Dairy Farmers Pit 'JAMAICA Hope' Against Subsidies
JAMAICAN dairy farmers are struggling to stay in business as they face tough competition from cheaper subsidized milk imports from the EUROPEAN UNION (E.U.).

According to farming officials the number of dairy farmers has dropped from over four thousand to just over 100 in the last 20 years

To compete effectively, the farmers are pinning their hopes on the country's world famous tropical cattle breed, the JAMAICA Hope.

The JAMAICA Hope can withstand the island's difficult grazing conditions and produces 3 times more milk than other cattle on the island.

The Jamaican Dairy Farmers Federation is also urging the government to limit milk imports.
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Should KENYA be Receiving More Debt Relief?
Civic groups in Kenya say good governance should be rewarded with debt relief, not more loans.

According to Chambers of Justice in Kenya, the country’s debt burden stands at 9 billion AMERICAN dollars, three times the annual national revenue of 2.7 billion AMERICAN dollars.

In November last year the IMF approved a loan of 250 million AMERICAN dollars to Kenya and other donors followed by pledging amounts totalling 4.1 billion AMERICAN dollars.

These loans came in response to the Kenyan government’s pledges to streamline procedures and crack down on corruption.

However, NGOs maintain that irresponsible lending to previous governments in Kenya is the main cause of the debt burden - and that donors should be held accountable for this by being obliged to write off debts.
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The 'Unemployables'
As the ARGENTINE economy gradually recovers from several years of recession and crisis, millions find themselves stuck in the category of ''unemployable''

In Latin America, unemployment grew from 6.9 to 9.9 percent between 1990 and 2002. During the crisis, more than half of the population of this once-rich nation slipped below the poverty line.

According to Labour Economist, ERNESTO KRITZ, although economic growth for 2003 stood at 8.7 percent, millions of ARGENTINEANS can only aspire to jobs in the informal sector with no social protection or stability.

A high school diploma is the minimum requirement for obtaining a stable job offering social protection in the market for unskilled labour, such as stocking shelves in a supermarket.

According to the Education Ministry, since 2002, 67 percent of Argentines over the age of 15 dropped out of high school before graduating.
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If These Two Could Agree
LONDON - Activists around the world may yet gain hope from the fact that the presidents of FINLAND and TANZANIA, co-chairs on the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, were able to agree on what it should mean.
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Incoherence Persists Among International Agencies
GENEVA - A report released last week by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, argues that the idea of decent work should be a priority on the policy agenda.
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I.L.O. Report a 'Major Breakthrough'
BRUSSELS - Civil society groups have hailed the much-anticipated report on globalisation, released last week by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation.
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Change Is in the Air, Says ILO Chief GLOBAL
LONDON - A report by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation released this week in LONDON calls for a strong role for the UNITED NATIONS and other multi-lateral organisations in bringing change towards fair globalization.
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A Positive Force or Source of World's Woes?
GENEVA - The World Commission on the Social Dimensions of Globalisation, created by the I.L.O. two years ago with the mission of channelling impassioned confrontation into constructive dialogue, released its report this week in LONDON.
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Hakuna Mshikamano Miongoni mwa Mashirika ya Kimataifa
GENEVA-Tume huru ya wataalam inapendekeza kwamba upinzani dhidi ya utandawazi uliopo sasa utapungua kwa kiasi kikubwa kama kutakuwepo na ajira za kutosha, na kuonya kwamba kufanikisha lengo hilo la juu sana kunahitaji mashirika ya kimataifa kuwa na mshikamano.

Tume ya Mwelekeo wa Kijamii katika Utandawazi inasema yanapokuja masuala ya utandawazi kunakuwepo na msuguano baina ya mashirika ya kimataifa yaliyopo katika biashara na fedha dhidi ya yale yaliyopo katika masuala ya kijamii.

Shabaha kubwa ya upinzani dhidi ya utandawazi inaelekezwa katika Shirika la Fedha Ulimwenguni (IMF), Benki ya Dunia, Shirika la Biashara Ulimwenguni (WTO), na baadhi ya mashirika muhimu ya Umoja wa Mataifa. Mkurugenzi wa Shirika la Kazi Duniani-ILO, Juan Somavia anasema watu wanasema kama suluhisho linapatikana kuhusu suala la ajira, mtizamo wao wa utandawazi ungekuwa tofauti.

