{jcomments on}DAM, NY, AGNEWS, le 13 décembre 2010 – Le Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP), ex-rébellion devenue parti politique, a adhéré à l’Alliance de la majorité présidentielle (AMP), la plateforme électorale du président Joseph Kabila en vue des élections de 2011, a-t-on appris lundi auprès du CNDP.

BURUNDI.

Burundi/Environnement :- semaine de l’environnement, édition 2010

http://www.burundi-gov.bi/Burundi-Environnement-Semaine-de-l

Ce dimanche le 12 décembre 2010, le Ministre de l’Eau, de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement du Territoire et de l’Urbanisme, Ing. Jean Marie NIBIRANTIJE, a rendu public une déclaration sur la semaine de l’environnement, édition 2010. Le thème retenu pour cette année est : « Luttons conte les effets des changements climatiques par le reboisement et la protection de la biodiversité ».

Dans sa déclaration, le Ministre NIBIRANTIJE attire l’attention du public, des administratifs à la base et des décideurs à tous les niveaux, sur leur devoir de préserver et de gérer rationnellement et durablement l’environnement et la biodiversité de notre pays. En effet, selon le Ministre, notre pays est aujourd’hui confronté aux nombreux problèmes liés à la dégradation de l’environnement suite aux changements climatiques, a-t-il souligné. Il interpelle tout citoyen burundais pour qu’il soit sensible à l’urgence qui s’impose dans la protection, la conservation et la gestion rationnelle et durable de l’environnement.

La semaine du 13 au 18 décembre 2010 sera marquée par la tenue des activités des ateliers de sensibilisation des partenaires de développement du secteur forestier, les élus locaux ainsi que l’administration sur la gestion rationnelle des produits forestiers, miniers et carriers. La journée du 18, la célébration de la Journée Nationale de l’Arbre portera un accent particulier dans les sites des provinces de Cankuzo, Karuzi, Kirundo, Mwaro et la Mairie de Bujumbura.

Lire l’intégralité de la déclaration du Ministre :

Déclaration du ministre de l’Eau, de l’Environnement, de l’Aménagement du territoire et de l’Urbanisme

Mesdames, Messieurs

Chers téléspectateurs

Ce lundi 13 décembre 2010, est une journée consacrée au lancement des activités de la semaine dédiée à l’environnement dans notre pays. Une semaine qui sera clôturée par la Journée Nationale de l’Arbre.

A cette occasion, nous voudrions attirer l’attention du public, des administratifs à la base et des décideurs à tous les niveaux, sur leur devoir de préserver et de gérer rationnellement et durablement l’environnement et la biodiversité de notre pays.

Cette année, la semaine de l’environnement et la Journée Nationale de l’Arbre sont célébrées sous le thème ainsi libérée : « Luttons conte les effets des changements climatiques par le reboisement et la protection de la biodiversité »

En effet, notre pays est aujourd’hui confronté aux nombreux problèmes liés à la dégradation de l’environnement suite aux changements climatiques.

Ces actions sont notamment l’émission des gaz à effet de serre dans l’atmosphère, le déboisement excessif et l’indifférence dans la production des ressources naturelles de manière générale.

Le comportement irresponsable vis-à-vis de l’environnement est à l’origine de la recrudescence des crises se traduisant par la sécheresse, les inondations, les phénomènes de désertification et j’en passe.

Ce comportement qui occasionne les changements climatiques a des répercussions très graves sur le sol dont dépend 90% de la population et par conséquent une diminution de la production.

Le même comportement n’épargne pas la diversité biologique qui est source de vie et de bien être pour nous tous.

Face à ces catastrophes naturelles causées par les phénomènes climatiques, il est de notre devoir d’entreprendre des actions visibles et responsables visant l’atténuation des effets du changement climatique, et trouver ensemble des solutions pouvant nous emmener à un avenir meilleurs et rassurant pour nous et les générations futures.

La semaine de l’environnement est une occasion d’interpeller tout citoyen burundais pour qu’il soit sensible à l’urgence qui s’impose dans la protection, la conservation et la gestion rationnelle et durable de l’environnement.

Nous le savons tous, que le Gouvernement du Burundi dans son programme de développement a mis un accent particulier sur les activités de reboisement à travers tout le pays et la prévention de ce qui existe nous incombe tous.

Nous vous exhortons tous, cultivateurs, fonctionnaires, administratifs à tous les niveaux, décideurs, hommes et femmes à prendre conscience et agir ensemble afin de lutter contre toute forme de destruction de l’environnement.

