Zimbabwe: Bad Working Conditions Status Quo, Say Trade Unions

Harare — Last month, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions organized a demonstration to commemorate the brutal police arrest of 147 trade union leaders and activists seven years ago. The arrested were demonstrating against the deteriorating working conditions at the time. According to the ZCTU, the situation hasn't improved much.

Some 100 workers attended a demonstration on 13 September in the Zimbabwean capital Harare. The yearly march organized by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) commemorated the arrest of 147 trade unionists on 13 September 2006. According to ZCTU Secretary-General Japhet Moyo some of them were brutally tortured.

Back in 2006, the ZCTU demonstrated against the deteriorating living standards of workers at a time of skyrocketing inflation. Not much has changed since, according to Ian Makoshori, chairman of the ZCTU's youth organization.

"It is said that Zimbabwe has 90 percent unemployment. But in fact it's 100 percent, because the ten percent who have a job earn salaries below the poverty datum line (PDL)," said Makoshori.

The PDL in Zimbabwe stands at 1.16 US dollars per day.

Women's rights

Patricia Mugumbi, one of the demonstrators, said: "As you know, we [women] experience periods once a month. At times you will need to rest, but at workplaces it is a dismissible offence when you are caught sleeping. Also, we no longer have restrooms. We don't even have sanitary bins at our workplaces. As women, we feel that are rights are not being recognized."

Mugumbi also complained that salaries are not paid on schedule. She said that she herself had only received her July salary "last week" and didn't know when her August salary would arrive.

"Nowadays it's difficult to be a worker especially for women," she said. "Most of our companies are finding it difficult to pay us on time. As we speak right now I have kids who need to be fed, they need school fees and clothing."

Keep on fighting

Makoshori, the ZCTU chairman, recalled how in 2006 the organization was demonstrating against high taxes.

"But nothing has changed since then," he said. "What's more, the three percent subscription for NSSA was increased to four percent, but they did not justify the increase."

The NSSA is the statutory corporate body tasked by the government to provide social security.

According to Makoshori: "If the government keeps on failing to recognize our rights as workers we will keep on fighting for our rights."

Tunisia: Start of Talks On Candidatures for Prime Minister

Bardo — The governmental process committee met on Sunday afternoon to discuss and look at candidatures for the position of Prime Minister after it received the lists of candidates put forward by the parties involved in the national dialogue.

The committee will then have to work out a report that will be submitted to the quartet sponsoring the dialogue which will in turn submit it to the leaders of political parties at a plenary session due to be held on Monday to make a choice for the post of Prime Minister.

All the parties have agreed that the future Prime Minister must enjoy the following qualities: experience, skill and independence.

Guinea: Security Council Urges Restraint, Calm Ahead of Election Certification

The United Nations Security Council is urging Guineans to exercise restraint and calm as the Supreme Court certifies the results of the legislative elections held last month.

"The members of the Security Council commended the Guinean people for their peaceful participation in the electoral process," the 15-members said in a late night press statement yesterday.

Guinea's Nation Independent Electoral Commission published the provisional results on 18 October, a move welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and transmitted the results to the country's top court on 20 October where the ratification process is ongoing.

In their latest statement, the Council members called on all political stakeholders to resolve any electoral disputes through legal recourse.

The long-delayed polls were held on 28 September, following talks in Conakry, the country's capital, between the Government and opposition parties.

An agreement to hold elections in September was signed at the end of the UN-mediated inter-Guinean political dialogue, launched on 28 March, and organized through a Follow-up Committee of the 3 July Agreement.

The Security Council has urged Guineans to implement the recommendations of the Follow-up Committee "without delay" and to remain engaged with the body.

The Council members "looked forward to the establishment of the new, democratic, and representative National Assembly," according to the statement, and encouraged UN entities and international actors, including the Peacebuilding Commission, to continue to support Guinea in this regard.

They also expressed "strong support" for the continued facilitation efforts led by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Said Djinnit.

The Council looked forward to the consolidation of democracy, peace and inclusive sustainable socio-economic development in the country, the statement summarized.

