The Looting of Kenya…

The Looting of Kenya…a Guardian story, by Xan Rice, this morning, exposes a 110 page report by Kroll, an international consultancy, illustrating how former president Daniel arap Moi and his relatives have managed to hide away £1 billion cash in property distributed over 28 countries, including a large farm in Australia, a £2,000,000 flat in London, a £4,000,000 house in Surrey, the list goes on and on…

It would be fitting for this money, much of it given in aid, to be recovered and given to the long suffering poor in Kenya, I hope Her Majesty’s Government take whatever steps are necessary to claim and sell any properties bought by Moi and his family members and send the proceeds to whatever safe hands are left in Kenya, being cynical and knowing Kenya that would be difficult, so that it can be distributed to those that need it.

Punishing public sector workers…

So, what happened to the listening that Gordon Brown promised recently, why is it that we now seem to be sliding into the old Labour income restraint policies that apply only to public sector workers? Government ministers are failing to realize the increased prices we have seen on basic essentials and the impact of Bank of England imposed high interest rates.

At the same time we have not heard even a whisper from Downing Street in regard to City fat cats enjoying fabulous bonuses. Frankly, if the government is going to follow such public sector pay restraint policies it’s not going to work, history tells us it never has and never will work. Public sector pay restraint is a recipe for industrial unrest and may well impact on Labor heading high speed into opposition. Government intervention in the collective bargaining process in such a scenario will be unhelpful.

Strikes, unrest and unease

This morning comes news in different parts of the country of unease: Orkney Ferries workers have today gone on strike today for higher pay elsewhere prison staff have walked out due to an offer of 1.92% pay rise, we already know about working to rule in the Royal Mail. I am sure in the end collective bargaining will resolve these disputes.

Can we really be surprised at ongoing strikes at a time when city fat cats reap large obscene bonuses and have access to knowledgeable accountants who can devise schemes of tax avoidance. A Labour government should respond, I thought we were supposed to be listening, as we have just sat and watched increased interest rates being imposed thus making life difficult for people with mortgages and we are still facing higher prices for basic food due to the impact of fooding and world demand.

Perhaps it’s time to hit the super rich with heavier tax rates.

Jeremy Paxman’s criticism of Stalinist BBC…

Jeremy Paxman’s speech (MacTaggart Lecture) critical of the BBC as Stalinist makes fascinating listening and reading. Basically, I think he is spot on, his contribution echoes Tony Blair’s recent speech criticising TV news progammes. Paxman highlights the leadership style at the BBC and it’s “salami slicing” of programme budgets and is critical that senior executives laid the blame for the phone in scandal on young producers. But he wasn’t just critical of the BBC but the TV media in general. Actually, it’s better if you read the article itself, it’s a classic good read. It can be found via the Daily Telegraph web site and elsewhere.

Gangs, drugs, killings…

Hardly a day passes now when we see headlines about another shooting, another killing, gang violence and anti-social behaviour. There is sufficient legislation for the police to act to deal with these issues, maybe if the police concentrated less on harassing motorists and get out of their cars and walk the streets on the beat and get to know their local communities - it might help. Courts should employ stiffer sentencing for possessing and using knives and guns.

It might also help if local authorities and public bodies did something about cleaning graffiti ridden streets; deal with vacant and derelict properties; spend money on providing facilities for youths and communities; we have to do something positive to counter gang culture. ASBOs could be strenthened with offenders doing community projects. More must be done to assist with employment opportunities; more effort to attract people away from gangs and drugs. More funding for voluntary youth organisations.

Fine promises of action of funding from number 10 are not enough, money must be seen trickling through estates, the public need evidence on the ground of projects, we need a new dynamic approach.

It might also help if for once our media concentrated on stories on positive youths, positive role models of youths who make worthwhile contributions to themselves and others.

That Chindamo affair…

I have been somewhat puzzled by the reactions of the gutter press and willy, washy liberal opinion on the issue of deportation or not. What we do know is that Chindamo was found guilty of a most awful crime, the cold bloodied murder of headmaster Phillip Lawrence in 1995, he received an astonishing light sentence of 12 years for this act and apparently cannot be deported to Italy.

