Dibussi Tande
14 May 2008
column
Breaking News Kenya provides a link to an article in Business Daily about the increasing use of the Internet by Kenyan employers to screen job applicants:
"Local figures are hard to trace, but in a recent survey of executive recruiters by execunet.com, 77 per cent of respondents said they used the Internet to uncover additional information about candidates...
Job seekers who have more "presence" online are generally expected to be more believable as the employer can often verify content on an applicant's CV, such as where they went to school or if they really worked for companies they lay claim to...
A third of the managers polled by execunet.com said they would eliminate applicants based on what they found out about them online, saying scandalous photos, political commentary or inappropriate videos found on websites such as Flikr, in blogs or on YouTube would have a negative impact on the candidacy of an applicant."
Mother City Living comments on proposed solutions to the burgeoning world food crisis:
"For the past week I've heard people debating the food crisis until they're blue in the face. Increase the number of VAT-exempt food items, they said, issue food stamps, put a cap on food prices.
Not once did I hear anyone saying what I thought would be the most obvious option: get people growing their own food.
But, happily, today I read an article on Iafrica that gives me hope. In short, according to the report, Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool has proposed the launch of a "food security campaign" with "concrete initiatives" that would include:
'...making state land at hospitals and schools available for community food garden schemes, setting up food co-operatives , distributing seed packs to vulnerable households, and increasing the school nutrition budget by R5-million.'
Hallelujah! Now, here's hoping this gets off the drawing board, and out into the community. It's about time."
Magharebia reports on a campaign by nearly 1000 civil society groups in Morocco to get more women to run for office during the 2009 local elections:
"Moroccan women hold only a half-percent of the country's local political positions, run just 127 of 1,497 communes and serve as mayor of only one town. In the run-up to Morocco's 2009 communal elections, civil society is now rallying to change this situation.
The effort to increase women's political representation at the municipal level is finding support from an alliance of nearly 1,000 associations across Morocco. Under the banner, "The One-Third Movement", the new federation has launched a large-scale campaign aimed at convincing politicians to amend the electoral code. Activists want the law to require that women comprise at least a third of listed candidates in the upcoming municipal elections.
...
The new federation's plan to raise awareness within parliament, political parties and the government is already beginning to see results. Some political parties now promise to give women greater participation during next year's elections.
...
Voters disagree as to women's ability to run public affairs. While many young people say they will make their choice based on clearly-defined criteria, irrespective of the candidate's gender, older people make no secret of their preference for male candidates.
Think Ghana comments on the state of correctional facilities in Ghana and plans to change the name of the Ghana Prisons Service:
"The Prisons Service, like many other public institutions, has over the years suffered under the proverbial 'No funds' syndrome and those who know the system very well, will admit that there is very little correction in our prison system.
Overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of learning and training facilities have made the prisons more of concentration camps than centres of reformation...
In Ghana, very few can claim that they came out of our prisons better equipped than when they went in. Some claim spiritual development, which only confirms the physical deprivations they went through while in prison custody...
These deprivations and the stigma associated with prison life have seriously contributed to the situation where most convicts come out from the prisons ready to exert revenge on society...
We know the problems of the Ghana Prisons Service... So why do we think by giving an old institution a new name, everything will change for the better overnight?"
Omar Basawad writes about one of Uganda's "hidden jewels", the Kidepo National Park:
"Very few people visit the Kidepo National Park in Uganda. Even fewer tourists ever visit the rugged, breathtaking Ugandan hidden wonder, tucked away in the triangular North Eastern part of the country...
Of all Ugandan national parks and game reserves, Kidepo is the most remote and has the most unique wilderness and terrain. Karamoja too, is the most dry and the hottest part of Uganda; it has a most unique people too: the Karamojong, whose warriors, tall and black, still walk and graze their cattle while almost totally naked; they seem too, to have a liking for AK47 rifles. The Kalashnikov seems to be the only modern technology that Karamojong men have accepted; unlike in most parts of Uganda where the mobile phone is.
Sadly, semi arid Karamoja, though large and has great potential for development, is the poorest and the most undeveloped district of Uganda. I very much hope that the authorities concerned will do more for Karamoja and its people; and make the remote, isolated magical Kidepo more secure... Any one visiting Uganda and has the time and means, should visit enchanting, breathtaking Kidepo and experience not only some of the most spectacular sceneries Uganda and Africa has; but also feast on the abundant unique mix of wildlife that Kidepo boasts."
Scribbles from the Den publishes excerpts of the 2007 Freedom House survey on the state of Press freedom in Africa:
"The average regionwide level of press freedom declined during the year, as did the average score in the legal and political categories.
Trends in individual countries presented a mixed picture, with some improvements but a greater number of declines, including three negative status changes. Press freedom conditions continue to be dire in Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe, where authoritarian governments use legal pressure, imprisonment, and other forms of harassment to sharply curtail the ability of independent media outlets to report freely. All three countries continue to rank among the bottom 10 performers worldwide.
Reasons for the negative movement during 2007 varied from country to country, but it appeared to be driven by either legal or political factors, and in many cases a combination of the two.
...Although they were far outweighed by declines, Africa did see a number of improvements during 2007. In many cases, these positive movements reflected a decline in the physical harassment of journalists or the increased ability of reporters to cover sensitive political stories."
* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den
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