{jcomments on}DAM, NY, AGNEWS, le 8 decembre 2010 — Four people died and 58 were hospitalised following a fresh outbreak of cholera in the eastern Tanzanian region of Morogoro, an official said Wednesday.
BURUNDI :
Burundi: Vers la mise en place des mécanismes d’une justice transitionnelle
Pana 08 décembre 2010 –
Justice transitionnelle au Burundi – Un comité de pilotage tripartite au Burundi a rendu public mardi, le rapport des consultations nationales sur la mise en place des mécanismes de justice de transition ayant pour objet d’enquêter, établir l’existence d’actes de génocide, de crimes de guerre et autres crimes contre l’humanité et l’établissement d’un tribunal pénal international chargé de juger et de punir les coupables.
Il s’agit d’un volumineux rapport de 185 pages dans lequel le comité travaillait depuis le mois de novembre 2007 avec comme membres, des représentants du gouvernement burundais, ceux de la société civile locale et des Nations unies.
Selon le président dudit comité, Festus Ntanyungu, les consultations ont poursuivi l’objectif global d’impliquer la population burundaise dans le processus de réconciliation nationale en recueillant ses vues sur les modalités de la mise en place des mécanismes de justice transitionnelle.
Le comité de pilotage a interrogé un échantillon de près de 5.000 personnes de différents sexes, ethnies et régions sous forme d’entretiens individuels, groupes focaux, rencontres communautaires et consultations par internet dans le cas des burundais de la diaspora.
Le questionnaire, quant à lui, comprenait 168 questions ayant trait à l’opportunité de mettre en place aujourd’hui une justice transitionnelle pour enquêter sur des crimes dont certains remontent à 1962, date de l’indépendance nationale du Burundi.
D’autres questions soumises aux enquêtés voulaient savoir s’il fallait envisager des réparations collectives ou communautaires, la perception du rôle des institutions pendant la crise, les réformes institutionnelles à envisager pour éviter d’autres crises ou encore les défis à relever pour rompre avec le cycle de violences au Burundi. Les personnes enquêtées ont eu également à répondre à la question de savoir ‘quels sont les faits et actes de violence graves sur lesquels la Commission nationale pour la vérité et la réconciliation(CNVR) devrait-insister.’
Les résultats des consultations nationales montrent que 86,50% des personnes interrogées pensent que le moment était venu de déballer la vérité sur les différents crimes qui ont endeuillé le pays pendant des décennies.
Concernant les faits et actes les plus graves, 97,02% des personnes interrogées ont mis en avant les assassinats, 87,07% les arrestations et détentions arbitraires, 90% les actes de torture, 85% les exécutions sommaires, 73% les destructions des infrastructures publiques et privées, 91,15% les pillages des biens, 89,21% les spoliations des biens et propriétés, 75,78% les déportations, 93,59% les viols et autres violences sexuelles, 80,80% les disparitions et 76,09% les expropriations pour cause d’utilité publique sans indemnisation préalable. Quant aux pouvoirs à donner à la CNVR, 93,68% ont souhaité qu’elle reçoive les doléances des victimes, 91,41% qu’elle établisse les responsabilités et tente de rapprocher les victimes et les présumés auteurs des forfaits en vue du pardon..
Au sujet du tribunal spécial à mettre sur pied pour juger et punir les différents crimes, 75,90% des personnes interrogées ont préféré que soient membres des juristes burundais.
La principale recommandation du rapport est que le gouvernement du Burundi et les Nations unies finalisent un accord sur les points encore en suspens et conviennent d’un calendrier de mise en place des mécanismes de justice transitionnelle répondant ainsi aux attentes exprimées par les personnes consultées.
RWANDA
Rwanda: le président Kagame invite ses concitoyens en exil à rentrer au pays
(AFP / 18/12/2010) – BRUXELLES — Le président rwandais Paul Kagame a invité ses concitoyens qui vivent en exil à l’étranger à revenir dans leur pays, dans un entretien publié mercredi par le quotidien belge La Libre Belgique.
“Si ceux qui sont partis revenaient, ils verraient que le pays va mieux qu’à leur départ et qu’eux sont plus mal qu’alors”, affirme M. Kagame qui était lundi et mardi à Bruxelles dans le cadre des Journées européennes du développement.
M. Kagame a profité de cette occasion pour rencontrer plus de 2.000 Rwandais de la diaspora vivant en Europe. Lundi, une centaine de personnes ont manifesté pour dire leur opposition à sa visite. Dans des tracts ils ont accusé Kagame d’être le “principal responsable” de graves violations aux droits de l’homme dans son pays et dans l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC).
