This Tuesday 25 September we host the Ambassador of Zimbabwe in Canada Florence Chideya. We discuss the decision by the ruling party Zanu PF and the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change to unanimously pass the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill Number 18. The opposition party had all along opposed what they called the piecemeal amendment and yet in what it called a “confidence building measure” it has allowed the amendment to pass. The amendment allows for the harmonization of the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections that take place in 2008.
Is President Robert Mugabe going to Portugal for the European Union-African Union Summit that has been postponed since 2003 because of a stand off between the two regional blocs over the debate whether President Mugabe should be invited or not?
The parliamentary legal committee has also passed the Indigenization and Empowerment Bill which provides an opportunity for Zimbabweans to own at least a 51% of shareholding in the majority of businesses in all sectors of the economy.
What has brought about this unity? Are we seeing a genuine desire by ZIMBABWEANS to start solving their problems?
Listen live on 105.5 FM in Toronto or online on http://www.chry.fm/ worldwide as we discuss this issue. To contribute, call our studio number on +1 416 736 5656 or write to africanperspective@chry.fm
About African Perspective
African Perspective is a current affairs programme that reports and analyses news and events from an African viewpoint. It broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10am-11am Eastern Time/2pm-3pm Greenwich Mean Time on CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto and http://www.chry.fm/ on the Internet worldwide. The programme provides Africans with a platform to articulate their experiences, challenges and celebrate their achievements to both the Canadian public and policy makers.
Presenters: Kuthula Matshazi and Shadya Yasin
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
This Week on African Perspective
This Tuesday 18 September we talk to Denmark based Hannilie Zulu, founder of AfriDAD, a non governmental organisation dealing in development, aid and debt in Africa. She has argued that HIV and AIDS do not exist. She has argued that food and appropriate medication should be priority for people "stamped with HIV" instead of antiretrovirals, which she feels are toxic and therefore dangerous to people's health.
She has supported South African President Thabo Mbeki's former stance questioning the thinking that HIV causes AIDS. In recent years, President Mbeki has accept the mainstream logic that HIV indeed causes AIDS.
However, like President Mbeki, Zulu accepts the critical role of diet in people "stamped with AIDS". In August the Academy of Science of South Africa released a report that concluded that nutrition on its own is not sufficient to contatin aids neither could "supplements without a healthy diet.
How then does Zulu interrogate and locate the present South African position on AIDS within the context of the past and present positions both the government and the president have taken? What is her take on the position adopted by ASSA?
Listen live on 105.5 FM in Toronto or online on http://www.chry.fm/ worldwide as we discuss this issue. To contribute, call our studio number on +1 416 736 5656 or write to africanperspective@chry.fm
About African Perspective
African Perspective is a current affairs programme that reports and analyses news and events from an African viewpoint. It broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10am-11am Eastern Time/2pm-3pm Greenwich Mean Time on CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto and http://www.chry.fm/ on the Internet worldwide. The programme provides Africans with a platform to articulate their experiences, challenges and celebrate their achievements to both the Canadian public and policy makers.
Presenters: Kuthula Matshazi and Shadya Yasin
She has supported South African President Thabo Mbeki's former stance questioning the thinking that HIV causes AIDS. In recent years, President Mbeki has accept the mainstream logic that HIV indeed causes AIDS.
However, like President Mbeki, Zulu accepts the critical role of diet in people "stamped with AIDS". In August the Academy of Science of South Africa released a report that concluded that nutrition on its own is not sufficient to contatin aids neither could "supplements without a healthy diet.
How then does Zulu interrogate and locate the present South African position on AIDS within the context of the past and present positions both the government and the president have taken? What is her take on the position adopted by ASSA?
Listen live on 105.5 FM in Toronto or online on http://www.chry.fm/ worldwide as we discuss this issue. To contribute, call our studio number on +1 416 736 5656 or write to africanperspective@chry.fm
About African Perspective
African Perspective is a current affairs programme that reports and analyses news and events from an African viewpoint. It broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10am-11am Eastern Time/2pm-3pm Greenwich Mean Time on CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto and http://www.chry.fm/ on the Internet worldwide. The programme provides Africans with a platform to articulate their experiences, challenges and celebrate their achievements to both the Canadian public and policy makers.
Presenters: Kuthula Matshazi and Shadya Yasin
Sunday, September 9, 2007
ZCTU losing plot
The Flip Side with Kuthula Matshazi
The rationale of two issues communicated by high ranking officials of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions is difficult to understand. The ZCTU chairman Lovemore Matombo has called for a 2 day strike on 19 and 20 September while his Secretary General Wellington Chibhebhe says he does not oppose price cuts that were ordered by the government but is against the “after effects”. More...