Guinea has been affected by political tumult since Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power in a coup in 2008, following the death of long-time president Lansana Conté. In November 2010, the election of Alpha Condé as President was the final stage of an interim Government's efforts to set the stage for democracy in the country.

The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, briefed the Council on the situation in Guinea earlier this week.

Kenya: Govt Will Not Tolerate Refugees Planning Terror Attacks - Ole Lenku

Fifteen immigration officials have been fired over illegal issuance of Kenyan identity documents to illegal immigrants. Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said the fifteen are senior and mid-level immigration officers who he said endangered national security by illegally issuing ID cards. He added that the officers will appear in court to face charges.

He further said that 17 senior administration officers have been re-deployed to the Department of Immigration to help streamline the department. Ole Lenku said the Interior Ministry has carried out a thorough audit that will strengthen our response to future security challenges. He said the "purge" that has began today at the Immigration department will extend to other departments within the government

"The Govt will carry out a thorough audit of identity cards and passports issued in the country in the last two years. This exercise will enable us flush out all those who have been issued with illegal passports and other identification documents" Ole Lenku said.

He said the government is also aware that some people Govt is also aware that some people have misused waiting cards issued upon application for an ID.

"To all those who may have been part of the network facilitating IDs to illegal immigrants. Your days are clearly numbered." The Interior Cabinet Secretary said.

Ole Lenku further said that there are 350,000 uncollected ID cards in registration centres country wide stating that he has instructed all relevant departments to destroy any ID card that has not been collected within 3 months from today.

He added that the government will be seeking to amend the Registration of Persons Act to strengthen indentification process before issuance of ID cards.

Ole Lenku said some refugees have abused Kenya's hospitality and warned that the government will not tolerate refugees planning to launch terror attacks from refugee camps.

"We have welcomed with open arms, refugees fleeing from insecurity in neighbouring countries but we wont allow them to harm us. Because of the returning calm in some parts of the Federal Republic of

Somali, the process of repatriating Somali refugees has started." He said.

Ole Lenku further said that the government will work closely with neighbourhood organizations and associations to enhance security as part of the Nyumba Kumi initiative. He said that community policing is anchored in Article 244(e) of the constitution which requires the police service to promote relationships with broader society.

"I have appointed a committee of reputable persons to spearhead the development of national policy on community policing. The committee will develop a national policy and oversee the implementation of this important security initiative." Ole Lenku announced.

The committee will be chaired by Joseph Kaguthi while members include Titus Naikuni, Simiyu Werunga, Nurie Abdillai,Salim Ndemo and Dr Francis Sang.

Mali: Mutinous Soldiers Captured and Killed in Purge

PRESS RELEASE

Elements of Mali's military appear to be carrying out a purge and extrajudicial killings of soldiers who took part in a mutiny last month in a barracks outside the capital Bamako, Amnesty International said today based on its research.

The bodies of four soldiers were discovered earlier this month near the capital and several others, including a Colonel, remain unaccounted for. These apparent extrajudicial executions and disappearances raise fears that soldiers loyal to General Amadou Haya Sanogo, who staged a coup in March 2012, are purging their ranks to quell dissent.

"This is the latest shocking example of how a small group of soldiers who appear to consider themselves above the law continue to cling onto power in Mali," said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International's researcher on West Africa.

The organization is calling for the Malian authorities to open an independent and impartial investigation into these very serious events, and ensure that those allegedly responsible for the acts are suspended from duty and prosecuted. Such investigations will be a crucial addition to the efforts to restore the rule of law after the armed conflict in northern Mali.

"It's appalling to see that despite the election of a democratically elected president in August 2013, a small group of soldiers loyal to the former junta continue to impose terror on their perceived opponents, in total impunity," said Mootoo.

The soldiers who were allegedly extrajudicially executed appear to have been targeted because they took part in a mutiny on 30 September at the Kati military barracks near the capital Bamako. The soldiers revolted against some officials in the ex-junta, especially its leader General Sanogo, for failing to promote their ranks. In a statement, the soldiers said they decided to take up arms to demand their right to be promoted and to receive payment that was due to them.

