Emissions trading hits the poor

Scrap this regressive fuel tax and let countries be prosperous and free enough to cope with the effects of climate change

Matthew Sinclair
guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009 09.00 GMT
When the Grocer magazine accused Ken Clarke of planning to increase the rate of VAT on domestic fuel and power bills in 1997 it was a political scandal.
He was quick to deny their report. But, as our study released this morning shows, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is now effectively doing just what the Grocer accused Clarke of planning. The ETS is now costing British consumers £3bn a year – equivalent to around £117 per family, and a large part of that bill is coming through higher electricity prices. When combined with other climate change policies such as the Renewables Obligation, it now accounts for 14% of the average household electricity bill. Yet, what percentage of the population even knows these policies exist, let alone how much they’re paying for them?
The reason why increasing electricity bills has caused such a scandal in the past, and should be taken incredibly seriously now, is that the poor and elderly spend far more as a portion of their income on electricity. The 10% of the population on the lowest incomes spend more than three times as much, as a share of their income, as the richest 10%. Over-75s spend nearly twice as much as under-30s. We need to resist increases in VAT because it hits the poor hardest, but at least VAT is exempted or at least reduced for some items like food and children’s clothing. The ETS does precisely the opposite, pushing up prices on the spending priorities of low-income families.
The fact that a large share of the proceeds goes to energy companies as windfall profits rubs salt in that wound. Those profits are going to continue for some years to come as the scheme slowly moves towards auctioning allowances rather than allocating them for free. Even once full auctioning is in place, the ETS will still be a highly regressive tax.
Of course, the reason why we are supposed to accept such a regressive tax is that it will help to cut emissions. Unfortunately, the efficacy of the scheme is undermined by its inability to produce a stable carbon price. The price has collapsed a number of times since the scheme was introduced. As Oliver Tickell wrote for this website, “wild fluctuations create a risk that deters some investors altogether and makes others demand a significant risk premium, putting up the price of capital.” EDF Energy has called for a floor on the carbon price to “encourage investment in low-carbon energy like nuclear power”. This calls into question the whole point of the scheme.
That volatility isn’t going to end any time soon. The basic problem is that the supply of allowances is fixed (the “cap” in “cap and trade”) so shifts in demand are entirely reflected in prices. As firms and households find it easier or harder to improve their carbon efficiency, and as the economy grows more or less quickly, the number of allowances allocated by the participating countries will never be quite right and the price will continue to crash up and down.
That volatility doesn’t just undermine the efficacy of the ETS. It also makes the burden it imposes on households and businesses that bit harder to bear.
For those reasons alone, the Emissions Trading Scheme should be abolished. Instead, we should focus on making sure that developed and developing countries are prosperous and free enough to cope with whatever climate change throws at them. We should also directly support the development of technologies that can provide us with new options, ideally with the kind of rigorous prizes that have delivered dramatic results in the development of everything from agricultural machinery and private suborbital spaceflight. That will be far more effective and affordable than the current approach.
The ETS has been an expensive failure. Having been implemented through the EU without a real debate here, it lacks democratic legitimacy and it is imposing a significant burden on the poorest families while achieving very little. It should be abolished.

Coming clean about going green

Too many companies make spurious eco-friendly claims to sell their products, but there are alternatives
Laura Whateley

