NORTON – Tuku has endorsed the all-Africa petition calling on African governments to re-affirm their commitment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) by the year 2015. He joins South African songbird Yvonne Chaka Chaka and locals Victor Kunonga and Pastor G who have already appended their signatures to the campaign.

The petition, signed by Tuku recently at his headquarters of Tuku Music located at Pakare Paye Arts Centre - an arts academy that he founded and operates here - acknowledges that the MDGs are derived from more far-reaching international declarations, protocols and conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights including the protocol on social and economic rights, education for all, health for all, reproductive rights for all, the Convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, the Rights with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of Indigenous People among others.

Tuku appending his signature to the Africa-wide MDG petition.

African governments are encouraged by the MDGs to work with their citizens, politicians and local governments to develop and implement breakthrough action plans, address inequality, discrimination and marginalization of specific social groups including people with disabilities, women and youths, people at the centre of economic policies and finally put more effort into mobilizing and retaining domestic resources through fair and efficient taxation, fair sharing of natural resource rents and the prevention of illicit capital flight.

– Thomas Deve/ tukumusik.com

- Photo: courtesy of Saki Mafundikwa