Dans son entretien avec le quotidien belge, Kagame affirme que les Rwandais de la diaspora “doivent être associés à ce qui arrive au pays et y contribuer”. “Nous cherchons à rassurer tous les Rwandais”, a-t-il insisté en reconnaissant que la société rwandaise n’était “pas homogène”.
“Il y a les rescapés, les criminels, les gens associés avec les criminels qui n’ont pas tué eux-mêmes… toutes sortes de gens”, a-t-il dit. “Il faut créer un environnement régi par la loi et la justice pour que chacune de ces catégories soit relativement à l’aise pour vivre, même si tout ne leur convient pas”, a-t-il expliqué.
“Au Rwanda, il y a un processus pour les criminels. Celui qui se repent peut être pardonné et réintégré”, a-t-il indiqué.
Mais M. Kagame a également fixé des limites à sa politique de la main tendue. Il a ainsi accusé l’opposante Victoire Ingabire d’avoir “épousé l’idéologie du génocide” et contesté qu’un nombre grandissant d’officiers de l’armée rwandaise choisissent l’exil. “Mettons qu’ils soient 100, ou même 200… Nous avons 3.500 militaires rwandais comme force de paix au Darfour et des milliers d’autres au pays”, a-t-il dit.
Interrogé pour savoir s’il souhaitait donner une deuxième chance à l’ex-chef d’état-major de l’armée, le général Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa exilé en Afrique du Sud, M. Kagame a répondu: “le veut-il?”. Le général Kayumba est cité à comparaître devant la justice rwandaise pour “atteinte à la sécurité de l’Etat”.
Le général et trois anciens proches du chef de l?Etat, également cités à comparaître et tous en exil, avaient, dans un document publié début septembre, dressé un bilan très négatif des libertés dans leur pays après le génocide des Tutsi de 1994. Ils avaient dénoncé “un gouvernement minoritaire aussi répressif qu’irresponsable” et exigé la mise en place d?”un gouvernement de coalition qui inclurait l’opposition actuellement exclue du jeu politique”.
Rwanda : Le Prix mondial de la Paix et de l’Unité 2010 remis à Kagamé
mercredi 8 décembre 2010 (Xinhua)
Le président rwandais Paul Kagamé recevra officiellement jeudi le Prix mondial de la paix et de l’unité “en l’honneur de ses accomplissements en tant que leader qui a pris fait et cause de la justice, de la réconciliation et de l’unité des Rwandais” depuis le génocide de 1994, selon des sources officielles.
Ce prix a pour but de valoriser les réalisations exceptionnelles du leader rwandais, notamment son rôle dans la fin du génocide de 1994 contre les Tutsis et la reconstruction du pays en une nation plus harmonieuse, plus stable et plus prospère, a-t- on pu lire dans un communiqué du bureau du président à Kigali.
Le prix international récompense les leaders du monde entier qui propose dans leurs travaux un changement considérable en faveur de la paix et de la réconciliation.
M. Kagamé, 52 ans, père de quatre enfants, a été commandant des forces de l’ancien groupe rebelles du Front patriotique du Rwanda (FPR), qui a pris le pouvoir après la fin du génocide contre les Tutsis en 1994.
Le leader rwandais a remporté plusieurs prix grâce à ses différentes réalisations. (Xinhua)
Rwanda: Mountain Gorillas on the Increase
Charles Kwizera 8 December 2010 http://allafrica.com/stories/201012080004.html
Kigali — A census that was conducted in the Virunga Massif between March and April, this year has shown a 26.3 percent increase of the mountain gorillas over the last seven years, with a 3.7 percent annual growth rate.
The census indicates a total of 480 mountain gorillas in 36 groups along with 14 solitary silverback males in the virunga massif.
Of the 480 gorillas, 352, representing 73 percent, are habituated.
The last census conducted in the massif was in 2003, when the population was estimated at 380 gorillas.
The Virunga Massif covers the three neighbouring national parks spanning the Virunga volcanoes, that cut across three countries.
The parks are Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Parc National des Virunga in DRC and Mgahinga Gorilla National park in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas also exist in the Bwindi impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, the head of Tourism and Conservation at Rwanda Development Board, Rica Rwigamba, said that the increase in the mountain gorilla numbers was a sign that the region is now reaping from the conservation efforts sowed on a daily basis.
Rwigamba acknowledged the selfless efforts by the rangers to ensure the safety of the wild life and their habitat.
She also affirmed the renewed commitment by all the stakeholders to ensure the dream of scrapping the mountain gorillas off the world endangered species list.