Next time you are in Tesco, or flicking through a magazine, try counting the number of products advertised as being eco-friendly, organic or natural. You will soon run out of fingers.
According to TerraChoice, a US marketing company, the amount of goods sold as “green” in the UK, US, Canada and Australia has risen by an average of 79 per cent since 2007. It also found that 98 per cent of products being advertised as green had some environmental failings.
In anticipation of the UN Climate Change Conference in December, Times Money exposes the worst offenders and offers some genuinely green, and often cheaper, alternatives.
Investment groups and banks
Consumers may be tempted to opt for “green” investments but first they should examine where their money is going.
Virgin Money, for example, has launched a climate change Isa, which, it claims, “invests in specially selected business” that have “a lighter environmental footprint”. However, the Isa has been criticised for supporting industries with questionable environmental credentials.
Virgin Money’s marketing literature says that the Isa “includes all industries — so you don’t miss out on lucrative sectors like oil, gas, electricity and transportation”.
Toby Webb, the founder of Ethical Corporation, a business intelligence company, says: “I had expected the fund to be investing in exciting new technology companies set to capitalise on the next green revolution.”
But Virgin’s definition of companies that fight climate change appears to be somewhat elastic, for example: “Companies taking positive action on the corporate responsibility front by promoting environmentally aware behaviour internally, such as encouraging recycling in their workplaces.” Mr Webb says: “So an oil company could get into the Virgin Money Climate Change Isa fund by encouraging employees to have a recycling bin in their office.
“Is that really green? No, not at all. And it doesn’t do a lot for the climate either, really.”
HSBC and Nationwide both flaunt their green credentials by offering customers the option to switch to paperless statements. While this is of benefit, it is not a brave environmental campaign: all online banking customers can request to go paperless; some online banks will not even offer you the option of paper statements. It also saves money for the banks, too.
Barclaycard Breathe, meanwhile, says that it will donate 0.5 per cent of customers’ spends to “projects that tackle climate change”.
But the card does not have a particularly competitive rate of interest, which cancels the benefit, according to Darren Cook, of Moneyfacts.co.uk. He says: “A better alternative may be to shop around for the best deal on the market and then make a cash donation to your chosen green charity.”
If you want to know that you are receiving more than vacuous green promises from your bank, Mr Cook suggests opening an account with the Co-operative and its online offshoot, Smile, Triodos or Charity Bank. “These banks offer customers transparency about which companies they fund, and promise not to lend to environmentally unfriendly organisations,” he says.
Triodos, for example, uses customers’ deposits to finance wind farms and one of the projects supported by Charity Bank is the installation of a hydro plant.
The Co-operative Bank states that it “will not finance any business whose core activity contributes to global climate change, via the extraction or production of fossil fuels”.
Energy companies
There has been a proliferation of “green” or “eco” energy tariffs on the market lately, but in reality these products do little to fight climate change.
Rob Reid, scientific policy adviser for Which?, believes that consumers are being misled about the true environmental credentials of their energy providers.
He says: “We are concerned about the way energy companies use terms such as ‘green electricity’, which we think is damaging. By law, energy companies must source 9 per cent of energy from renewable resources. Ofgem did a review last year, and found that many energy companies were simply repackaging their tariffs as ‘eco’ because they were following these guidelines.
“Ofgem ruled that energy companies can now only advertise tariffs as ‘green’ if they can prove they do more than they are legally obligated to.
“However, rather than increasing their percentage of renewable energy, companies often just donate to a green charity, or a carbon-offsetting organisation. Energy companies then charge customers a premium for such tariffs.”
Good Energy, for example, is one of the only companies that genuinely uses 100 per cent renewable energy, and Ecotricity invests more per customer in new supplies of renewable energy than any other in the UK.
There are also plenty of ways in which consumers can reduce their energy use without paying an electricity company for the pleasure.
Turning down a thermostat by 1C could cut a consumer’s heating bill by up to 10 per cent.
If only 50 families switched their washing machine temperature from 40C to 30C for a year it would save enough electricity to make a quarter of a million cups of tea, says Which?
Before buying a new electrical item, be it a fridge or a hairdryer, check its efficiency on energytariff.co.uk, a new website that allows consumers to compare brands and models against estimated hourly usage.
For more ideas on how to reduce consumption the Energy Saving Trust offers a free home energy check, which will give you tips on how to save up to £300 a year on household energy bills.
Cars