En effet, il n’y aura de solution durables aux problèmes liés aux changements climatiques que si chacun où qu’il soit se sente concerné par le problème.

Chacun où qu’il soit est invité à soutenir les mesures visant la protection et la gestion rationnelle et durable de nos ressources environnementales.

Ainsi, nous aurons tous contribué à un espoir d’un développement durable auquel nous aspirons tous.

Je vous remercie.-

RWANDA

Rwanda Sees Increased Mining Investments After Ban in Congo, Minister Says

By David Malingha Doya – Dec 13, 2010 AFP

Rwanda expects increased investment in its minerals industry following the suspension of mining in eastern parts of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Christophe Bazivamo, Rwanda’s minister for forestry and mining.

“We expect investors who want to mine and trade minerals from Congo to now do that in Rwanda because of the ban,” he said in an interview in Kigali yesterday.

Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Sept. 9 suspended most mining in the North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema provinces in an effort to wrest control of the industry from “mafia groups.” The suspension will continue while the Congolese army tries to stabilize the area around Bisie, the region’s biggest tin-ore mine, Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu said on Oct. 25.

“We will determine the impact of the ban on our exports in January,” said Bazivamo. “But we know that investors can get the minerals they were getting from Congo here in Rwanda.”

Since the Congolese ban, mining companies in Rwanda have started boosting production, while the number of inquiries from miners interested in starting operations have increased, Bazivamo said. He declined to comment further.

Rwanda produces about 5 percent of the world’s tantalum, used in electronics, and about 4 percent of global tungsten production, according to the latest available information on the website of the U.S. Geological Survey. The central African nation also produces cassiterite, or tin ore.

Rwanda’s government is investing in geological data in an effort to attract more investment into the country, Michael Biryabarema, director of the Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority, or OGMR, said in Kigali on Dec.4.

Minerals currently account for about 30 percent of Rwanda’s exports, according to the OGMR. Exports of minerals may increase to $60 million this year, from $54.6 million in 2009, the Rwanda Development Board has said.

Rwanda to Drill Three Geothermal Exploration Wells in 2011, Ministry Says

By David Malingha Doya – Dec 13, 2010

Rwanda plans to drill three geothermal exploration wells next year at a cost of about $20 million, said Stephen Onacha, an energy expert in the Ministry of Infrastructure.

“When we confirm geothermal resources in the first well, we will begin developing it for electricity generation immediately,” Onacha said in an interview on Dec. 11 from Gishenyi, western Rwanda, where geologists think the resource is located. It won’t “wait to drill all other exploration wells.”

Rwanda wants to expand its generating capacity to 1,000 megawatts in seven years from 85 megawatts, Coleta Ruhamya, state minister for energy told reporters on Dec. 7. That generating capacity will include 300 megawatts of geothermal energy, she said.

The government secured grants of $4.5 million from the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility and 4 million euros ($5.3 million) from the Nordic Development Fund for a renewable energy project, the Ministry of Infrastructure said on Dec. 9. The money will form a grant and credit program for electricity consumers to buy solar systems.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Malingha Doya in Kigali via Johannesburg at 1934 or asguazzin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.

UGANDA

Ugandan Army Evicts Encroachers In Oil Region

DECEMBER 13, 2010 – KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)–The Ugandan army evicted hundreds of immigrant families from communally owned land in the oil-rich Bulisa district over the weekend in a bid to diffuse tensions with locals, officials told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.

Zulu Ganyana, the western Uganda police spokeswoman, said that evictions were carried out following a court ruling last week which nullified the claims of immigrant pastoralists on hundreds of hectares of the land in the oil-rich rift valley.

“The court ruled that the pastoralists were occupying the land illegally,” she said, adding that at least 400 people were affected on Sunday.

However, Mukasa Lugalambi, the lawyer representing the evicted families told Dow Jones Newswires separately the army had acted unlawfully in enforcing the evictions because court orders are supposed to be enforced by bailiffs.

“The government’s interest in this land is oil, they are not doing this for any tribe, and that’s why they are involving the army,” he said, adding that he was preparing to file a fresh suit in the Ugandan high court Monday challenging the eviction.

According to Lugalambi, Court threw out the earlier suit on technical grounds after a preliminary objection from the attorney general.

The Uganda police arrested Grace Baroroza, the leader of the affected families, Monday after a group of families attempted to resist eviction. Baroroza told Dow Jones Newswires from the Bulisa police station that she would mobilize her fellow ethnic Banyarwanda tribe not to vote for incumbent President Yoweri Museveni in the forthcoming polls.