Authorities say that the census was conducted to provide a benchmark from which to asses the status of the population as a whole, as well as their health levels.
The synthesis of the findings is expected to produce one of the most comprehensive health screenings of any wild ape and will be useful in making comparisons between populations and groups.
The complete results are expected between April and May 2011. During the census, six teams comprised of 72 people from the three countries systematically walked over 1, 000 kilometers throughout the entire range and meticulously documented fresh signs of mountain gorilla groups.
Currently, along with the 302 mountain gorillas counted in 2006 in Bwindi Park and four orphaned gorillas in a sanctuary in DRC, the total known world mountain gorillas’ population is 786.
Mountain gorillas, which have fallen prey to conflict and poaching over the years, were famously brought to the world’s attention by the late Dian Fossey and are one the region’s main tourist attractions.
Rwanda: Nation to Replicate Madagascar’s Sericulture Model
Gertrude Majyambere 8 December 2010 http://allafrica.com/stories/201012080229.html
Government is planning to replicate lessons from Madagascar, Rwanda’s role model in sericulture production to improve the livelihoods for her people.
The move follows a recent visit to Madagascar by a six-man Rwanda delegation composed of farmers’ representatives, a researcher and officials from National Sericulture Centre (NSC).
“Because of the significance of silk in Madagascar’s culture, farmers have mastered the art and perfected the skills,” Pontiano Nemeye, the Coordinator of the NSC said in an interview. He said that Madagascar proved that sericulture is possible on farmer’s level and fits well in all rural community activities.
He said that prices for cocoons and silk yarns are the best worldwide. In Madagascar fresh cocoons cost $7.5 compared to $3.5 per Kilo in Rwanda and silk yarn cost between $40 and $60 per Kilo considered the highest worldwide, the official said.
“Financial modules proven that sericulture can be three times more profitable than tea and two times than coffee per unit area of land cultivated, but the challenge is to prove this in Rwanda.”
Government through NSC intends to provide infrastructure, support to build rearing houses and give technical advice on standard rearing procedures. Also, a sensitization campaign will be carried out across the country to encourage farmers on how they can benefit from the product inline with government’s plans to improve sericulture industry.
Post cacoon rocessing to produce yarn and fabrics is another area of attention by the government to add value to the product. Nemeye added that government in collaboration with development partners intends to buy simple tradition machinery affordable by farmers.
He noted that government will soon import 100 boxes of eggs from China or Korea which are good in sericulture. Each box contains 20,000 eggs and cost between $20 and $25.
“Sericulture can transform our rural communities through creation of jobs, improved households, contribute to the growth of national economy and if fully developed a good source of foreign exchange,” he said.
Government through NSC will build capacity of farmers to sustainably manage the sericulture industry.
U.S. Embassy Boosts Local Cooperatives
Stevenson Mugisha 8 December 2010 http://allafrica.com/stories/201012080359.html
The US Embassy in Rwanda, yesterday, awarded financial assistance to 19 cooperatives from various districts across the country.
The function, held at the Embassy in Kacyiru, was presided over by US Ambassador to Rwanda, Stuart Symington, who signed the 19 agreements worth $136,913 with associations and community-based groups under the auspices of the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund and PEPFAR’s Community Grants Fund.
Symington said that the objective is to support the community initiatives with small grants as a way of responding directly to requests from the Rwandan people.
“The Ambassador’s Program is designed to improve the basic economic or social conditions at the local community or village level and is a demonstration of the U.S government’s commitment towards improving the welfare of the Rwandan people,” he said.
The envoy urged the beneficiaries to strive and make their businesses grow and be ambassadors of economic and social development in their communities. Speaking to The New Times shortly after the function, Symington said that the embassy will visit the beneficiaries to assess how they use the money.
PEPFAR community grants programme to combat HIV/AIDS, seeks to assist communities and grass root organizations with small scale, quick impact development projects that provide care and support to people living with HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children in the country.
Rwanda: BK’s Model Should Inspire Other Banks
8 December 2010 http://allafrica.com/stories/201012080348.html
Bank of Kigali (BK) has been ranked by London based Financial Times (FT) Magazine, once again, as Rwanda’s Bank of the Year in terms of financial performance and business growth.
According to Ft, Bk Scooped This Year’s Rwanda Accolade which is based on good financial performance, business growth and customer care service- because of the Bank’s sound approach to lending and efficient policies.
While several top lenders in the country hiked their lending rates, making it expensive to borrow, BK decided not to raise, its lending rates albeit the liquidity crisis experienced throughout last year. This helped the bank retain its customer base and attract new clients.
