African press review 23 July 2014

Nigeria pledges to help free girls abducted by Boko Haram, Liberia boosts the fight against Ebola and South Africa struggles to keep members of parliament out of overalls.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has finally met with parents of the girls abducted by the Islamist sect Boko Haram, the Tribune reports, 99 days after the armed group kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in April.

Yesterday was the first time the country's leader met the parents, who had previously accused him of manipulating their cause for political ends.

According to the Tribune, Jonathan has come under severe criticism, particularly from the opposition, for seemingly refusing to visit Chibok since after the abduction saga.

The president was quoted as saying he intended to visit Chibok once the girls were released. According to the Nigeria Sun, he explained to the parents that he would rather visit them when their daughters have been freed so they can receive him with "smiling faces of joy, rather than tears of anguish".

The global campaign Bring Back Our Girls has organised a rally in Nigeria. According to the paper though, a government spokesperson discouraged people from attending, saying it would be wiser for parents to keep their children at home.

With or without the government's blessing, events will be held in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and other countries.

The Liberian government has pledged to free roughly 400,000 euros to fight the Ebola virus that has spread to the country. According to The New Dawn, the total death toll has risen to 105 in recent days. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf spoke to her local representatives, saying they should be prepared to inform their communities about preventive measures and take the outbreak seriously as "this is not the time for denial".

This echoes World Health Organisation's top Africa director, Luis Gomes Sambo, who, when visiting Liberia earlier this week, called on the population to stop doubting the existence of the virus. In recent days, the virus has spread to four more counties in Liberia, pushing the global death toll to more than 250. There is no vaccine and no known cure for Ebola, which makes prevention absolutely vital to solve the crisis.

In South Africa President Jacob Zuma is trying to get top companies to invest more in local business. According to the Business Day, talks are underway to prod the private sector to use more local manufacturing. This applies in particular to the mining industry, which has increasingly shied away from using local transport and mining equipment.

Business Day says the private sector is not pleased with the talks, as there are other issues, such as the inflexible labour market, that they would rather see dealt with first. For the most part, earlier pledges to go 75 per cent local on procurement have been ignored.

Meanwhile, anarchy is descending on parliament. Or that's what it looked like on Tuesday. The Sowetan reports on a chaotic sit-in in Johannesburg that ended with violence. On Tuesday members of the Economic Freedom Fighters party occupied a local government building. They were eventually thrown out with stun grenades and tear gas.

The EFF is a radical left-wing party that drew six per cent of the national vote in recent elections. It has vowed to wear workers' overalls and gum boots in parliament and provincial legislatures to identify with the workers. This decision has drawn scathing criticism, including from those with a more delicate fashion sense.