News Archives » africa
Land Grabs in Africa Leave Communities Impoverished April 5th, 2012
The problem of land grabbing in Africa and Asia by investment firms and multinational corporations is a serious and growing problem. Governments make deals with large multinational companies while thousands of poor farmers are left with inadequate compensation, low wages, polluted water and exposure to toxic agricultural chemicals that cause health problems.
While problems with land grabs abound, SOCFIN Agriculture. Co. is a particularly egregious company. Owned by French billionaire Vincent Bollore, SOCFINAF Group owns and operates plantations of rubber, oil palm and coffee in Indonesia, Cambodia, Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Liberia. SOCFIN recently has secured 6,500 hectares of farmland for rubber/palm oil production in Sierra Leone.
The Oakland Institute, a California-based think-tank, has detailed a pattern of coercion, lack of consultation, and failure to fairly compensate Sierra Leonean landowners who have been pressured into ceding their land to the corporate giant. Watch this video on SOCFIN’s Sierra Leone’s operations:
Click here to read more »
Zambian Oblate Bishop calls for Development in Western Zambia December 6th, 2011
Zambia’s Mongu Diocese Bishop Evan Chinyemba has called upon newly elected members of parliament (MP) from the area to respond to the challenges facing ordinary people. The Bishop outlined the development issues facing people, which include the need to build better schools, improve road infrastructure, rebuild health services and establish a safe water delivery system.
Bishop Chinyemba also addressed the issue of foreign investments. In these projects, local people have neither been consulted nor have they benefitted. He highlighted the need to review investments involved in cutting indigenous trees for export. Bishop Chinyemba also called for the urgent review of an investment agreement between the government Commission and private equity partners involved in managing the national park located near the Oblate parish of Kalabo.
South African Archbishop Calls for Action on Climate Change November 22nd, 2011
Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI, (Johannesburg – South Africa) has issued a pastoral letter on behalf of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference on the upcoming United Nations Conference on Climate Change. The conference will be held in Durban from 28 November–9 December 2011.
The Archbishop said, “This global climate crisis poses a great spiritual challenge to all Christians, people of all faiths, and all people of goodwill as it is the consequence of the destruction of God’s creation in which we have all participated in one way or another. It calls for a change of mindset, and a change of lifestyle to reduce our dependence on fossil-fuel energy like coal and oil. We call on all parishes, communities and organizations at local, regional and national levels, as well as individual Catholics:
- To reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by using your own properties productively to grow trees that will absorb carbon dioxide;
- To grow vegetables and crops organically to reduce the use of chemical-based fertilizers;
- To share the food thus grown with the hungry and malnourished in your midst.”
Read the document (Download PDF)
Break the Silence – Congo Week 2011 October 19th, 2011
Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is far from over. Insecurity continues to plague parts of the eastern Congo and horrifying stories of rape and other forms of human rights abuses are still being reported. In order to raise awareness around the world of this situation in Congo, Break the Silence – Congo 2011 is being marked from October 16 to October 22, 2011. The aim of Congo advocacy is to raise awareness about the devastating situation in the Congo and mobilize support on behalf of the people of the Congo.
DRC is a major source for many minerals such as coltan, which is used in electronics like cell phones and laptops. Unfortunately, funding for armed groups in Congo comes from the sale of these minerals often to technology companies in Europe and North America.
Click here to read more »
Massachusetts Introduces Congo Conflict Minerals Bill October 7th, 2011
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has introduced a bill that could make a significant difference in the lives of the people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. State Representative Martin J. Walsh (D) introduced An Act Relative to Congo Conflict Minerals (HD 04065). Access to Democratic Republic of Congo’s natural resources has been a principal driver of violent atrocities, particularly in the east where most of the mines are located.
If passed, HD 04065 would prohibit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from contracting with companies that do not comply with federal regulations for the certification of minerals originating in the Congo. The legislation would make Massachusetts the second state in the nation to pass conflict minerals legislation for Congo. California was the first to pass such legislation.
Sign this petition to show your support for Massachusetts Congo Conflict Bill: www.change.org/petitions/the-ma-state-senate-pass-the-massachusetts-congo-conflict-minerals-bill-hd-04065