“We bought this land but government continues to harass us…they should know that we have the numbers to frustrate government in next year’s election,” she said.

Tensions between the pastoralists and local Bagungu tribes have been mounting and in 2008, there were several clashes between opposing tribes over the hitherto communally owned land. The pastoralists started migrating into the area around 2006 and acquired title deeds over 1,000 hectares of communally owned land after allegedly buying the said land from local communities.

According to Lugalambi, the entire land in dispute including that without title deeds measures around 8 square miles around block 2, where U.K.-based Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN), the operator of the block, is preparing to develop the Kasemene oil field in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Activists say the pastoralists had been aided by some government officials in acquiring the land, the value of which has been rising since the discovery of commercial oil reserves in 2006.

General David Tinyefuza, the Uganda coordinator of the intelligence services, who headed the operation to evict the pastoralists, told reporters Sunday that the army was enforcing a legal court order.

“The evictions are legal and there is nothing wrong with the army getting involved,” he said.

Activists have in the past criticized the involvement of the army in the land conflicts in the oil region.

Last month, U.K.-based anti-corruption watchdog, Global Witness, criticized the involvement of the army and Uganda’s first family in the oil sector, saying that there is conflict of interest and personalization of oil exploration activities in the country.

Lieutenant Colonel Muhoozi Keinerugaba, the son of the Ugandan president, is the overall commander of the elite Special Forces unit, which is in charge of the security of the oil wells, while General Salim Saleh, the president’s brother, owns Saracen security group, which provides private security services to oil exploration companies operating in the country.

Uganda has been discovered at least 15 oil fields in three blocks in the oil region and the country is expected to produce at least 200,000 barrels of oil a day by 2016, according to Tullow.

Discovered reserves so far are estimated at 2.5 billion barrels, according to Tullow.

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615 bariyonic@yahoo.co.uk

TANZANIA:

Tanzania: Nation to Sell Banned Ivory

James Mwakisyala 13 December 2010 East African Business Week (Kampala)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201012131445.html

Dar Es Salaam — The Government has opened a small window to sell the prohibited elephant ivory in an auction scheduled for December 30, 2010 at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam suspected to be a ‘litmus test’ in an attempt to sell the 90 tonnes of banned ivory stockpiles worth US$ 20 million.

An advert in the local media by the Acting Commissioner of Customs of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Patrick Kasaka, listed some 14 parcels which had been impounded by the Customs Department would be among hundreds of assorted items and parcels to be auctioned.

The advertis shows most consignees are from Asia whose parcels were impounded at the airport for various reasons – they include elephant ivory pieces, bungles, carvings, necklaces and ivory sticks.

Asked to comment on the sale of ivory pieces, an official in the directorate of Taxpayer Services and Education told East African Business Week, “There is nothing that bars semi processed ivory items from sale unless they were whole.” If that’s the case then Tanzania will have found a safe way to dispose of its banned ivory stocks by simply cutting them into pieces.

One wildlife stakeholder, who preferred anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said “This (sale) is totally illegal. Tanzania would have to change its legislation. Currently it’s illegal to buy or sell ivory in Tanzania, and who will they sell it to? The Chinese? Again totally illegal as there is an international (elephant ivory) ban… Most bizarre, but clearly demonstrates total lack of understanding of the law.”

Sale of Tanzania ivory has been one of the most emotive issues in Tanzania this year as the Government sought without success for permission from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in May 2010 at the Doha, Qatar meeting, to sell its 90 tonnes stocks worth $20 million.

Tanzania claimed it was selling the stocks, now in Government custody, to spend the proceeds on wildlife conservation, but the CITES meeting dismissed the argument saying it would only fuel the slaughter of more elephants by poachers. As CITES stopped Tanzania from selling the ivory stockpiles, tension built up against proponents for the ban, who included Kenyan wildlife activists.

The Doha conference was reminded of the last concession by CITES that allowed southern African countries to sell their “legal stocks” that immediately resulted in increased poaching in eastern Africa, from where ivory is then smuggled to buyers overseas.

The other fall out was that Kenya was hit by a wave of poaching in 2009 thus hardening the country’s stance on the sale of elephant ivory. The conference was also told that poaching figures for elephants quadrupled in Kenya in 2009 compared to 2007.

