Greene County Democrat

Tag: Kenyan President William Ruto

  • Newswire : African leaders show new militancy amid growing environmental crises

    President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana addresses UN General Assembly

    Sep. 25, 2023 (GIN) – “We must make up for time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”
     
    That was Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the U.N. speaking to world leaders at a General Assembly symposium at United Nations headquarters this month.
     
    The world still has the capacity to course correct if only global leaders would take action and support developing countries in addressing the crises, he added.
     
    “Our focus here is on climate solutions – and our task is urgent. Humanity has opened the gates of hell,” Guterres said. “If nothing changes we are heading towards a 2.8 degrees temperature rise towards a dangerous and unstable world.
     
    Meanwhile, in speeches before the U.N., African leaders presented a new and militant message: The continent is done being a victim of a post-World War II order. It is a global power and must be partnered with — not sidelined. 
     
    “We as Africa have come to the world, not to ask for alms, charity or handouts, but to work with the rest of the global community and give every human being in this world a decent chance of security and prosperity,” Kenyan President William Ruto was reported to say by the Associated Press. 
     
    He urged countries in the Global South to pool together their trillions of dollars in collective resources to independently finance climate initiatives.
     
    Neither Africa nor the developing world stands in need of charity from developed countries,” he said, proposing a universal tax on the sale of fossil fuels.
     
    Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo blamed Africa’s present-day challenges on “historical injustices” and called for reparations for the slave trade. 
     
    President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said the continent is poised to “regain its position as a site of human progress” despite dealing with a “legacy of exploitation and subjugation.”
     
    “Africa is nothing less than the key to the world’s future,” said Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu, who leads a country that, by 2050, is forecast to become the third most populous in the world.
     
    With the largest bloc of countries at the United Nations, it is understandable that African leaders increasingly demand a bigger voice in multilateral institutions, said Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group. “Those calls will grow especially at a time when the continent is being courted by big powers amid growing geopolitical competition.”
     
    “Africa has no need for partnerships based on official development aid that is politically oriented and tantamount to organized charity,” President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said. “Trickling subsidies filtered by the selfish interests of donors will certainly not allow for a real and effective rise of our continent.”
     
    Tshisekedi’s country has the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and is also one of the largest producers of copper, both critical for clean energy transition.
     
    What Africa needs instead, according to Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, is a more inclusive global financial system where Africans can participate as “a partner that has (a) lot to offer to the world and not only a warehouse that supplies cheap commodities to countries or international multinational corporations.”
     

  • Newswire : GMO’s that promote poverty and dependency gain a foothold in Kenya

    Oct. 10, 2022 (GIN) – Kenya has officially entered into the cultivation and use of Genetically Modified Organisms – known as GMOs – that have been banned in 26 countries.
     This month, Kenyan authorities announced plans to lift the country’s ban on genetically modified crops, in part to deal with a record drought that is causing hunger across the Horn of Africa. The move is opposed by those concerned about potentially harmful effects on health, the environment and small farms.
     Supporters maintain that lifting the ban will improve food security.
     The decision by the Cabinet, chaired by President William Ruto at State House, was made in accordance with the recommendation of the Task Force to Review Matters Relating to Genetically Modified Foods and Food Safety. The meeting was convened to consider the progress made in the response to the ongoing drought in the country.
     Speaking earlier this week, Kenyan President William Ruto said lifting the ban on GMOs is part of the government’s response to the drought ravaging the country.
     But critics counter that some GM crops can have negative impact on non-target organisms and on soil and water ecosystems. For example, the expansion of GM herbicide-tolerant corn and soy which are joined with herbicides, destroyed much of the habitat of the monarch butterfly in North America.
     Kenya prohibited cultivation of genetically modified crops and the importing of food crops and animal feeds produced through biotechnology innovation since 2012. The government’s move paves the way for the importation of GMO products, which the government says will help boost food security.
     GMOs have their defenders – mostly seed and chemical companies who claim that genetically engineered crops are good for the environment by reducing pesticide use and increasing crop yields.
     However, research indicates that GM crop technology can result in a net increase in herbicide use and can foster the growth of herbicide resistant weeds. In addition, there is concern that the use of GM crops may negatively impact the agriculture ecosystem.
     Countries that ban GMOs include Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Madagascar, Turkey, among others
     Also gaining a foothold in Africa is Bayer Malawi, whose presence in Malawi originates from the late 1950s when the company was mainly known for its pharmaceutical products such as aspirin, and as a distributor for Farmer’s Organization and Shell Chemicals.
     “Today Bayer Malawi Ltd provides a full agricultural production service package to enable farmers to acquire not only high-quality seed but also quality crop protection solutions to combat plant diseases, insect pests and weeds.” (from the Bayer website)
     Last August, agricultural students at the University of Ghana held a teach-in to urge youth to support the adoption of GMO technology to help improve farm productivity and ensure food security. They held a debate competition but with few students willing to argue against GMO seeds, the pro-GMO seeds group was the hands-down winner.
     Meanwhile, in an article titled: “Twelve reasons for Africa to reject GMO crops,” Kenyan born Zachary Makanya writing for the newsletter GRAIN pointed out a growing list of organizations, networks and lobby groups with close ties to the GM industry, working to promote GM agriculture on the continent.
     While seed and chemical companies like Monsanto claim that genetically engineered crops  would be good for the environment by reducing pesticide use and increasing crop yields, the past 20 years have shown that they do nothing of the sort, Makanya said. Not only have GMO crops not improved yields, they have vastly increased the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide and “probably carcinogenic to humans, according to the World Health Organization..
     Moreover, most GMOs have not been engineered to improve yields or make food healthier, but to be herbicide resistant. Corn, soybeans and other crops have been genetically engineered to withstand blasts of glyphosate. It kills all the weeds in the field, but the GMO crops survive.
     At least12 African countries are carrying out research on GM crops, including Egypt, Uganda, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia and Cameroon, and a long list of GM crops are in the pipeline for introduction in various African countries.
     Finally, a group of African environmentalists, in an article titled “GMOs promote poverty and dependency in Africa” they pointed out in Grain magazine: “The obsession in promoting GM crops in Africa diverts attention and resources away from a plurality of genuine and localized solutions and flies in the face of the recommendations of independent science