Surprisingly, the decision by banks to increase lending rates and imposing stringent requirements came amid strong policy measures by the Government and the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) that aimed at encouraging these loan shy banks. These policies included; injecting liquidity into the banking system, lowering the key repo rates-at which banks borrow from the central bank and also helping local banks to secure lines of credit from foreign financial institutions.
Instead, lenders chose to increase the cost of funds even when the economy was experiencing low inflationary pressures.
With sound lending approach and good management practices, BK’s non performing loans fell from 15.4 percent of the total loan book in 2008 to 8 percent in 2009. And, its profits accounted for 70 percent of the overall banking sector profit in Rwanda.
If other banks had pursued a similar approach they, too, could have enjoyed a healthy growth and the economy would have recovered faster.
UGANDA
Egypt plans Uganda hydroelectric venture: papers
Wed Dec 8, CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt said it will set up a joint venture to produce 1,700 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric power in Uganda, Egyptian newspapers reported on Wednesday.
Egypt is in dispute with Uganda and four other African countries over the division of Nile water, due to a water treaty signed in 1929 that gives Egypt the biggest share.
The joint venture would fund the generation of 1,000 MW and an Egyptian company was interested in investing in a further 700 MW, Egyptian dailies al-Masry al-Youm and Al Ahram reported.
An Egyptian hydro-power company could build three hydroelectric plants for an investment of $100 million as part of the deal, the papers said.
Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda signed a new deal in May that would reduce Egypt’s share of 55.5 billion cubic metres of Nile water. The Nile’s total flow is estimated at around 84 billion cubic metres.
The five signatories have given the other Nile Basin countries one year to join the pact before putting it into action. Sudan is backing Egypt’s position while Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi have so far refused to sign.
Egypt’s Electricity Minister Hassan Younes announced a series of development projects in Uganda during a recent visit to the country, the Egyptian newspapers said.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni assured Younes during the visit that there was no political crisis between the countries, the papers reported.
TANZANIA:
Tanzania: Food Prices Remain Stable in Dar es Salaam
Austin Beyadi 7 December 2010 – http://allafrica.com/stories/201012080323.html
PRICES for staple food in some parts of Dar es Salaam have remained constantly stable as the festive season approaches.
A random survey by the ‘Daily News’ on Tuesday at three major markets in the city showed that there is a good supply of foodstuffs which fetch good price during the festive season, especially Christmas and New Year.
According to a random survey made by the ‘Daily News’, Dar es Salaam showed that price for rice, meat, spices and other essential commodities is stable.
At Mwananyamala market, prices for rice remained at 1,400/-, 1,200/- and 1,000/- for the high-grade medium and low grades respectively.
Some traders interviewed by this paper attributed the huge supply of foodstuffs for the past few weeks and that consumers are buying in bulk to prepare for the festive season.
Meat price remained stable and was selling at 4,000/- a kilogramme by on Tuesday while the price of a local chicken varied from 7,000/- to 13,000/-.
Secretary of the Kariakoo Main Market, Mr Mnyau Hamis Mnyau said that prices of various commodities have remained stable for the last two months.
He said that the price of meat at the market was selling between 3,800/- and 4000/- per kilogramme and that rice was also selling at between 1300/- and 1500/-; a price which was recorded a month ago.
At Kisutu market, price of rice was a bit higher where a kilo of grade one from Kyela District in Mbeya Region was selling at 1,700/- and 1500/- for medium and 1,300/- for lower grades.
Commenting on the price fluctuations, a trader and Chairman of the Cereal Unit at the market, Mr Mohamed Salum said that prices at Mwananyamala and Kisutu vary occasionally due to the quality of the commodities.
“This is a market where well-off customers usually buy their commodities.
They also come for top quality as well”, he said. Prices for chicken at the market ranged from 4,500/- to 5,000/- for hybrid chickens and 7,000/- to 15,000/- for local chicken.
Four die in fresh Tanzania cholera outbreak
AFP Wednesday, December 8 2010 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/1068346/-/122dmd7/-/
DAR ES SALAAM
Four people died and 58 were hospitalised following a fresh outbreak of cholera in the eastern Tanzanian region of Morogoro, an official said Wednesday.
“Three of the deceased persons are members of the same family,” Morogoro regional health officer, Cares Lyimo, told AFP.
He said the first cases in the area were reported two weeks ago and added that 58 people had since been admitted to hospital with cholera symptoms.
Lyimo said water shortages in the region, forcing residents to buy unsafe water from vendors, were to blame for the outbreak.
The disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and is spread by consuming contaminated food or water.
