Africa – 27 July 2014

Zuma to send envoys to Mid-East
Two special envoys will head for war-torn Palestine, President Jacob Zuma told MPs on Thursday.
“I’m sending two special envoys to the Middle East. They are the former Minister of Social Development and former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Zola Skweyiya, and the former deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aziz Pahad,” he said. The ZimbabweMail

U.S.-Africa Summit Must Listen to Voices of the People
In a guest column for AllAfrica, E. Gyimah Boadi of Ghana’s Center for Democratic Development says the vast majority of Africans who prefer democracy over authoritarian regimes deserve to be heard at the forthcoming U.S.-Africa Summit convened by President Barack Obama.
The child kidnappings by Boko Haram have done a great deal for Africa’s critics and its strongmen. Legitimate concerns about security in some areas – Nigeria’s northern villages, South Sudan and the Central African Republic – can lead to the assertion that Africa is not ready for democracy. allAfrica

GMOs and food sovereignty: Which way Africa?
African governments are under intense pressure from within but also from big agribusiness and Western governments to embrace GMOs. Governments must resist all forms of arm-twisting and food colonialism and make their biotechnology choices based on the facts. Pambazuka
For weeks now, an interesting controversy has been raging in Kenya about a popular seasoning product made by the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever. The government through the National Biosafety Authority announced it would stop the sale of Aromat in the country because it contains genetically modified ingredients that could harm consumers. Kenya banned production or importation of genetically modified organisms in 2012.