One of them, first class soldier (soldat première classe) Lassiné Keita, was arrested by soldiers loyal to the ex-junta in a bar in Bamako on the night of 30 September.

A witness contacted by Amnesty International said: "I was with [Lassiné Keita]. I went out at one point and when I came back I was told that my friend had been taken away by soldiers."

South Africa: France and South Africa Sign 1.5 Billion Euro Energy Accord

Photo: Radio Okapi/ Ph. John Bompengo

Electricity Transformer

On a two day visit to South Africa, French President Francois Hollande announced on Monday a 1.5 billion euro deal between the two countries for a thermal power plant.

At a joint press conference with South African president Jacob Zuma, Hollande announced the agreement between French energy firm GDF Suez and South Africa for "a thermal power plant to the tune of 1.5 billion euros, and also for a solar plant."

South Africa is currently unable to meet demand for energy and in 2008 there were rolling power cuts.

The country has now embarked on a multi-billion-dollar building spree to set up new power plants that would double electricity supplies over the next two decades.

Heavily reliant for decades on coal, it is now considering other energy sources including nuclear power and shale gas.

It plans to add more than 50,000 megawatts of electricity to the grid and hopes to generate at least 3,725 megawatts in green energy, in its bid to lower the over-reliance on coal.

Hollande also announced the conclusion of a deal worth more than 4 billion euros by Alstom to overhaul South Africa's passenger rail service, PRASA.

Under the deal, which was first announced in December last year, Alstom would build 600 trains and 3,600 wagons over a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025.

The deal, which Hollande described as "the largest in recent years" and an example of an "excellent partnership" between the two countries, would create several thousand jobs.

Part of agreement is that most of the parts used in the work will originate in South Africa.

It is the first phase of a much bigger, more than ten billion dollar project to revamp South Africa's Metrorail system, including the building of 7,224 commuter trains for Gauteng province which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria and also for Durban, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

About 90 percent of the current rolling stock is said to date back to the late 1950s.

Sudan: Clooney Satellite Warns Sudan's Civilians of Military Buildup

Nairobi — George Clooney's Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) issued a "human security warning" for civilians living in Sudan's war-torn South Kordofan region and in the disputed Abyei area on Tuesday, saying images of a military buildup could signal a new government offensive.

DigitalGlobe imagery showed attack helicopters, support and transport aircraft had arrived at El Obeid air base in neighbouring North Kordofan, and the number of helicopters and transport aircraft stationed at Kadugli air base in South Kordofan had almost tripled, the SSP said.

On the ground, it said there was an increase in the number of tanks and other vehicles stationed in garrisons in El Obeid and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.

"This buildup suggests a possible new offensive," the SSP said on its website. "The threat of renewed attacks on Sudanese civilians in South Kordofan, which could cause further displacement, is particularly worrying as food insecurity increases for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people with the advent of the dry season."

Seasonal hunger is a problem for many Sudanese, worsened in South Kordofan by massive displacement due to the conflict between rebels and government forces which reignited in June 2011.

Sudan's rainy season, during which there is traditionally a lull in fighting, ends next month.

Rebels in South Kordofan fought alongside southern insurgents during Sudan's civil war but were left in Sudan when South Sudan seceded under a 2005 peace deal. They say they are fighting persecution by the government, but it accuses them of trying to sow chaos at South Sudan's behest.

On Sunday, residents of the Abyei border region plan to hold a unilateral referendum despite warnings it could lead to violence. The ownership of Abyei was left undecided when South Sudan seceded - and a long-promised official plebiscite on its status has been stalled by arguments over who is entitled to vote.

Celebrity campaigner Clooney has previously accused Sudan of committing crimes against humanity by burning down villages in South Kordofan. The government says such charges are false and it is protecting civilians.

South Africa: How a Patent Is Blocking Access to a Life-Saving TB Medicine

ANALYSIS

Thousands of people in South Africa have drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). Many of them will die. Death from TB can be slow and horrible.

Many of those who do survive will struggle with severe side effects and may need daily pills and injections. Some, like 23-year-old Phumeza who described her experience of TB treatment at a Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) press conference last week, will live, but lose their hearing.