Tanzania is said to be losing 200 elephants annually at the hands of poachers mostly in the vast Selous Game Reserve. The Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF), an Arusha-based organization working to improve natural resource management for local livelihoods, said then Tanzania had serious challenges within its wildlife management systems that must be dealt with before presenting a successful bid to Cites to sell its ivory.

The country has pledged to build its case for the sale the same ivory at the next CITES meeting in 2013. The big issue is what would happen if Tanzania was allowed to sell the ivory.

Would this encourage more poaching of elephants or boost conservation? Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia have in the past been granted approval through CITES for limited ivory sales, hence the need for Tanzania to clearly demonstrate that illegal stuff will not be mixed with the stockpiled ivory.

However, Tanzania wildlife stakeholders are against the sale of the ivory proposing instead for the Government to build special wildlife museums in Arusha and Dar es Salaam which would serve as permanent sources of income as tourists would pay to visit them.

They doubt if the one-off sale for $20m won’t end up in bank accounts of wildlife conservation officials.

Tanzania’s international credibility is weak because there is little evidence that the Government can effectively curb illicit ivory trade within its borders as major recent ivory seizures in Asia have been traced back to Tanzania.

A report released in March by the London and Washington, DC-based Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA), shows that a lot needs to be done.

The report titled ‘Open Season – The Burgeoning Illegal Ivory Trade in Tanzania and Zambia,’ says the poaching threat in Tanzania is most pronounced in the 50,000 sq m Selous Game Reserve. During the last big wave of elephant poaching that hit much of Africa in the 1980s, the Selous lost 70,000 elephants.

Yet a catalogue of reports and evidence show that the reserve is still poorly protected and wide open to poachers, who are often assisted by corrupt game scouts.

Field investigations by EIA show continued flow of ivory out of the Selous. Poachers enter the reserve for periods of around two weeks and kill an average of 10 elephants on each trip, according to the report.

The bulk of the ivory poached from the Selous is smuggled through Dar es Salaam in containers to markets in the Far East, adds the report. In July 2006, Customs officers at Kaohsiung port, Taiwan, intercepted two containers supposedly containing sisal fibre shipped from Tanga.

Tanzania Coffee Prices Rise 8.7% on Buyer Stockpiling

By Fred Ojambo – Dec 13, 2010

Tanzania’s benchmark coffee climbed 8.7 percent at a Dec. 10 auction as buyers replenished their stocks before Christmas, the Tanzania Coffee Board said.

The top arabica AA grade sold for an average of $245.81 for a 50-kilogram (110-pound) bag, compared with $226.16 a week earlier, the board said today in an e-mailed statement today. Supplies rose 3.7 percent to 5,941 bags, it said. The next sale will be Jan. 6 after holidays, it said.

Overall prices at the auction for mild arabica coffee gained by an average of $13.69 a bag from a week earlier, and supplies rose 19 percent to 22,318 bags, it said. Only arabica varieties were offered, it said. Tanzania also grows robusta beans.

Tanzania collects it crop from April through August. Arabica beans account for 75 percent of Tanzania’s output.

The following are details of the auction in U.S. dollars for a 50-kilogram bag for the good grades:

Grade Offer Sold Low High Average

Arabica AA 5,941 5,270 207 280.80 245.81

Arabica A 5,712 4,843 205 276 243.43

Arabica B 6,150 4,675 205 268 235.75

Arabica PB 2,426 2,117 160 252 222.93

Arabica C 1,163 879 160 231.80 196.18

Arabica FAQ 926 926 125.20 139.80 132.66

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala via Johannesburg on pmrichardson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

CONGO RDC :

Africa : 13 décembre 2010 [RDC: l’ex-rébellion du CNDP adhère à la plateforme électorale de Kabila]

RDC: l’ex-rébellion du CNDP adhère à la plateforme électorale de Kabila

lundi 13 décembre 2010 (Belga) Le Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP), ex-rébellion devenue parti politique, a adhéré à l’Alliance de la majorité présidentielle (AMP), la plateforme électorale du président Joseph Kabila en vue des élections de 2011, a-t-on appris lundi auprès du CNDP.

José Endundo réaffirme la volonté de la Rdc de participer à l’effort mondial de lutte contre le changement climatique

Kinshasa, 13/12/2010 / Politique http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/72376

C’est à l’occasion de la conférence sur le changement climatique (Cop 16) présidée à Cancun au Mexique que la Rdc, à travers son représentant, José Endundo, ministre de l’environnement a exhorté les autres parties à lutter contre ce fléau.

