Zimbabwe’s Mines Minister, Obert Mpofu, has given the European Union (EU) an open invitation to tour the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields, a week after the EU said it was considering lifting a ban on Zimbabwe’s exports.Last week the EU was reported to be mulling lifting the ban, in place since 2009 over human rights abuses at Chiadzwa, saying conditions at two mines there had improved. The reports coincided with a shock documentary by the BBC's Panorama investigative series, which exposed the ongoing use of torture camps in the Marange region, said to be used by the military controlling the diamond fields.
BBC: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered
Horticultural exports are set to grow significantly as local fresh producers benefit from adopting global standards in their production and marketing processes, giving their products easier access to international markets. Under a Sh5 billion ($65 million) project grant signed with TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) in Nairobi last week, Kenya will lead other horticultural producers in East Africa to develop and implement a regional version of the Global Good Agricultural Practice standards.
There is no sense in continuing direct payments to farmers as a part of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU, says Professor Ulrich Koester from Kiel University. Instead of falling market prices for EU goods, Koester holds that European farmers have seen rising market prices since 1993, when direct payments were introduced.
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The new Greek Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Christos Salamanis, said he hoped to be part of the solution to solve the impasse between Zimbabwe and the European Union during his tour of duty. Ambassador Salamanis said this soon after paying a courtesy call on Acting President Joice Mujuru at her Munhumutapa Offices.
Although the ACP Group of States with its 79 members represents a large part of the world’s poor, the group is under-represented in global institutions, says Dr Mirjam van Reisen, professor at Tilburg University. While the future of the ACP Group after 2020 is all but certain, individual ACP countries are increasingly cooperating with China, India and Brazil to gain independence from their traditional partners.
Decades of weak and even deteriorating performance of the public service in Sierra Leone have held economic development back, said the European Union. The European Commission is now planning to help the West African country: Over the period 2008-2013, 254 million Euros ($A345 million) are earmarked to make public service more transparent, accountable and performance-oriented.
Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, announced today her intention to appoint 25 new Heads of the European Union Delegations around the world. These appointments are part of the 2011 rotation of heads of delegation and include 16 candidates from Member States diplomatic services, 7 from the EEAS and 2 from the European Commission. Among others, Gary Quince, the current head of the department Sustainable Growth and Development at the DG Devco (European Commission) is set to become the new head of the EU mission to Ethiopia and the African Union.