Around 60 people died of cholera in Tanzania’s northeastern Tanga region in September and October.
CONGO RDC :
“Conflict minerals” and political instability in eastern D R Congo
Development and cooperation – 08-12-2010 –
A Congolese miner chips away inside a deep mine located some 200 km west of the eastern Congolese town of Goma in the north Kivu region on April 12, 2010. ©BELGA
The illegal mining of so-called “conflict minerals” such as gold, cobalt and coltan, is rife in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes Region. The earnings help finance the fighting there and are linked to human rights abuses and phenomena such as coercion and child labour. MEPs attending a workshop on 1 December at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Kinshasa addressed the problem with local Congolese experts and MPs from ACP countries.
Bulgarian centre right MEP Mariya Nedelcheva (EPP) who chaired a workshop on regional stability in Central Africa and the threats caused by the illegal exploitation of minerals, warned against “simplistic explanations” of the phenomenon and said it could only be tackled via coordinated action at the regional and international level.
Appeal to the EU to legislate on the use of conflict minerals
Louis Michel, co-president of the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly said the illegal exploitation of resources was a “fundamental issue” for the DRC. He urged the Assembly to press the EU to follow the lead of the US Congress in adopting legislation against the use of “blood minerals” (the so-called Dodd-Frank law).
Mr Michel recalled that European Ministers had opposed such an initiative that would require large publicly traded companies that have contracts with the DRC to report the amounts they pay to governments for access to resources in oil, gas and if they use minerals from conflict zones.
The secretary-general of the Congolese mining Ministry Christophe Kaninio called on all African countries to commit to the Kimberley process – a joint governmental and industry initiative representing 75 countries which aims to avoid trade of conflict diamonds by imposing strict certification and traceability rules.
German Social Democrat Norbert Neuser (S&D) and French Green MEP Michèle Rivasi spoke of a uranium mine in Katanga region which is not officially exploited but illegally used to smuggle minerals to Iran and North Korea for nuclear purposes. Mr Neuser added that “It is not only up to the Congolese but also to the international community to ensure that uranium is well controlled or otherwise prohibited”.
UN Security Council: arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes
Belgian Green MEP Isabelle Durant denounced the fact that the mines in the Kivu region continue to be illegally exploited with the direct involvement of high-ranking officials of the Congolese army, according to recent reports by the UN .
UN experts said in a report published on Monday 29 November 2010 that Congolese army units continue to be involved in illegal trafficking of minerals, despite President Kabila’s call for an end to exploitation of the minerals trade in the Kivu region in September 2010.
The UN Security Council resolution adopted a resolution on the same day to extend sanctions (including an arms embargo) on rebel groups and travel bans and asset freezes on people linked to illicit mineral trading until November 2011.
Ces Angolais ont été réinstallés dans les municipalités de Damba, Maquela do Zombo, Sanza Pombo, Bungo, Bembe, Buengas, Kimbele, Mucaba et Songo, a-t-il souligné.
Avec les élections, Kabila veut consolider la démocratie en RDC
Mardi 07 décembre 2010 – Le président congolais Joseph Kabila a réaffirmé sa détermination d’organiser dans les délais prévus les élections prévues à partir de l’an prochain en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), dans une interview publiée mardi.
“On va faire plusieurs choses à la fois, et d’abord consolider la démocratie, renforcer la paix et la stabilité. Car sans la paix, le développement ne sera qu’une illusion. La démocratie, cela signifie que les élections auront lieu dans les délais prévus. J’y tiens beaucoup. Ces élections doivent avoir lieu avant la fin de l’année 2011”, a-t-il déclaré au journal ‘Le Soir’.
“La priorité, ce sont les prochaines élections. Il faut enraciner la démocratie”, a ajouté M. Kabila dans cette interview recueillie samedi alors que le président ivoirien Laurent Gbagbo prêtait serment au terme d’une élection présidentielle contestée.
La RDC doit pour sa part organiser des élections générales entre le 27 novembre 2011 pour la présidentielle et les législatives nationales et août 2013 pour l’élection des maires.
Le président congolais n’a toutefois pas encore formellement annoncé s’il serait candidat à un second mandat, soulignant que la campagne électorale “ne commencera pas avant juillet ou septembre 2011”.
Sans évoquer la possibilité de modifier la Constitution congolaise pour lui permettre de briguer un éventuel troisième mandat, M. Kabila affirme qu'”il y aura peut-être quelques réformes, principalement dans la loi électorale”. “Quant à la Constitution, qui date de 2006, il faudra modifier quelques articles, à propos du découpage territorial et du Conseil supérieur de la magistrature” (CSM) au sein duquel il ne peut siéger.