The rationale of two issues communicated by high ranking officials of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions is difficult to understand. The ZCTU chairman Lovemore Matombo has called for a 2 day strike on 19 and 20 September while his Secretary General Wellington Chibhebhe says he does not oppose price cuts that were ordered by the government but is against the “after effects”. More...
Saturday, September 8, 2007
This Week on African Perspective
Does the Africa brand have ambassadors?
This Tuesday 11 September we host prominent South African businessman Mutumwa Mawere as we discuss whether the Africa brand lacks or does not lack its ambassadors. Mawere wrote an article for an online publication suggesting that the Africa brand lacks ambassadors.
We ask him why he thinks so. We also discuss the African political economy, which he argues is still dominated by multinational corporations from outside of Africa. In this regard, we want to know how, as a businessman and son of Africa, Africans can go about positioning themselves to benefit sustainably from their own resources.
Listen live on 105.5 FM in Toronto or online on http://www.chry.fm/ worldwide as we discuss this issue. To contribute, call our studio number on +1 416 736 5656 or write to africanperspective@chry.fm
About African Perspective
African Perspective is a current affairs programme that reports and analyses news and events from an African viewpoint. It broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10am-11am Eastern Time/2pm-3pm Greenwich Mean Time on CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto and http://www.chry.fm/ on the Internet worldwide. The programme provides Africans with a platform to articulate their experiences, challenges and celebrate their achievements to both the Canadian public and policy makers.
Presenters: Kuthula Matshazi and Shadya Yasin
This Tuesday 11 September we host prominent South African businessman Mutumwa Mawere as we discuss whether the Africa brand lacks or does not lack its ambassadors. Mawere wrote an article for an online publication suggesting that the Africa brand lacks ambassadors.
We ask him why he thinks so. We also discuss the African political economy, which he argues is still dominated by multinational corporations from outside of Africa. In this regard, we want to know how, as a businessman and son of Africa, Africans can go about positioning themselves to benefit sustainably from their own resources.
Listen live on 105.5 FM in Toronto or online on http://www.chry.fm/ worldwide as we discuss this issue. To contribute, call our studio number on +1 416 736 5656 or write to africanperspective@chry.fm
About African Perspective
African Perspective is a current affairs programme that reports and analyses news and events from an African viewpoint. It broadcasts on Tuesdays at 10am-11am Eastern Time/2pm-3pm Greenwich Mean Time on CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto and http://www.chry.fm/ on the Internet worldwide. The programme provides Africans with a platform to articulate their experiences, challenges and celebrate their achievements to both the Canadian public and policy makers.
Presenters: Kuthula Matshazi and Shadya Yasin
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Tory religious schools funding policy discriminates
By Kuthula Matshazi
Written for Da Reach newsletter, Toronto.
Ontario Conservative Party leader John Tory's proposal to fragment the Ontario education system through funding of faith based schools is nothing more than creating discrimination. He announced this policy as part of his lead to the provincial parliamentary elections taking place on 10 October.
On the surface of this policy, Tory comes across as the nice guy who is trying to correct a wrong which was entrenched in the constitution as a means to protect the English Catholic minority some 140 years ago. Then, the State was responding to unique challenges faced by the country whereby the minority English Catholics needed protection. I shall not debate the merits and the demerits of this policy during that time. Accordingly, Canada has evolved since then and now faces new challenges.
The Catholics are now not in a perilous situation, but the integration of the Canadian society into a unit is. We are faced with a challenge of building a society that is united and tolerant in diversity. To achieve this state, calls for understanding of each other’s religion and culture. And it takes interaction of the sort acquired from schools to internalize it. This, by no means suggests that it is only the school that provides this interaction. However, the education institutions provide children who are still growing and learning many skills with the appropriate forum for interacting and internalizing some of these critical social functions such as learning and understanding some of these cultures and religions. The importance of understanding and tolerating each other’s culture and religion has never been more compelling than now taking into cognizant deadly conflicts that have been caused in recent years over these matters.
The interaction of children at school creates an effective way of building a tolerant and culturally aware population, which is usually socially progressive. On the other hand establishing religious schools reduces and in many instances eliminates the opportunity for children to come across their peers from different backgrounds on a regular basis.
Tory’s plan locks respective religions into compartments where only the likeminded are permitted and accepted in and understood because of shared norms, values and beliefs. One probable reason Tory’s plan could succeed, although it is discriminatory, is because it has the flavor to appeal to people. Generally, people are predisposed to come together into groups sharing the same ethnicity, values, beliefs and norms such as having Little this community and Little that community. Having such grouping of communities is also a barrier to integration. Now if Tory’s plan could succeed, then it would add another front – promoted by public policy – which is a barrier to integration.