Linezolid, made by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, is one of the only drugs with some proven efficacy in treating drug resistant TB. It is currently sold in South Africa at an unaffordable R676 per pill in the private sector. The state pays R288 per pill. It must be taken daily for up to two years.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) would like to treat 300 drug resistant TB patients in Khayelitsha with linezolid, but can only afford to buy the drug for little more than 20 patients. Right now, MSF doctors are in the horrible position of having to decide who gets the drug and who does not.

Linezolid is not particularly expensive to make. A generic version is available in India for a mere R25 per pill. Had South Africa been able to import the Indian generic, MSF would likely be able to treat all 300 patients in Khayelitsha who need the drug.

However, mostly because of South Africa's outdated patent laws, MSF cannot legally import the Indian generic, nor does it seem there is any workable way in which to force Pfizer to lower their price. The only option open to MSF so far has been to ask Pfizer - a request to which Pfizer has so far been indifferent.

On 4 September, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) released South Africa's much-anticipated Draft National Policy on Intellectual Property (IP) for public comment. This policy could in time provide us with the legal tools to deal more effectively with issues like the lack of access to linezolid.

The policy is not just about TB though, it will also impact the ability of medical schemes to pay for their members' cancer or heart disease medicines. The intricacies of patent law quickly become highly contested. Given the consequences this policy could have on healthcare in South Africa and the affordability of National Health Insurance, it is essential that this is not just a debate between industry lawyers, but between people from all sectors of the health system and broader society.

'Renamo attack' on Mozambique's Maringue police station

Fears are growing that the civil war could resume

Mozambique's opposition Renamo movement has attacked a police station in the central town of Maringue a day after annulling a 1992 peace accord with the government, officials say.

Police are said to have fled their posts after gunmen opened fire and there are no reports of casualties.

A Renamo spokesman said party leader Afonso Dhlakama had "lost control of the situation".

On Monday, the army captured Mr Dhlakama's base, forcing him to flee.

About a million people were killed in Mozambique's civil war.

The conflict ended in 1992 when Renamo and the Frelimo government signed a peace accord.

'Horrible situation'

After the seizure of Mr Dhlakama's Sathunjira base on Monday, Renamo said it had pulled out of the peace deal.

However, its 51 MPs have not withdrawn from parliament.

The clashes have raised fears among many Mozambicans that the civil war could resume, threatening stability and the economic boom the southern Africa state is currently experiencing, reports the BBC's Jose Tembe from the capital, Maputo.

However, some people trust the army, he adds.

Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza addressed rallies in central Mozambique on Tuesday, urging people to remain calm.

State-run Radio Mozambique quoted a police source as saying that Renamo fighters attacked the police station in Maringue, about 35km (20 miles) from Mr Dhlakama's former base in central Sofala province.

The attack was intense, but there were no casualties, Radio Mozambique reported.

A teacher in Meringue, Romao Martins, told AFP news agency that residents had fled their homes during the assault.

Schools have also shut amid fears that the violence could escalate, AFP reports.

"The situation is horrible here. Early this morning, armed men supposed to be Renamo, attacked and it was a mess," Mr Martins is quoted as saying.

"For one hour, shooting could be heard from all directions and people fled from their homes."

On Monday, defence ministry spokesman Cristovao Chume said government forces had taken control of Mr Dhlakama's base in response to an earlier attack on an army post by Renamo fighters.

He confirmed that Mr Dhlakama had fled.

Renamo spokesman Fernando Mazanga said that government soldiers had bombarded the Sathunjira base with heavy weapons before occupying it.

"Peace is over in the country... The responsibility lies with the Frelimo government because they didn't want to listen to Renamo's grievances," Mr Mazanga told Reuters news agency.

Our correspondent says it is unclear whether Renamo intends to withdraw its members from parliament.

A Renamo MP told him that no official position had as yet been taken, he adds.

The government has repeatedly accused Renamo of trying to drag the country back to war, an allegation it denies.

In April, at least five people were killed in central Mozambique after Renamo members attacked a police post.

A force of about 300 Renamo men has remained armed since the peace accord, despite efforts to integrate them into the army or police force.

