getting involved and activities in 12 African countries are planned for 2010.

“We have come a long way,” commented Dr Robin Petersen, chair of the Johannesburg meeting, who recalled that when South Africa started planning its World Cup bid 10 years ago, there was pressure to downplay the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “We’re now planning to use this event to address one of the most significant crises our country is facing.”

See also: SOUTH AFRICA: Footballers join AIDS fight

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