The message we would be sending to the young minds is that it is good to grow up separated from other religions and retain that separation in the critical social areas of education and culture. Not only does Tory’s plan promote discrimination, but it also takes away funding from the public school system of about $400 million. The public school system is already reeling under inadequate funding. Beyond this, should the policy be implemented, we stand to deal with potentially disastrous or dangerous unforeseen problems such as teaching hate or fostering cultural superiority. Tory’s plan of inspecting schools to see whether they comply with Ontario education standards and curriculum does not guarantee that none of this could happen, unless of course we live in a perfect world!
Also, Tory’s plan can never satisfy or cover all groups causing those who do not benefit feel marginalized. This scenario demonstrates that Tory’s plan is not as inclusive as he claims but exclusionary and fragments the population.
It is hypocritical for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to suggest that funding of Catholic schools should remain in place for stability sake. But the system is already not stable because of this very unfair funding system that exists whereby only Catholic schools receive government funding. It only seems stable because apparently, those who have serious concerns about the current system are not heeded.
The Green Party of Ontario seems to be the only political party that understands that the current funding formula and that suggested by Tory are fundamentally flawed. The party rejects the funding of religious schools. Let’s hope Tory will realize the fatal flaw in his policy and do what is right: call for a non religious sufficiently funded public education system.
Written for Da Reach newsletter, Toronto.
Ontario Conservative Party leader John Tory's proposal to fragment the Ontario education system through funding of faith based schools is nothing more than creating discrimination. He announced this policy as part of his lead to the provincial parliamentary elections taking place on 10 October.
On the surface of this policy, Tory comes across as the nice guy who is trying to correct a wrong which was entrenched in the constitution as a means to protect the English Catholic minority some 140 years ago. Then, the State was responding to unique challenges faced by the country whereby the minority English Catholics needed protection. I shall not debate the merits and the demerits of this policy during that time. Accordingly, Canada has evolved since then and now faces new challenges.
The Catholics are now not in a perilous situation, but the integration of the Canadian society into a unit is. We are faced with a challenge of building a society that is united and tolerant in diversity. To achieve this state, calls for understanding of each other’s religion and culture. And it takes interaction of the sort acquired from schools to internalize it. This, by no means suggests that it is only the school that provides this interaction. However, the education institutions provide children who are still growing and learning many skills with the appropriate forum for interacting and internalizing some of these critical social functions such as learning and understanding some of these cultures and religions. The importance of understanding and tolerating each other’s culture and religion has never been more compelling than now taking into cognizant deadly conflicts that have been caused in recent years over these matters.
The interaction of children at school creates an effective way of building a tolerant and culturally aware population, which is usually socially progressive. On the other hand establishing religious schools reduces and in many instances eliminates the opportunity for children to come across their peers from different backgrounds on a regular basis.
Tory’s plan locks respective religions into compartments where only the likeminded are permitted and accepted in and understood because of shared norms, values and beliefs. One probable reason Tory’s plan could succeed, although it is discriminatory, is because it has the flavor to appeal to people. Generally, people are predisposed to come together into groups sharing the same ethnicity, values, beliefs and norms such as having Little this community and Little that community. Having such grouping of communities is also a barrier to integration. Now if Tory’s plan could succeed, then it would add another front – promoted by public policy – which is a barrier to integration.
The message we would be sending to the young minds is that it is good to grow up separated from other religions and retain that separation in the critical social areas of education and culture. Not only does Tory’s plan promote discrimination, but it also takes away funding from the public school system of about $400 million. The public school system is already reeling under inadequate funding. Beyond this, should the policy be implemented, we stand to deal with potentially disastrous or dangerous unforeseen problems such as teaching hate or fostering cultural superiority. Tory’s plan of inspecting schools to see whether they comply with Ontario education standards and curriculum does not guarantee that none of this could happen, unless of course we live in a perfect world!
Also, Tory’s plan can never satisfy or cover all groups causing those who do not benefit feel marginalized. This scenario demonstrates that Tory’s plan is not as inclusive as he claims but exclusionary and fragments the population.
It is hypocritical for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to suggest that funding of Catholic schools should remain in place for stability sake. But the system is already not stable because of this very unfair funding system that exists whereby only Catholic schools receive government funding. It only seems stable because apparently, those who have serious concerns about the current system are not heeded.
The Green Party of Ontario seems to be the only political party that understands that the current funding formula and that suggested by Tory are fundamentally flawed. The party rejects the funding of religious schools. Let’s hope Tory will realize the fatal flaw in his policy and do what is right: call for a non religious sufficiently funded public education system.
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