Whatever the ad men tell you, no car is truly green. Mercedes-Benz is the latest company to get into trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority for misleading the public about its environmentally friendly credentials. In an advert for a new model it stated that it was “a pleasure, but not a guilty one”.
Neil Wallis, of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, says that consumers should look at how much carbon each car produces. “There are already significant financial benefits to buying a car with lower carbon emissions,” he says, “and they will become much cheaper in the future.”
However, buyers should not assume automatically that a hybrid-electric car emits less carbon than a small petrol engine. A large hybrid car such as the Lexus LS 600h petrol hybrid emits 219g/km of CO2, compared with just 99g/km emitted by the Toyota iQ three-door hatch, with a petrol engine, according to What Green Car.
Motorists can compare the emissions of new cars on the Act On CO2 website at actonco2.direct.gov.uk.
Buying a new green car is, of course, not the cheapest solution. Mr Wallis says: “You can get significant fuel savings from driving in a more sensible way, which costs you nothing. Tyre pressure is also very important.”
Friends of the Earth estimates that 80 per cent of car tyres are not properly inflated, which can increase fuel consumption by up to 5 per cent.
Reducing the amount you use your car is, ultimately, the greenest option. Liftshare.org organises car-sharing schemes and the charity Carplus.org is developing a network of car clubs and sharing schemes across the UK.
Household products
Tempted to pay more for the bottle of bleach decorated with a picture of a rural scene? Don’t bother. According to research by TerraChoice, British household, health and beauty products are some of the worst culprits for false green advertising.
Comfort fabric softener, for example, has been attacked for presenting its product as kind and gentle when in reality fabric softeners can pollute waterways and poison aquatic life.
The report also points out that household products often promote themselves as including “natural materials”, neglecting to make it clear that some natural substances, such as formaldehyde and arsenic, are harmful.
Directgov, the Government’s website, recommends that consumers buy genuinely environmentally friendly products from manufacturers such as Ecover, which offers cleaning products from washing-up liquid to limescale remover and laundry powder.
Ecover products are made using raw materials from vegetable and mineral sources that guarantee maximum biodegradability. Consumers should look for the European Union Ecolabel, which looks like a flower. This stamp is given to products that minimise their impact on the environment.
Ecover will, however, cost you slightly more than other products. A cheap alternative? Simply use less.
Of detergents and cleaning products Directgov says: “Don’t use more than the recommended dose, use the mildest cleaning product needed for the job and the minimum dosage for the hardness of the water in your area.”
Case study: Victorian listed house becomes ‘ecoparadise’
Mike Duff, 30, and his wife, Michelle Wilson, have spent the past year turning their Victorian Grade II listed house in Stratford, East London, into an ecoparadise. As a result, they have added £50,000 to the value of their home. As an urban design and sustainability consultant, Mike works to make cities more environmentally-friendly. He felt that it was time to apply the same logic to his own home.
The couple installed double- glazed, argon-filled windows and an air-source heat pump, which provides all their heating underfloor as well as their hot water. This uses about 25 per cent of the energy consumption of the most efficient combi-boiler. Mike says: “It is three times the cost of a combi-boiler; however, we planned to build this house as if it was our last, so are in it for the long haul. An air-source heat pump also has the added benefit of using a truly renewable fuel, air — and air can’t be taxed.”
Mike and Michelle also have a grey-water recycling system, which purifies the water from their sinks and showers enough to be reused in the garden and for flushing toilets. They grow their own vegetables and herbs, and compost all food waste.
Michelle cannot easily get to work on public transport so they decided to buy a 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid for her commute. Mike says: “This costs us less than the new version of our VW Golf would have cost. So far, we’ve driven 850 miles and filled the tiny 22-litre tank twice.”
Beyond carbon offset
A growing number of “green” insurance products are appearing on the market that promise to offset emissions caused by your driving with donations to carbon-offsetting schemes. The same applies to some “green” mortgages. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, for example, offers a “carbon neutral mortgage”. For each green mortgage bought, 40 trees will be planted over five years.
However, environmental charities remain sceptical about the benefit of carbon-offsetting. Dan Welch, the co-editor of Ethical Consumer magazine, agrees. He says: “The very basis of carbon-offset is flawed.
If you want to support good organisations that are fighting climate change, there are plenty that offer better ways of doing it than through carbon-offset.”
He recommends policies that offer lower premiums to motorists with greener cars. Ecoinsurance.co.uk and More Than both offer cheaper premiums for fuel-efficient, hybrid or electric cars, for example. Naturesave offers discounts on home insurance for houses with green features such as solar panels and water butts.