Ripoti ilityotolewa wiki jana na Tume ya Mwelekeo wa Kijamii katika Utandawazi, iliyoundwa na ILO miaka miwili iliyopita inasema kwamba suala la kazi za heshima lipewe kipaumbele katika ajenda za sera kwasababu hilo ndilo watu wanalolitaka.

Akitoa matokeo ya ripoti hiyo mjini London Jumanne wiki jana Somavia alipendekeza taasisi za kimataifa kulazimika kufanya kazi kwa pamoja ili faida ya utandawazi kuwafikia watu wa wote, na kama zitashindwa kufanya hivyo zitakuwa zimeshindwa kafanya kazi zao.

Mabadiliko Yapo Hewani, Asema Mkuu wa ILO LONDON
LONDON- Mkurugenzi wa Shirika la Kazi Ulimwenguni (ILO), Juan Somavia anasema mapendekezo pekee yaliyotolewa katika ripoti ya Tume ya Mwelekeo wa Kijamii katika Utandawazi Duniani hayawezi kuleta mabadiliko ila viambato vilivyopendekezwa na tume.

Ripoti iliyotolewa na tume hiyo mjini London Jumatatu inataka Umoja wa Mataifa pamoja na mashirika mengine ya kimataifa kuwa na wajibu mkubwa wa kuleta mabadiliko ili kuwepo na usawa katika utandawazi.

Tume inayoongozwa na Rais wa Finland Tarja Halonen na Rais wa Tanzania Benjamin William Mkapa iliundwa na Shirika la Kazi Duniani lenye makao yake makuu mjini Geneva kuangalia athari za kijamii za utandawazi .

Tume pia inatoa mapendekezo maalum ya kuyapa mataifa maskini sauti katika taasisi za kimataifa, ili msukumo wa demokrasia uweze kuwapatia watu usawa zaidi wa kutoa maamuzi katika masuala ya kidunia.

Somavia aliliambia Shirika la Habari la IPS kwamba ripoti iliyotolewa na tume inaleta matumaini, kutokana na wajumbe wa tume kutokuwa wabinafsi, na kushirikiana kwa pamoja "kujenga mvuto" ambao uliwafanya watu kutoa mawazo tofauti katika mjadala wa utandawazi. Alisema ripoti ilichukua mtizamo binafsi wa watu katika kujibu maswali, na kinachopendekezwa ni "kigumu lakini kinawezekana kufanyika."

Umoja wa Mataifa Watakiwa Kubeba Wajibu
LONDON- Ripoti ya Tume ya Dunia Kuhusu Utandawazi imeutaka Umoja wa Mtaifa kubeba wajibu wa kuleta mabadiliko ya usawa katika dunia ya utandawazi.

Ripoti hiyo iliyoandaliwa na Shirika la Kazi Ulimwenguni (ILO) na kutolewa mjini London Jumanne iliyopita inasema muundo wa kimataifa wa Umoja wa Mataifa ni msingi wa utawala wa dunia na hivyo kuwa na uwezo wa kipekee wa kusimamia mageuzi.

Wakizungumza katika ripoti hiyo, wenyeviti wa Tume hiyo Rais wa Finland Tarja Halonen na Rais wa Tanzania Benjamin William Mkapa wanasema ukweli kwamba tume imehusisha wajumbe kutoka nchi tajiri na maskini, vyama vya wafanyakazi na viongozi wa vyama vya ushirika, wabunge na marais, viongozi wa kijadi, wasomi na washauri wa serikali unaifanya kuwa "mkusanyiko" wa mawazo mbalimbali.

Ripoti hiyo inataka Umoja wa Mataifa pamoja na mashirika mengine ya kimataifa kuwa na wajibu mkubwa wa kuwa "polisi" wa utandawazi ili kuleta mabadiliko na kuwepo na usawa duniani.

Inasema mashirika ya kimataifa ikiwa ni pamoja na Umoja wa Mataifa na pia taasisi nyingine kama vile Benki ya Dunia na Shirika la Fedha Ulimwenguni kwa pamoja yaanzishe "sera za pamoja" katika hali ambayo watafanya kazi pamoja katika kuendeleza sera ambazo zitaleta usawa wa kiuchumi, kijamii na maendeleo katika masuala maalum.

Halonen na Mkapa walikumbushia maneno ya Katibu Mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa Kofi Annan kwamba Umoja wa Mataifa "umefika njia panda" na sasa ni wakati wa dunia kufuata njia muafaka.