Mr Dhlakama has said he needs his own personal bodyguards, and the men usually stay in his war-time camp in the Gorongosa mountains in centre of the country.

After the civil war ended, Mr Dhlakama moved out of the camp to live in Maputo and later in the northern Nampula province

But he returned to the mountains last year, saying he needed to be close to his men who were feeling ignored.

Mozambique is due to hold local elections in November, and presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

Frelimo has governed Mozambique since independence in 1975.

Renamo, which was formed around the same time, was backed by the white minority governments in neighbouring South Africa and what is now Zimbabwe.

Mozambique: Ex-Rebels Attack Mozambique Police Station After Ending Peace Deal

Armed man (file photo).

A former rebel group in Mozambique has attacked a police station, after saying it has ended a 1992 peace deal with the country's ruling party.

Authorities told VOA on Tuesday that Renamo staged the pre-dawn attack on a station in the central town of Maringue. The town is near the group's military base.

There were no reports of casualties. The French News Agency says police officers fled from the building.

On Monday, the group announced it was pulling out of its peace deal with the ruling Frelimo party because government forces had captured a base where its leader was staying. Renamo said its leader, Afonso Dhlakama, managed to escape.

The government says it attacked the base in a remote region of the Gorongosa mountains in response to an assault by suspected Renamo fighters against a military unit last week.

Tension between the groups has escalated over the past year. Renamo has threatened to return to war unless the ruling party renegotiates some of the terms of the 1992 peace deal.

The U.S. embassy in the capital, Maputo, has urged calm. In a statement Tuesday, the embassy condemned violence as a means of resolving disputes and urged the two sides to engage in dialogue.

Egypt gunmen open fire on Coptic Christian wedding in Cairo

Gunmen fired shots as people left the church

Three people, including a girl aged eight, died when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a wedding party outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo.

At least nine others were wounded in the attack in Giza, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Egypt's Coptic Christian community has been targeted by some Islamists who accuse the Church of backing the army's overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July.

The unidentified attackers fired indiscriminately as people left the church.

A man and a girl were killed outside the church and a woman died on her way to hospital.

"We heard a very loud sound as if something was collapsing," one eyewitness said.

"I found a woman seated in a chair with lots of bullet wounds, covered in blood. Many other people had fallen around her, including a child," he added.

Coptic priest Thomas Daoud Ibrahim said he was inside the church when the gunfire erupted.

"What happened is an insult to Egypt, and it's not only directed against Coptic Christians. We are destroying our own country," he said.

Another priest, Beshay Lotfi, told Egyptian media that the church had been left without a police guard since the end of June.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of Christianity's oldest, founded in Alexandria around 50 AD.

Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million, and have generally coexisted peacefully with majority Sunni Muslims for centuries.

A priest at the church said it had been left unguarded by police since June

However, the overthrow of Mr Morsi by the military has been followed by the worst attacks on churches and Christian properties in years.

When head of the armed forces, Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, went on television to announce that the Islamist president had been deposed in the wake of mass opposition protests demanding his resignation, Pope Tawadros II appeared alongside him.

Pope Tawadros said that the "roadmap" mentioned by the general had been devised by honourable people, who had Egypt's best interests at heart.

He has since received death threats, while several Christians have been killed. Christian shops, homes and businesses have also been targeted.

South Sudan: Jonglei militia 'kills dozens'

Fighting in South Sudan has displaced tens of thousands of people

Some 78 people have been killed and scores wounded in an attack on villages in South Sudan's Jonglei state, the local MP has told the BBC.

The attackers were believed to be members of David Yau Yau's rebel group, said MP Deng Dau.

Jonglei is badly affected by ethnic rivalries and disputes over land and cattle ownership.

More than 1,500 people are estimated to have been killed in the area since South Sudan's independence in 2011.

Tens of thousands have also been left homeless by the fighting.

'Abductions'

South Sudan Information Minister Micheal Makuie told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that security forces have been deployed to capture the rebels.

Air surveillance is also being carried out to "detect their line of movement", he added.