Il évoque aussi la mort du militant des droits de l’Homme Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, président de l’ONG congolaise de défense des droits de l’Homme la Voix des sans Voix (VSV), qui avait été retrouvé mort le 2 juin dernier dans sa voiture dans la périphérie de Kinshasa.
“A la veille du 30 juin (la date du 50ème anniversaire de l’indépendance de l’ex-Congo belge, NDLR), cette affaire a été un très grand choc pour moi”, a dit M. Kabila en exprimant l’espoir que “la vérité va éclater” lors du procès en cours de huit policiers – dont le chef des services spéciaux.
Le président a admis que M. Chebeya était “critique” à son égard mais qu’il “ne faisait que son travail”. Il se pose ainsi en défenseur des militants des droits de l’Homme – je leur ai toujours dit “que j’étais leur premier allié, je serai toujours là pour les défendre – et des journalistes, souvent menacés. “Ils ne doivent pas avoir peur. On a besoin d’eux pour qu’ils dénoncent ce qui ne va pas, et ce que nous ne savons peut-être pas, ni moi, ni mes services de renseignement, ce que peut-être on nous cache”, souligne le chef de l’Etat.
Il assure enfin que l’ex-Zaïre, ravagé par des années de gabegie et de guerres civiles, se rétablit lentement. “Petit à petit, le Congo reprend sa place au centre du continent, une place stratégique. Ce pays doit (…) doit aussi être le vrai moteur du développement du continent. Nous sommes sur la bonne voie, même si cela nous a pris beaucoup de temps, d’énergie, de sacrifices”, a-t-il expliqué.
Selon lui, c’est seulement à partir de 2008 que la reconstruction a effectivement commencé. “Ce qui compte, c’est que les travaux ont commencé sur toute l’étendue du territoire national. Mais le Congo c’est 2.345.000 km2. Si nous avons réalisé 60 ou 100 kilomètres de route asphaltée, ce n’est rien, il reste beaucoup à faire”, prévient enfin M. Kabila.
Levif.be avec Belga
Cobalt Mine In Congo Featured In Wiki-Leak’s Cables
By Resource Investing News 12/08/10 – By Michael Montgomery—Exclusive to Cobalt Investing News
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10941356/1/cobalt-mine-in-congo-featured-in-wiki-leaks-cables.html
The use of cobalt in various battery technologies from electronics to hybrid and electric vehicles is driving the price of the metal. Vital to new technology the importance of the metal was recently highlighted in the wiki-leaks cable scandal currently dominating world news outlets. A high level diplomatic cable that contained sites vital to economic and national defense for the US, stated that “sites around the world important to national interests, a cobalt mine in the Congo (Tenke Fungurume?) tops the list,” stated Jason Stearns, forThe Christian Science Monitor. This admission by the US State Department furthers the importance of secure cobalt supply needed for high tech applications, such as the use of the metal in various battery technologies.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to some of the most heinous human rights violations over the last 20 years, including rape, child labor, and a “conflict mineral” trade that is funding the very groups perpetrating these crimes. Recently the Frank-Dodd Securities Act passed in the US aimed to reduce the funding of these groups by requiring companies to list the suppliers of various metals including tantalum, tin and tungsten, and cobalt. The mining of these minerals was covered on Cobalt Investing News last month.
The Tenke Fungurume mine, suspect as being the cobalt mine in the wiki-leaks cable, is located in southern DRC, and is run in joint by Freeport- McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(NYSE:FCX) and Lundin Mining Corp. (TSE:LUN) and Gecamines. According to Freeport McMoran, the mine is expected to produce 250 million pounds of copper and 18 million pounds (8,166 metric tons) of cobalt per year. According to the USGS minerals yearbook, in 2008 the DRC mined 40 percent of the worlds cobalt supply, with a total of 31,000 metric tonnes. The total production of just this mine alone makes up a large share of the DRC’s total cobalt production.
South African cobalt miner Metorex (PINK:MRXLY) has recently resumed mining operations on their Ruashi copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mine had encountered electrical problems that shut down production for five weeks, hampering production totals for the quarter. “Cobalt production is expected to drop 16 percent in the same period from the 1,057 tonnes mined in the three months to end-September,” reportedAngieszka Flak, for Reuters.