We have to consider the victim and his family, their feelings must count for something; their lives have been ruined, indeed even for teachers, as I am one, need to be assured that a murderer such as Chindamo, remember, murdered an headmaster attempting to stop a fight, is not to be seen to be rewarded with UK citizenship.

The issue has led to another battering for the Human Rights Act, we need such protection and protection for decent law abiding citizens, this surely is the intention of the Act not to be used willy, nilly as a means to obtain citizenship by murderers who have violated the rights of their victims and their families.

I find this situation difficult, I hope that the appeal against the decision by the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal will be revised and that the said Chindamo will be deported as soon as possible.

Zimbabwe…

Kate Hoey’s article yesterday in the Daily Telegraph: ” Cut aid to Robert Mugabe’s apologists” was superb. Her condemnation of the recent summit meeting, a circus of clowns known as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), was magnificent. She highlighted the faulty view of Zimbabwe’s problems held by neighbouring presidents as Zimbabwe’s problems being economic rather than political, hence their eagerness to bail out dictator Mugabe with cash. This ragbag, SADC, of presidents still blame the UK and the USA for Zimbabwe’s crisis, both countries still provide food aid to Zimbabwe, and they, SADC, imitate Mugabe’s propaganda of hate. She rightly calls for a cut in aid to these states and frankly this writer believes that our money to SADC states is being abused by the SADC countries to prop up a fascist regime.

We’ve seen all this before, the OAU backed dictators: Amin of Uganda, Mobutu of Zaire and others, African presidents have no intention of backing democracy and justice in Zimbabwe, they act regardless of the desires of ordinary citizens.

A&E cuts could cost thousands of…

This morning, here we go, the Daily Telegraph, a paper I have some respect for, carried a sensational and alarmist headline: “Hospital A&E cuts ‘could cost thousands of lives’. Ummm, well, yes, we could be cynical and note the silence of the Daily Telegraph in the 18 years of Tory rule when the NHS was a low priority, but we will overlook that. This relates to research published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, now we will assume that there is probably some concern and it does need to be answered. Only yesterday, David Cameron, the latest Tory leader claimed 29 hospitals will close, foot in mouth exercise, today he is learning to think before he speaks as a number of hospitals have complained he is in error.

We know that the NHS cannot have a blank cheque, we know it must meet its budgets but I think the general public, would need to be reassured, in a sensible manner, that when it comes to A&E provision there is nothing to fear. It’s true that emergency medicine has advanced, paramedics are trained and have access on their ambulances to the latest life saving technology.

An early general election?

An early general election? Good idea, let’s clear the way and take the opportunity to call parliamentary elcetions now. The Tories are in a complete mess, their leadership is lost, the Liberals are weak - they too have a weak leadership. As we have a new leadership it would be well to seek confirmation of public support. But our policies need spelling out and we need some new radical ideas to shake up the relationship between government and people; we need more bold and dynamic policies; education reform scrap GCSE and A’ levels replace these with the International Baccalaureate; health service reform, more smaller local hospitals and clinics; we need policies fit for the twenty-first century; democracy and local accountability needs development. We need a greater public stake in utility companies: these companies must learn from recent flooding and expand improvements including a national water grid. We must move faster on housing, but new housing fit for the new century, although we must avoid harming the green belt.

Education reform…

The silly seaon is usually interupted by the annual display of cynicism in regard to examination results at A’ level and GCSE. We seem to go through various stages of negation. Hundreds of thousands of young people wait in hope for their exam results.

This writer being an advocate of the International Baccalaureate (IB) believes A’ level or GCSE are not the best way of displaying achievement.

There may well be weaknesses in our standards for public examinations but this writer feels it is not helpful to constantly devalue qualifications by being negative. It is always a feeling of we have been here before, only this morning we are told businesses have to teach school leavers the basics. This may well be the case but this writer knows from personal experience that even business executives display examples of poor written English.

We hope that the refreshed Labour government will consider and make it possible for educational reform, adopting the IB examination and ending this long six week summer holiday and bring in the four term year with reduced holiday breaks.