Joaquim Chissano Rightly Wins

-
About one and a half years ago, I wrote on this site about my great admiration and liking for Mozambique and how much had been achieved since it won independence: '......compared to what it was just a few years ago, Mozambique has very much improved. Best of all: it has peace now. Families can live in peace and children can go to school; people can carry on with normal life.'

Unlike many, if not most, African countries, Mozambique has done comparatively very well. In spite of its bloody past - a long and bloody guerrilla war for independence, followed by another bloody and costly civil war - Mozambique has managed to over come all this. Mozambican leaders, most of all - Joaquim Chissano, its former President, are mainly responsible for: Mozambique's peace, a stable democracy and the economic progress that the country has now.

Chissano has shown what real leadership is, both - when he was Mozambique's head of state and then not choosing to run (unlike most African leaders) for president for a third term in the elections of 2004, although the constitution would have allowed him to do so; and since stepping down as president, he has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or negotiator. He currently chairs the Joaquim Chissano Foundation and the Forum of Former African Heads of State and Government.

It's with all these in mind, that I was most pleased and elated at he, Joaquim Chissano, being chosen as the winner of the inaugural Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The largest individual award in the world.

Announcing the Laureate in front of an audience of London’s African diplomatic community, civil society representatives and the media, Kofi Annan, the Chair of the Prize Committee, said that “President Chissano’s achievements in bringing peace, reconciliation, stable democracy and economic progress to his country greatly impressed the committee. So, too, did his decision to step down without seeking the third term the constitution allowed.”

Praising his Government’s economic progress, poverty reduction programmes, infrastructure development and work to tackle HIV/AIDS, Kofi Annan stated that “it is his role in leading Mozambique from conflict to peace and democracy that President Chissano has made his most outstanding contribution.” He also commended President Chissano for his “major contribution outside his country’s borders” which included providing “a powerful voice for Africa on the international stage”.

Congratulations to Chissano and to Mozambique! Mozambique, a country that I will always greatly admire and like. A country, that had circumstances allowed me and had I the choice, I would have greatly loved and be proud to live in! Not only because of its immense beauty and attractive scenery, and very friendly people - but, due too, to the visionary and very positive leadership it has had during its war for independence and since winning its freedom.

Popular posts from this blog

The Albatross

-
Image
They have have been called the grandest living flying machine on Earth . No wonder: the Albatross has a wing span of 3 meters and a body mass of up to 12 kilograms. They can live for up to as long as 60 years. But as they have one of the lowest reproductive rates of any birds and as they are being hunted and killed, they may become extinct. Biologists have discovered that swordfish, tuna and other fishing fleets, are catching these birds while fishing, and are killing more that tens of thousands of these birds every year. In a couple of decades many species may be wiped out unless urgent action is taken . More: British Antarctic Survey , Save The Albatross , Endangered , National Geographic , WWF , Facts , petcaretips , Earthlife , antarcticaconnection , coolantarctica , Wikipedia , Encarta , Ecuador Travel , Books
Read more

Rwanda Genocide Deniers

-
Image
It's very shocking and extremely disturbing that, there are some people who deny that there was Genocide in Rwanda ; there are those who have been trying hard to spread lies and propaganda and twist real facts and the truth about the Rwandan genocide; there are those who deny that , it took meticulous planning - resulting in about 800,000 Tutsis and some Hutus, systematically being brutally butchered, in Rwanda, in 1994: .........thousands of children butchered individually, by machete. And the massacres at hundreds of churches, mostly Catholic churches at that. Not to mention the systematic gang rapes of Tutsi women and girls which led the international tribunal to define rape as an act of genocide when part of an extermination campaign. The genocide, while it coincided with the civil war and was clearly driven by the politics around the conflict, was mostly carried out by civilians against civilians far from the front. There was no "other side". There were the murde
Read more

Dinder National Park Sudan

-
Image
Dinder - Sudan Situated in the East of the country, very close to the Ethiopian border, about 400 km. (205 mi.) south-east of Khartoum - Sudan's capital city, is Dinder National Park (DNP) - some times called Dinda ( In Arabic: محميه الدندر ) . Covering about 6,475 sq. km. (2,500 sq. mi.) - some estimates say the park covers a much larger area; which would make it one of the largest in Africa. Established in 1935, it is the most important wildlife reserve in Northern Sudan. It is one of the two parks in the country  designated as Biosphere Reserves . The other is Radom National Park (RNP) in southern Darfur. The park, in Dinder District, Sennar State, like all game parks and reserves in Sudan, is confronted with several threatening problems such as trespassing livestock, poaching, increased human settlements and encroachment in the surrounding areas. Like all game parks and reserves in Sudan, you can hardly find any detailed information on the park. Photos of it, too, are v
Read more