World’s tigers seen facing potential extinction

Tigers could become extinct in the wild in two decades unless the world ramps up conservation efforts to halt the decline in their population, wildlife experts said on Wednesday.

Barely 3,500 tigers are estimated to be roaming in the wild in 12 Asian countries and Russia compared with about 100,000 a century ago, experts and conservationists said.

Tigers are being illegally killed for their body parts and Asia is a hotspot for the illegal wildlife trade which the international police organization Interpol estimates may be worth more than $20 billion a year.

Skins sell as rugs and cloaks on the black market, where a skin can fetch up to $20,000 in countries like China.

Habitat destruction and depletion of prey base were other perils facing the “Asian heritage”, conservationists said.

“A business as usual approach in tiger conservation will doom the tiger population in the next 15 to 20 years,” Mahendra Shrestha, program director of the Washington-based Save the Tiger Fund told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on tiger conservation.

He said law enforcement, patrols to stop poaching and the preservation of remaining habitat would improve the situation.

“There is hope. We can do it. It is not rocket science. It does not require a lot of new activities,” Shrestha said.

“But there has to be strong political will to conserve tigers and also strong global international support for the activities of the tiger range countries.”

Tigers still roam terrain in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. (See left)

John Seidensticker, chief scientist at the Smithsonian National Zoo’s Conservation Ecology Center, said tiger habitat had declined by 40 percent in the last decade due to destruction of forests.

“Our challenge is to make landscapes with tigers alive worth more than landscapes where tigers have been killed,” Seidensticker said. “I think we have a decade from where we will slip from being caretakers to undertakers.”

Source:
Reuters, “World’s tigers seen facing potential extinction“, accessed October 29, 2009

From the Inbox - Meet Me at the Wall

Former Central African Republic Leader Returns From Exile

Ex-Central African Republic president returns from exile: aide

Fri Oct 30, 4:42 PM

BANGUI (AFP) - The former president of the Central African Republic, Ange-Felix Patasse, returned home Friday after more than six years in exile, a close aide told AFP.

Patasse was president from 1999 until March 2003, when he was deposed by Francois Bozize, who is still in power, and since then has been living in exile in Togo.

He plans to stand in 2010 presidential elections.

A close aide to the former president, Sosthene Nguetel, said the homecoming had taken place without incident. Patasse, however, did not speak to the press, and was moved from the airport to a secret location.

Security was tight around Bangui airport, with the press kept away by a large deployment of police and soldiers.

Bozize’s government has said that it would not oppose the return to the country of its former leader, and the two politicians are expected to meet in the coming days, Patasse’s aides said.

Patasse had urged his supporters inside the country to stage a peaceful reception for him and to respect law and order.

Judge Refuses to Recuse Himself in Jackie Selebi Trial

Selebi trial: Judge Joffe stands firm

ADRIAAN BASSON AND ILHAM RAWOOT | JOHANNESBURG - Oct 30 2009 12:59

Judge Meyer Joffe has declined to recuse himself from hearing the Jackie Selebi corruption trial.

In a strongly worded ruling, read out to the South Gauteng High Court on Friday, Meyer meticulously went through each of Selebi’s complaints against him, and dismissed each with phrases like “unfounded” or “unfortunate and wrong”.

This means Joffe will continue to preside over the marathon trial of the former top cop, which will resume on Monday when Selebi’s counsel, Jaap Cilliers, will continue his cross-examination of drug dealer Glenn Agliotti.

After reciting rulings from Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal judgements, he laid down the basis for his decision by listing all of Selebi’s complaints, and finding that all of them gave no reasonable suspicion of bias, and were “without merit” or “ill-founded”. He did not concede to a single complaint.

“I have considered the complaints objectively,” said Joffe. “I am unable to conclude on the papers before me that any single complaint … or all the complaints … show bias or give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. The application for my recusal is dismissed.”

Selebi’s complaints included Joffe’s alleged hostility towards Cilliers, Joffe not reprimanding state prosecutor Gerrie Nel for his alleged misconduct in the trial, and accusations that Joffe “assisted” Agliotti in finding “a way out”, when it appeared Agliotti had lied.