Army spokesman Col Philip Aguer told the BBC at least two villages had been burned during Sunday's attack in Jonglei's Twic East County.

Mr Dau, who has just visited the scene, said the attackers wore green uniforms and had used heavy weapons including mortars.

The attack left 78 people dead and 88 wounded, he said, adding that 24 people, many of them children, had been abducted.

The UN mission in South Sudan said more than 30 people had been flown to the nearest towns for medical treatment.

Thousands of cattle were stolen during the attack, the acting governor of Jonglei, Hussein Maar, said, in comments carried by the Associated Press news agency.

South Sudan is awash with small arms after decades of conflict against Khartoum's rule.

Khartoum gave it independence in 2011 following talks brokered by the US and regional countries.

Cattle lie at the heart of life for many communities in the country which has hardly any banks - they are used as a form of wealth, to pay dowries and as a source of food in the lean season.

A single cow can be worth hundreds of dollars depending on its colouring.

Tunisia: Military Operation Underway to Track Terrorists After National Guard Officers' Killings

Beja — A massive military operation is underway in the area of Tella, delegation of Goubellat (governorate of Beja), to chase a terrorist group who killed two National Guard officers on Thursday, informed sources said.

The National Army used helicopters and military aircraft to shell the region and push terrorists entrenched in the mountain to show up.

The same sources told TAP correspondent that weapons were discovered along with ammonium, an artificial fertiliser used in making explosives, during a raid on a house dwelt by the members of the terrorist group who, they added, killed local National Guard chief Lieutenant Mahmoud Ferchichi and Sergeant Karim Hamdi, National Guard officer in Goubellat, and seriously injured Sergeant Faouzi Charfi.

Locals in Goubellat and Mejez El Bab (southern Beja) are on high alert and lending a helping hand with surveillance.

Liberia: Min. Dukuly Senses Lasting Regional Peace

A meeting between Liberian and La Cote'dIvoire Chiefs and Elders organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and partners including the UNDP opened yesterday in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.

The five-day event which began Wednesday October 16, 2013 with the arrival of about 108 Chiefs and Elders from border region in Liberia and Ivory Coast will be climaxed on Saturday October 19, 2013 with Presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her counterpart, President Alassane Quattara of Coted'Ivoire receiving resolutions from the Chiefs and Elders on ways to enhance and solidity peace and security especially on the border lines of the two neighboring countries.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Internal Affairs, Morris Dukuly said he hope the forum will provide an opportunity and a platform for representatives of the two countries, particularly local officials along the common border to dialogue and consult on matters relating to the sustenance of peace between the two countries.

Minister Dukuly: "We in Liberia are hopeful that the outcome of our deliberations will strengthen our friendship, bolster trans-border security and elevate our cooperation to a new level, in the interest of our people."

High lighting the long standing ties between the two countries, Minister Dukuly noted that in the quest for the liberation of Africa, Liberia as the only independent African nation at the time, championed the cause of the liberation of African countries most importantly, Cote d'Ivoire which finally got her independent on August 7, 1960.

He narrated that in the years that followed, President Félix Houphouët-Boigny embraced the friendship of his counterpart President William V. S. Tubman, and as their bond strengthened and deepened, the two nations grew in mutual respect, cooperation, and unity.

"During the tenure of President William R. Tolbert, Jr. who served for nineteen years as Vice President to President Tubman, a romantic flavor was added to the already strong Liberian-Ivorian relations when A. Benedict Tolbert, son of President Tolbert, took the hand of Daisy, daughter of President Houphouët-Boigny, into marriage." "It is perhaps the deep admiration that President Tolbert had of President Houphouët-Boigny, while serving as vice president that fashioned these personal bonds at the highest levels of our two governments" Minister Dukuly intimated.

The former Minister of State for Presidential Affairs said: "you who are old enough to remember this period, you may recall that when we spoke of the atmosphere that prevailed in this region then, we did not only speak of peace as we do today, we spoke of peace and tranquility,' a characterization that seems to have receded into memory in recent years.

He told the gathering that as the 1959 meeting sowed the seed of what today is the African Union, formerly the Organization of African Unity, he is optimistic that this meeting will open a new page in the relationship between the two post-conflict countries.

