An economic report released last month was “cautiously optimistic” about Africa’s economic prospects, but growth projections are not sufficient to meet poverty-reduction goals. Questions may also be raised about possible changes in the prognosis given global economic developments this year and the continued spread of the AIDS pandemic.

This is a senior position with responsibilities for technical support to governmental and non-governmental organisations within the South-
ern African Development Community.

The International Human Rights Law Group is a non-profit organization of human rights and legal professionals and activists engaged in advocacy, training and litigation around the world. The Law Group's mission is to empower human rights advocates and defenders at the national level to expand the scope of human rights protection for men and women, and to promote broad participation in building human rights standards at the national, regional and international levels.

Duties include the planning and development of projects, coordinating activities of the various organs of the Network and acting as a focal point between member organizations of the Network and various partners and donors.

A Resource Centre Manager is needed to set-up and run the LSO Malawi Resource Centre for six months from September.

Although the cabinet has not yet given a final yea or nay to the proposed Basic Income Grant, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has repudiated the grant as unaffordable economic "populism", while government communication CEO Joel Netshitenzhe says the cabinet's "philosophical approach is different".

Efforts to beef up South Africa's justice system received a R160 million boost from the United States on Monday. The money from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be used in a six-year strategy to streamline court activities and train justice officials. Business Against Crime (BAC) will manage the Criminal Justice Strengthening Programme, formally adopted by USAID and the Department of Justice about two years ago.

An unexpected convergence has emerged suddenly in the often stormy courtship between SA's nonprofit and business sectors. The findings of a recent research report suggest that it is time the two sectors seek co-operation in the interests of sustainable development and business growth.

Local pop Idols finalist Cindy Bester will sing at a concert tonight to raise funds for the East London Children's Home while the Mercedes-Benz Border Cricket Academy players will run a 200km relay for the same cause.

A website using the slogan "Welcome to SA's National Robbery" to call for a boycott of the National Lottery because of concerns over donations from its proceeds, has been threatened with legal action by Uthingo. On his website Dewberry wrote that Uthingo owed about R2-billion to the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) for good causes. The total was calculated from the government requirement for 30 percent of the lottery earnings to be distributed.

About 1 000 HIV-positive, abused or neglected children left stranded by a banking mess-up have been given a R1-million-plus lifeline - after Metro revealed their plight. The project, which was started in late 2000, donated small sums to struggling families to start backyard businesses. It also ran a feeding scheme. It received R100 000 from the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund shortly after it started - but became embroiled in a battle with the bank last August after a series of large deposits were made into its account.

The Eskom Development Foundation on Tuesday presented People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa) with a R100 000 cheque. The grant was to support the objectives of the organisation in the context of celebrating Women's Day and would also go towards the development of its Soweto branch.

The German government has injected about R8-million into the coffers of the Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco) to boost preparations for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

NGOs can be sustained by mobilising funds from their communities, thereby reducing dependence on donor and foundation grants -- if the Ashoka Citizen Base Initiative (CBI) is anything to go by. This strategic shift for organisational sustainability was displayed earlier this week when Ashoka presented five South African organisations with R250 000 in prize money for
demonstrating their ability in tapping resources from the communities they serve.

Provision of quality education in Africa through the Education For All (EFA) initiative is seen as a key strategy for improving the socio-economic well being of the continent, but African leaders and policy makers are not playing ball, a recent conference heard.

A self-help group comprising low-income Kenyans last week disbursed Sh4 million to pay school fees in Central, Nairobi and Rift Valley provinces.

The possibility of community service for newly qualified teachers was "on the agenda" as a possible mechanism to slow down the poaching of local teachers by developed countries in the north, Education Minister Kader Asmal says.

Marking the start of World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF encouraged more hospitals to join the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, noting that recent studies provide yet more evidence of the many benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and mothers.

The Human Rights Institute of South Africa (Hurisa), in collaboration with the Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APHRA), is organising the eighth African Human Rights Camp to be held this year in Egypt from Sunday 17 November - Friday 6 December 2002.

The International Indigenous Peoples' Summit on Sustainable Development will take place at Hoffe Park Conference Centre, 30 Birbeck Rd., Kimberly, South Africa, between 20-23 August, a few days before the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The main objective of this conference is to bring together indigenous peoples from all parts of the world to share their perspectives on sustainable development and their contributions in achieving this.