Outside of the DRC, many mining companies are working on their own deposits. Baja Mining Corp. (TSE:BAJ) recently secured funding for its Boleo project in Baja California, Mexico. The company “recently completed US$858 Million project financing and C$184 Million bought deal financing,” stated the press release. The project is expected to produce an annual average of 56,697 tonnes copper cathode, and 1,708 tonnes of cobalt cathode with a 23 year mine life. The mine also contains zinc and manganese. The funding of the project received the “Exploration and Development Funding Award” at the annual Mines and Money Awards Dinner held in London, UK on December 1, 2010.
Puget Ventures (CVE:PVS) announced that a deal was signed to buy cobalt and other mineral assets in Russia and Mongolia. The deal with Imperial Mining Holding Ltd. result in Puget Ventures changing the name of the company to “Global Cobalt Corporation to reflect evolution to international cobalt exploration and development company,” according to the article in RTT News.
Cobalt Mine in Congo Featured in Wiki-Leak’s Cables from Cobalt Investing News
KENYA :
Kenya Central Bank Selling Bonds Valued at 15 Billion Shillings
By Sarah McGregor – Dec 8, 2010
Kenya started selling as much as 15 billion shillings of bonds with the proceeds going toward general budget support, the African nation’s central bank said.
The sale began Dec. 6 and will end Dec. 21, the Central Bank of Kenya said in a statement published in the Daily Nation newspaper today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Nairobi at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net
Kenya endangering lives of Somali refugees, says rights group
MICHAEL LOGAN | NAIROBI, KENYA – Dec 08 2010 11:08
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-08-kenya-endangering-lives-of-somali-refugees-says-rights-group
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Wednesday accused Kenya of endangering the lives of thousands of Somali refugees who are being deported back to their war-torn country in violation of international law.
Kenya hosts almost 300 000 Somalis in its Dadaab refugee complex, near the Kenya-Somalia border, which is at bursting point as thousands continue to flee a bloody Islamist insurgency.
However, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said many thousands of those who make into Kenya are being returned to South and Central Somalia.
“Continued fighting and horrendous abuses in Somalia pose a very real threat to the lives of tens of thousands of children, women and men,” said Michelle Kagari, Africa programme deputy director at Amnesty International. “No Somali should be forcibly returned to southern and central Somalia.”
Amnesty International said Kenyan authorities forcibly returned 8 000 refugees last month, who had fled fighting, while HRW cited cases of hundreds of Somalis being driven back to the border in pick-up trucks.
“Kenyan officials are flagrantly violating Somalis’ right not to be returned to a place where their lives are at grave risk,” said Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher for HRW. “The Kenyan government needs to send a clear message to provincial and local authorities that Somalis must not be deported to their war-torn country.”
Discussions have been ongoing between Kenya and the United Nations refugee agency UNCHR for years over the allocation of more land at the Dadaab complex, but no deal has been struck.
Bearing the brunt
Kenya feels it is bearing the brunt of the exodus from its neighbour, a point acknowledged by Amnesty International.
“Kenya disproportionately shoulders the responsibility for massive refugee flows from Somalia and needs more support from the international community, including European Union countries to provide durable solutions for these people,” said Kagaria.
Kenya: Minister’s Ultimatum to Oil Dealers
Alphonce Shiundu 7 December 2010
http://allafrica.com/stories/201012080165.html
Nairobi — Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi has issued a seven-day ultimatum to oil marketers to shape up or risk having their trading licences cancelled.
Addressing journalists in Parliament buildings after a House Committee meeting, Mr Murungi said the marketers had until December 15 to sell fuel at prices recommended by the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock) as per the price controls introduced by the government.
“If they fail to comply, they’ll have to face the consequence of a fine or they’ll have their trading licences cancelled,” the minister said.
He said that even though the Energy Regulatory Commission had advised oil marketers to sell the products at reasonable prices, they had ignored the notice and were out making “super profits”.
“The measures we’re taking now are measures of last resort. We’ve spoken, we’ve cajoled, and now we’ve been forced to convert the regulations into law. Of course this will hurt some people, but I expect them to go down fighting,” Mr Murungi said.
“The ministry’s role is to ensure security of supply of fuel so that our taps don’t run dry and that the products are distributed and sold in the market at affordable prices.”
The minister’s ultimatum and tough stance against the petroleum dealers came moments after players in the oil industry put up a feisty accusation against the minister saying he had flouted the law in giving Nock a 30 per cent import quota.
The players told the House Committee on Delegated Legislation that the minister’s gazettement of the Energy (Importation of petroleum products)(quota allocation) Regulations, 2010 was “discriminatory against other oil marketing companies by not only conferring against Nock an undue preference but also subjecting other oil marketing companies to an undue disadvantage”.
