Editorial

This month, there was no particular theme and writers were asked to submit stories on any subject. From Kenya, as Africanews Associate Editor Zachary Ochieng reports, the new year also ushered in a new government. The governing Kenya African National Union (KANU), suffered a severe defeat at the hands of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), ending the former s 39 year stranglehold in Kenya s politics.

The United States declaration of war on Iraq has led to escalating fuel prices as well as shortage of the precious commodity in some countries. In Zimbabwe for instance, a serious fuel crisis is biting, forcing people to walk several kilometers to their work places, as others resort to bicycles. Rodrique Mukumbira has the details.

Back to Kenya, the New York based Human Rights Watch has released a report which seriously indicts the government and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The report, as Zachary Ochieng writes, accuses the Kenya government and UNHCR of violating the most basic rights of thousands of refugees living in the country.

From Ghana, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol, which allows free movement of West Africans across the borders has led to an influx of refugees, some of whom are involved in armed crime, writes Sam Sarpong.

From Swaziland, James Hall captures the raging debate on whether the monarch should adopt a parliamentary system or maintain the status quo. Opinions are sharply divided on this subject.

Back to Ghana, Santuah Niagia reports that funds meant for poverty eradication projects are not being disbursed equitably, with the northern region being neglected.

A report from Malawi by Charles Banda shows that despite policies and laws designed to diminish chances to exploit children, the number of children in the labour force continues to grow.

Banda reports that many of Malawi's children between five and fourteen years old, spend more than 4 hours a day working.

And in Mozambique, the government s efforts to reconstruct the railway lines destroyed at the height of the civil war in 1983 are being hampered by the presence of landmines, writes Fred Katerere.

In our Action and contact section, Frank Bwalya profiles a Catholic NGO, which is determined to better the lives of Aids orphans in Zambia.