Selebi told the Mail & Guardian Online after the ruling: “I’m feeling OK, I’m good.” When the M&G Online asked if he is looking forward to relating his side of the story, Selebi said: “My time will come.”

‘I have not been affected by the media’

Argument in the recusal application took place on Thursday. “Your lordship was to some extent hostile to the defence,” said Cilliers during his argument, referring to interactions between himself and Joffe when he attempted to cross-examine Agliotti on the contents of an article in City Press newspaper.

Cilliers said that he has been in his profession for a long time, and was used to “rude remarks from the bench”, to which Joffe, clearly disturbed, replied, “I take the greatest umbrage in that.”

Cilliers, although taking jabs at Joffe’s neutrality, insisted throughout his arguments that he was “not suggesting that your lordship is deliberately dishonest”, but, rather that his actions may cause Selebi to perceive or suspect that he is biased.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel then had his turn to speak and called Selebi’s application for the judge’s recusal “weak”.

“There is no real merit in this application,” he said, adding that the application was based on attacking the prosecution, the Scorpions and the National Prosecuting Authority.

Nel also dismissed the strength of Cilliers’s earlier claim that Joffe’s partiality was affected by media reports.

“The accused is not the first person to stand trial with a media campaign against him,” said Nel. “I’m going to refer to … Advocate Barbie. That case ran for about a year. The judge passed away and another judge had to take over. Are you saying that we have to ask every judge ‘did you read the papers?’”.

Joffe, whose mood appeared to have lifted after the lunch break, replied: “Are you asking me to pass away?” to laughter, and a sense of relief, from the courtroom.

Joffe then removed his glasses and said: “This is a very difficult application because it goes to my every essence. I consider myself a well-informed South African. I get a number of papers delivered to my home. But I do not read matters that are not fact … I have not been affected by the media.”

‘How long have you been senior counsel?’

Earlier on Thursday, Cilliers listed the ways in which Selebi felt that Joffe had been biased against him. The first was that when Agliotti admitted to lying to the court Joffe did not raise the issue of the “conduct of the prosecution” who “had knowledge of the fact that their witness was lying”.

Cilliers’s next point was that chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and his prosecuting team withheld important documents from the defence, which they then included in a bundle they had handed to Joffe.

“The prosecution acted with ulterior motive … they manipulated the evidence,” said Cilliers. “You did not raise how it came about that the documents were put in that bundle.”

Joffe, appearing to be nearing the end of his tether, asked Cilliers: “Mr Cilliers, how long have you been senior counsel? If you felt hard done by by Mr Nel’s conduct, why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve dealt with it. Why do you put it at my door and not raise it yourself … I’m being taken to task for not chastising Mr Nel. I’m putting it to you, why didn’t you raise the objection?”

The third issue revolved around a controversial City Press article of two weeks ago, which described a video that had been leaked to the newspaper by an unknown source. Joffe had not allowed Cilliers to complete cross-examining Agliotti on the article.

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-30-selebi-trial-judge-joffe-stands-firm

UN welcomes United States removal of entry restriction based on HIV status

The United Nations agency spearheading the world body’s efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic today welcomed the decision of the United States to remove 22-year-old entry restrictions based on HIV status.

SEAL THE DEAL: UN project seeks to protect West African coastline from erosion

In West Africa, the coast is more than just a simple marker between land and sea. It’s also the home of millions - as much as 80 per cent of the populations of many countries live nearby - and a vital source of livelihoods and income thanks to the critical industries of fishing and tourism.

President Jacob Zuma of the Republic of South Africa Addresses thePan-African Parliament in Midrand

Address by the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency, Mr Jacob Zuma, to the Pan African Parliament; Gallagher Estate, Midrand
26 October 2009

Your Excellency, President of the Pan-African Parliament, Dr Idriss Ndele Moussa;
Your Excellency, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Jean Ping,
Honourable Ministers, Deputy Ministers,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Honoured Members of the Pan African Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen;

I feel greatly honoured and privileged to address the First Ordinary Session of the Second Legislature of the Pan-African Parliament.

On behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all participants in this inaugural session.

I would also like to congratulate the new Bureau on its election to office; in particular the new President of Pan-African Parliament.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the formation of the Pan-African Parliament in March 2004.

It is a date that will be recorded in history as a pivotal moment in our efforts to ensure that the peoples of Africa determine their collective future.

The establishment of the Pan-African Parliament was informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples to be more involved in decisions on the challenges facing the continent.

These decisions affect people directly.

We therefore need to find ways and means for people to be part of the processes that have an impact on their lives.

The Pan-African Parliamentarians are the elected representatives of the peoples of Africa.

We remain committed to the aim of the Pan-African Parliament to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage.

As a forum representing the parliaments and peoples of Africa, the Pan-African Parliament has a major role to play in deepening democratic ideals and ensuring respect for the rule of law, and equality throughout the continent.

We need to pose the question: What does it means to deepen democratic ideals, and how do we ensure respect for the rule of law?

Importantly, do we all have a common understanding of what these concepts mean?

This Parliament needs to help elucidate these concepts, so that this common understanding becomes entrenched on our continent and in individual countries.

Excellencies and Honourable Members;

It is fundamentally important that we encourage other member states to ratify the Protocol establishing the Pan-African Parliament.

The Pan-African Parliament is the only continental institution that has such broad representation of the public representatives of Africa.

It is this institution that constitutes a single collective voice of the ordinary people of our continent.

They are, in the main, voiceless in many existing forums, be they political, economic, cultural, religious or traditional.

It is therefore an appropriate institution to exercise oversight to ensure that governments pursue African Union programmes at the continental level and national programmes within individual countries.

It must speak on behalf of the peoples of Africa, and diligently pursue their common interests.

As the host country, South Africa is determined to provide the best possible conditions for this assembly to successfully discharge its mandate.

Excellencies, and Honourable Members;
Five years ago, members of the Pan-African Parliament adopted the slogan “One Africa, One Voice”.

The pertinent question is how do we realise this ‘one voice’ without a serious debate on the matters of life and death that face our continent?

We have not been able to discuss properly many of these problems, particularly the outstanding issue of conflict and war.

This slogan means we need to give concrete expression to our commitment to the continuation of the Pan-Africanist agenda pursued by the founding leaders of post-colonial Africa.

This is to be realised through the harmonisation and coordination of the policies and laws made at national and regional levels, and by promoting a sense of unity and common destiny among the people of Africa.

At the 12th Summit of the African Union, the Pan-African Parliament was mandated to develop a mechanism to ensure sound and effective contact, as well as the full participation of the peoples of Africa within the integration processes of Africa.

This mandate truly speaks to the confidence that we all continue to have in the Pan-African Parliament as one of the lead agents in the democratic project in Africa.

Once again, the question we must answer is what is our common understanding of the democratic project in Africa?

During the week of the 5th to 9th of October 2009 the Pan-African Parliament hosted important consultative meetings focusing on gender issues and the promotion of the work of the Pan-African Parliament through different African Parliaments.

I would like to congratulate the Pan-African Parliament for the initiative as well as successful deliberations held.

We look forward to implementation of the outcomes of the Conferences.

I firmly believe that the outcomes thereof will guide the Honourable Members in fruitful and vibrant deliberations during this Session.

Excellencies and Honourable Members;
This Parliament has many weighty matters to consider during its term.

Critically, it has to ensure that its deliberations strengthen the continent-wide effort to promote development, economic growth, peace, stability and democracy.

On four of these issues – peace, stability, human rights and democracy – the Pan-African Parliament can no longer delay a detailed discussion leading up to specific resolutions and recommendations to the AU.

If these issues are not discussed, there would be very little point for the existence of this Parliament

When it rises, this assembly needs to be able to point to progress in advancing these goals.

It needs to demonstrate that it is not merely a forum for debate, but an institution that forms an essential part of the renewal of our continent.

While we have achieved much since our people threw off the colonial yoke, we face many challenges.

Though we have achieved much in just the last few years, we cannot become complacent.

