In journalism 101 we were taught never to give the oxygen of publicity to quack remedies for dreaded diseases.

That’s why you don’t read, hear or see about cures for cancer in anything approaching responsible media.

Believe me, these emerge daily from the crazies and the con-artists seeking attention or a fast buck.

So it was to be expected that miracle antidotes to COVID 19 would be flung at editors very early on in the pandemic.

They could safely ignore almost all them –  until heads of state got involved.

Madagascar’s deejay turned President Andry Rajoelina seeks international endorsement of a remedy for COVID 19 made from the leaves of the artemisia which has provided relief to some malaria sufferers.

He could have saved his blushes had he sat in on my journalism cadet course all those years ago.

And the bench next to him could usefully have been occupied by the United States television game show star turned President  Donald Trump who advocated another outdated malaria remedy, the outdated chloroquine,  for curing COVID 19.

That was before he  threw the medical reins between the horses last month and urged COVID 19 patients to inject disinfectant and shine ultra violet light into their bodies.

Time magazine reports the American Association of Poison Control Centres finding a 121% increase in poisoning from bleach and other disinfectants in April 2020 over the same month the previous year. 

Rajoelina cannot match Trump’s lethal milestone. However his angry assertion that the African Union has rejected the herbal remedy known as COVID ORGANICS only because it was not developed by a European company shows he has a sense of the ridiculous every bit as well-developed as his Washington counterpart.

And he evidently shares the Donald’s penchant. for disregarding the media that does not reflect his  views.

How else could he have overlooked the storm last month when two French doctors suggested that the COVID 19 vaccine be tested on poor Africans because they have not taken protected measures?

Doctors Camille Locht and Jean-Paul Mira have had the good sense to apologize for hurt and offense they caused.

The Africa’s continental body was furiously adamant that it citizens would not be used as guinea pigs.

So has the World Health Organisation,  Like the AU the WHO give the thumbs down to COVID ORGANICS  which has reportedly been tested on 20 people for two weeks. Hardly decisive.

Rajoelina can draw some comfort from the favorable attention his peers have given the Malgash remedy.

Tanzania’s President John Magafuli,  who evidently believes that his chemistry qualification  entitles him to be a COVID 19 maverick, sent a plane to collect a load of the remedy  in Antananarivo.

Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Niger  have also bought consignments.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is quoted as saying South Africa will help test and analyse COVID ORGANICS.

I fully support African solutions to African problems. But this is surely a classical case for caution. 

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She’ll speak to Africa  ambassadors in Pretoria about it – as he predecessor Lindiwe Sisulu did five months ago.

South Africa’s High Commission in Abuja and consulate in  Lagos have been temporarily closed because they came under attack from youths angered by the xenophobic violence in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

South African diplomatic missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have received similar treatment.

African countries are using boycott – the same tactic employed during the anti-apartheid struggle – to express their displeasure.

Nigeria has shunned the World Economic Forum hosted in Cape Town.

Madagascar follows Zambia in refusing to play a friendly fixture against Bafana Bafana.

Air Tanzania has suspended flights to South Africa.

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The watchdog group wants the pontiff to talk about human rights to heads of state, civil society representatives, diplomats and community leaders he will see in Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius.

Amnesty International says Pope Francis should use the pomp of his visit to cast the spotlight on human rights.

AI says there are serious violations in Mozambique where journalists and human rights defenders have been assaulted.

In Madagascar it lists prolonged pretrial detention in inhumane conditions.

The Pope arrives in Maputo tomorrow and moves on to Antananarivo on Thursday and Port Louis next Monday 

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He will not, however, travel beyond the capitals of Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius.

ends intro

Pope  Francis is adamant that the authorities in the three countries he’s visiting should not splash out on hosting  him. He wants only the most basic requirements.

Nevertheless the Mozambique government has spent R5-million getting ready for the papal visit.

Campaigning is underway for elections there in a fortnight.

Smaller parties have started slowly because money they are due from the electoral commission is late.

Residents of Beira, still recovering from cyclone Idai that killed more than 600 people six months ago are disappointed they will not get to see the Pope. 

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He  has told the authorities in South Africa’s eastern neighbour to provide only his basic needs accommodating him.

Speaking in Portuguese, Pope Francis sent a message of peace to Mozambicans preparing for elections on October 15.

He says his heart reaches out to all the people of that country, even though he won’t be able to travel beyond its capital Maputo.

It was hoped he would visit the cyclone-hit parts of the country where at least 600 people died earlier this year.

The Pope moves on from Mozambique to Madagascar and Mauritius.

Pope John Paul II visited Mozambique when the country was still at war 31 years ago.

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Corrupt officials in Ghana and Madagascar are allowing millions of the endangered trees to be cut down and sent to furniture makers in China.

It takes more than 100 years for a rosewood tree to grow.

Seven years ago Ghana banned the export of locally grown rosewood.

But since then, the Environmental  Investigation Agency says the 540 000 tons of the commodity – that’s 23 500 containers full – have been sent to China.

The London and Washington-based EIA says corrupt officials allowed the felling six million rosewood trees to enable this amount of trafficking.   

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Speaking on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa the UN chief says the continent could become an example to the world of solving and preventing conflict.

Antonio Guterres cites a peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the peace agreements signed in South Sudan and the Central African Republic to back his assertion that a wind of hope is blowing through the Africa.

As usual, the UN chief is one of the honored guests at the gathering of the heads of state and government from the 55 members of the continental grouping.

Guterres also mentions elections in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali as proof of the rise of democracy in Africa.

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Ramaphosa remains the regional mediator for Lesotho but he’s been asked to second someone to step in help if presidential load prevents him giving it his undivided attention.

Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says she and her counterparts met for more than five hours yesterday preparing for the regional and political summit of regional leaders. 

(take in the Sisulu clip here)

Discussing ways to fast track measures to restore stability in Lesotho took up half the the foreign ministers’ time.

They heard from the DRC government and its independent electoral commission that elections will be held there on December 23.

A delegation from Madagascar briefed them on security measures ahead of  elections later this year.

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The 15-nation body’s Executive Secretary Stergomena Tax tells reporters overall political stability remains a priority as SADC grows into a significant economic bloc.

The theme of this week’s SADC summit, where President Jacob Zuma will assume the chairmanship of the body, is partnering the private sector to develop and grow economically.

The agenda, explained by South Africa’s Minister of  International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana Mashebane, is loaded with developmental and economic issues.

But the success of these rests on there being stability.

That will be the remit of SADC’s organ on politics, security and defence.

They’ve had success in bringing peace to Madagascar, but Lesotho and the DRC remain a worry.

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In Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar, Erdogan is pressing authorities to close down schools run by the organization of Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey’s courted Africa for more than a decade, boosting trade, opening more than two dozen new embassies and Turkish Airlines routes and dispatching aid to countries including conflict-torn Somalia.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s   visit to ten African countries  in less than 18 months is overshadowed by his battle with Fethullah Gulen.

For years, schools financed by Gulen – and backed by the Turkish government – have served local communities across Africa.

But Erdogan’s  accused Gulen of masterminding a failed coup attempt last year.

The cleric, who lives in the US, vehemently denies any involvement with the attempted putsch.

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