“The government should ensure a stable energy regime in the country, but within the law,” said Mr Stephen Kiyuuru, the General Counsel for Oil Libya.
But committee chairperson, Ms Amina Abdalla (nominated, Kanu) and member Dr Julius Kones (Konoin, ODM) questioned the basis of the marketers’ insistence that the minister had broken the law.
They committee members told the marketers that the law gave Mr Murungi the power to gazette the regulations “The onus is upon you the industry players to convince us that the ministry did not go against the Open Tender System,” said Ms Abdallah.
The marketers said the law did not have a “specific mention” granting the ERC and even the minister powers to regulate the importation of petroleum products through the open tender system.
They said the regulations dated June 11, 2010 “derogate from the strictures of an open tender system.”
The regulations provide for a two tier system of procurement of petroleum imports where 70 per cent of crude oil, jet fuel and automotive diesel through an open tendering system and 30 per cent through a direct procurement system Nock. Nock also plans to open up 30 fuel stations by June 2011.
“It is our contention that by taking up ullage of the Kenya Pipeline Company pipeline, the regulations will compel oil companies to participate in the Nock tender whether they are competitive or not. If an oil company desires to retain its market share, it has no option but to buy petroleum from Nock,” the fuel players said.
They said that Nock submitted a higher bid in the first tender than the OTS “by Sh15.00 per metric tonne leading ultimately to higher, not lower fuel pump prices and costs to the economy.”
“If an oil company desires to retain its market share, it has no option but to buy petroleum from Nock,” read part of the statement tabled before the committee.
Mr Murungi will appear before the committee next Thursday in the company of a lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office to explain that he indeed acted within the law.
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South African Retail Sales Rise 6.1% on Rate Cuts
By Mike Cohen Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — South African retail sales rose for a 10th straight month in October, as a series of interest-rate cuts supported a rebound in consumer spending.
Sales growth accelerated to an annual 6.1 percent from a revised 6 percent in September, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website today. The median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 6.2 percent. Sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in the month.
“It’s a positive number” that reflects improved consumer confidence and lower interest rates, said Carmen Altenkirch, an economist at Nedbank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg. “Hopefully we will see retail sales ticking up over the next two months.”
The Reserve Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate nine times to 5.5 percent since December 2008 to help spur spending, as a rally in the rand helped contain inflation.
The rand traded at 6.9565 per dollar at 12:13 p.m. in Johannesburg from 6.9735 before the release of the sales data and 6.8938 late yesterday.
On Nov. 23, Edcon Holdings Ltd., a South African retailer owned by Bain Capital LLC, said sales rose 14 percent to 5 billion rand in the quarter to Oct. 3. Massmart Holdings Ltd., the country’s biggest food and general goods wholesaler, on Nov. 24 said sales for the first 21 weeks of its 2011 fiscal year rose 14 percent, as it opened more stores and consumer spending rebounded.
–Editors: Philip Sanders, Vernon Wessels
To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
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Line in the Sand at Cancun Climate Talks
by Timothy B. Hurst on December 7, 2010
In a move that energized the UN climate talks in Cancun on Monday, for the first time ever, China said it would agree to “binding” carbon reduction agreements. But along with a group of the largest developing economies, China also said it would only agree to do so unless certain “non-negotiable” conditions were met.
Representatives from the “BASIC” group of countries—Brazil, South Africa, India and China—said late on Monday that they would not support a deal until a post-2012 commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol had been settled, a climate change fund had materialized and countries had come to an understanding on technology transfer.
“We are conscious of the need for a substantive outcome, but these three things are non-negotiable,” said Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who chaired a joint press conference with BASIC colleagues on Monday.
China, which made waves on Monday when negotiators said the country would make its 2008 voluntary carbon reductions binding under a U.N. provision, echoed the sentiment.
“We’re willing to compromise, we’re willing to play a positive and constructive role, but on this issue (Kyoto) there’s no room for compromise,” said Huang Huikang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s envoy for climate change talks.
One of the big sticking points for American negotiators has been the reluctance of BASIC countries to agree on the transparency front, a problem that India’s Ramesh hoped would be overcome by his proposed verification regime.
Ramesh’s proposed MRV-LCA (Measurement, Review and Verification – International Consultation and Analysis) plan would require countries whose emissions are more than 1 percent of the global average to submit to the UN review process every three years, all other countries would be reviewed every six.
Ramesh, who said his “mandate is to play a bridge between US and others,” has taken some heat both at home in India as well as from other BASIC member states, namely China, which has yet to sign-on the the verification proposal.
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EN BREF, CE 08 décembre 2010… AGNEWS /DAM, NY, 08/12/2010