Africa’s people remain among the poorest in the world.

This is despite our continent being richly endowed with natural resources.

Our people remain exposed to disease and malnutrition, with high rates of child mortality and declining life expectancy, despite significant medical advances and improved health care provision.

Parts of our continent are still plagued by war and conflict, political instability and the removal of governments by unconstitutional means.

In such circumstances, development is stifled and economic activity severely curtailed.

It is the ordinary people who suffer – the very people that we in this assembly represent.

This is an indictment of all of us, individually and collectively.

We therefore have a profound responsibility to do everything we can to answer these challenges, and to build a better life for our peoples.

We proceed from an understanding that it is not sufficient for each national parliament to diligently undertake its work.

While it is possible for any one country to improve its situation, it is by working together that we can achieve that which our people need.

For this reason, among others, we are encouraged that the Pan-African Parliament will soon be able to transform itself from an advisory into a legislative body.

We look forward to the day when the peoples of Africa can send their representatives to the seat of this Parliament to fashion laws that will bring about a tangible improvement in all their lives.

Honourable Members,
Those who are gathered in this assembly are the most potent embodiment of democracy in Africa.

Among your responsibilities is to further instil democratic values and deepen democratic practices across the continent.

Already, the Pan-African Parliament has played an important role in contributing towards fair, free and transparent elections in a number of countries.

It needs to broaden this element of its work, which must include adopting standards for the holding of elections, so that the right of people to choose their own governments democratically is not undermined.

Important as elections are to the democratic process, they are but one element of a range of political, social and economic activities that must enable people to determine their own future.

We need to encourage people to organise, mobilise and work for their own advancement.

We need to support the development of grassroots structures and sectoral organisations.

It is our responsibility to build people’s power, not only within these walls, but in every place on this continent where people live and work.

Honourable Members,
This Parliament is also an embodiment of African unity.

Its mere existence is a confirmation that the vision of African unity that motivated so many of our continent’s greatest leaders remains undiminished.

The question of unity is what the founders of the OAU worked to achieve over many decades.

It is the matter this Parliament cannot avoid discussing at all times to support the efforts of the AU.

In this way, through this Parliament, the people of this continent will find a way to participate in the ongoing discussion on the African union government.

History has bestowed on us the responsibility to make a reality of that vision of unity.

In all our engagements, we should seek to preserve unity among our nations and advance a unified programme for development.

This Parliament is an important part of the political integration of our continent.

It will become increasingly important as we proceed towards the formation of a union government for Africa.

As we pursue this important objective, we must pay greater attention to the economic integration of our continent.

It is in this area where Africa’s greatest untapped economic potential is to be found.

Our economic development is hampered by the barriers we ourselves have constructed along the lines of the colonial maps.

As a consequence, we find ourselves divided into more than 50 different markets, with a multiplicity of trade and investment regulations, manufacturing standards, currencies, and jurisdictions.

Our electricity, transport and telecommunications infrastructure is fragmented, and often not compatible.

We do not collaborate in scientific development and technological innovation.

Most of our countries have a greater volume of trade with countries across the ocean than with those with whom we share the same soil.

It is a standing joke that there are some places in Africa where one has to fly to a European capital in order to catch a flight to a neighbouring country.

These are the very practical constraints to the progress of our continent, and the liberation of our peoples from the tyranny of underdevelopment.

Excellencies and Honourable Members,
South Africa is privileged to host the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup from June next year, which will be the first time that the tournament is held on African soil.

We hope that this historic event can be used as a driving force for African unity.

We hope that all of Africa will embrace this occasion as an opportunity to showcase our continent in all its diversity, richness and vibrancy.

To the Honourable Members of this Pan-African Parliament, the representatives of the people of this great continent, we thank you for the opportunity to address you and wish you well in all your deliberations.

I thank you.

Lebanon: UN envoy and Hizbollah official meet to discuss recent rocket fire

The United Nations Special Coordinator today met with a senior Hizbollah official to discuss the recent incident in which a rocket was fired from a southern Lebanese village into northern Israel, prompting Israel to return fire.