Minister Dukuly used the occasion to praise the host county Grand Gedeh for the reception being accorded their guests adding that, this meeting presents the opportunity for the people of the county to rebrand and remarket themselves to shed any and all stereotypical imagery that people may have on their minds about the county or its people.

Speaking Earlier, a representative of Cote d'Ivoire Minister of State, Interior and Security, Francios Jean Nebout expressed delight over the meeting saying it will provide the opportunity to open lines of communication between the countries through information sharing thus alleviating fear of insecurity along their common border.

He said with the involving of international peace missions both in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, this meeting of the Joint Council of Chiefs and Elders is the best mechanism to consolidate the gains made in the restoration of peace in the two neighboring countries. The Cote d'Ivoire government representative further said he hope resolution coming out of the meeting will address the prevailing issues of the refugees return, disarmament and demobilization, reintegration and reconciliation of Cote d'Ivoire citizens affected by the 2010 civil crisis in that country.

Mr.Nebout said he anticipate that the on-going meeting of border Chiefs and Elders would evolve resolutions that would foster lasting peace and development and address women and children issues thus allowing his country to reinforce administrative diplomacy with its neighbors.

In a brief overview of the Meeting, Deputy Internal Affairs Minister for Urban Affairs Mr. Amos Tweh said the cross-border meeting is a brainchild of the two quadripartite meetings and that over one hundred community representatives comprising traditional chiefs, women, youth groups, refugee leaders among others are brainstorming in an effort to cement the peace initiative President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and many stakeholders have started.

According to him, the overriding objective of the meeting is to among others contribute to the strengthening of corporation, collaboration and coordination which will ensure coherence of information exchanges between civilian and security authorities in the border regions of the two countries.

Welcoming the delegates at the onset of the meeting, the Superintendent of grand Gedeh County Mr. Peter L. Solo said he is convinced that the meeting will address various problems and challenges which are being inflamed by uncontrolled cross-border movements of persons and goods.

He indicated that the absence of security forces and strategies for controlling small arms and light weapons as well as in adequate access to basic services in the two countries are reasons why the participants need to derive a mutual and genuine understanding that will improve cooperation, collaboration and coordination between the two countries.

South Africa soap opera stand-off stops filming

The soap is set in Johannesburg's cut-throat advertising industry 

The producer of the South African soap opera Generations has told the BBC he does not intend to comply with the contract demands of striking actors.

Nearly the entire cast of South Africa's most popular drama series did not turn up on set when filming of the show was supposed to restart on Monday.

They refused to sign contracts with "out clauses" which allow for characters to be killed off.

Producer Mfundi Vundla said flexibility was needed to make a ratings success.

The soap opera, which is produced by Mr Vundla's Morula Pictures for South Africa's SABC 1 channel, is also hugely popular across Africa and a big revenue earner for the public broadcaster.

'Well paid'

Mr Vundla said the trouble began at an anniversary party last month to celebrate 20 years of the show, which is set in the cut-throat advertising industry in Johannesburg and centres around the lives of the Moroka family.

At the party, SABC announced that Mr Vundla's company had secured a three-year contract to continue producing the show.

"All hell broke lose, the actors thought the three-year contract to my production company was an automatic three-year contract to them," Mr Vundla told the BBC's Newsday programme.

They then complained when he presented them with three-year contracts which had "out clauses" to allow for different storylines or new characters, he said.

"We as the producers have the right to write out one or more existing members of the ensemble," Mr Vundla said.

"This has been the modus operandi for the last 20 years."

He said the actors earned a good wage, some with a salary of 500,000 South African rand ($50,600; £31,600) a year.

"That's a lot of money in South Africa - it takes a chartered accountant about four years [to earn that]," he said.

According to South Africa's City Press newspaper, the actors have appointed a lawyer to negotiate with Mr Vundla over the contracts and other wage demands.

Mr Vundla said he was not ready to negotiate yet as he hoped that the "penny might drop" and that the actors would see his point of view.

There are enough episodes of the soap already filmed to air until the New Year.