La participation de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) a été significative à la 16ème conférence des parties (COP 16) à la convention cadre des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques (CNUCC) tenue du 29 novembre au 12 décembre 2010 à Cancun (Mexique), indique le ministère de l’Environnement, de la conservation de la nature et tourisme (RDC), dans un communiqué parvenu à L’ACP. Trois événements phares ont marqué la présence de la délégation congolaise à ces assises, a noté la source.

Il s’agit de la présentation, mercredi dernier, à l’hôtel Hilton de Cancun, d’une communication sur l’état d’avancement des projets initiés par la RDC pour le processus REDD (Réduction des émissions de gaz à effets de serre dues à la déforestation et à la dégradation des forêts), de la participation du ministre congolais de l’Environnement, José Endundo Bononge, à un conclave de 20 ministres de ce secteur qui ont discuté de points d’achoppement.

Le troisième temps fort est l’intervention du ministre Endundo à la plénière de jeudi dernier, au cours de laquelle, il a réaffirmé la volonté des pays du bassin du Congo de participer à l’effort mondial de lutte contre le changement climatique à travers le mécanisme REDD+. Dans sa déclaration, le ministre de l’Environnement, a indiqué que la RDC souscrit à la Déclaration du « G77 » et de la Chine et qu’elle soutient fermement la position du groupe Afrique. La RDC, a-t-il dit, émet le vœu de voir les deux voies de négociations, à savoir l’action de coopération à long terme (LCA) et le protocole de Kyoto, évoluer à la même vitesse, afin d’aboutir à des décisions concrètes.

La RDC exhorte, par ailleurs, toutes les parties à participer à cette lutte, chacune à la hauteur de ses moyens et à la mesure de ses responsabilités historiques. Le ministre Endundo a prévenu contre les conséquences à venir : « si des décisions sérieuses ne sont pas dégagées autour du protocole de Kyoto, la culture de l’impunité et de l’irresponsabilité environnementale sera la moisson que va récolter l’humanité tout entière.

Cela, a-t-il dit, va créer un précédent fâcheux dans tous les domaines en termes des droits humains. Les droits sociaux et de l’ordre économique local et mondial. Il a, à cet effet, déploré les promesses non tenues de Copenhague et le manque de mobilisation des fonds « FAST START » qui devraient couvrir la période 2010-2011, avant de suggérer des mécanismes appropriés pour lutter contre les changements climatiques. Il s’agit de l’adaptation, du renforcement des capacités et du financement considérés comme la priorité des priorités pour l’Afrique, autre le fonds d’adaptation et le fonds vert.

ACP / (GTM/TH/Yes) / Last edited: 13/12/2010

Pour la transparence dans les industries extractives, la RDC scelle un partenariat avec la Banque mondiale

Kinshasa, 13/12/2010 / Economie http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/72383

La RDC et la Banque mondiale ont convenu d’assurer la transparence dans le secteur de l’exploitation minière par un partenariat scellé sur le contrôle de la gestion des industries extractives du pays, ce qui pourra contribuer à maximiser les recettes générées par les ressources naturelles congolaises

Depuis le samedi 11 décembre 2010, la RDC et la Banque mondiale regardent dans la même direction pour une gestion rationnelle du secteur des ressources naturelles. Souvent plaintive au sujet du désordre qui mine le secteur congolais des industries extractives, la Banque mondiale peut désormais se convaincre de la volonté du gouvernement de la République démocratique du Congo à mettre de l’ordre dans ce secteur des ressources naturelles. L’acte d’engagement du gouvernement – document censé servir de repère pour juger de l’efficacité de ses réformes dans le secteur – a été signé le samedi 11 décembre 2010 par le ministre des Finances, Matata Ponyo Mapon, avec la directrice des opérations de la Banque mondiale en RDC, Marie-Françoise Marie-Nelly.

Il s’agit d’un aide-mémoire, conçu comme une matrice multisectorielle qui œuvre pour une meilleure gouvernance économique dans le secteur des ressources naturelles. Ainsi, au nom de tous les ministères sectoriels, le ministre des Finances a pris l’engagement, en sa qualité de gouverneur de la Banque mondiale pour la RDC, de faire respecter les termes de cette matrice multisectorielle.

Car, depuis quelque temps, la Banque mondiale a fait de la gouvernance économique comme principal préalable pour libérer les appuis budgétaires promis à la RDC dans le cadre du budget 2011. Avec l’adoption de cette matrice multisectorielle qui s’impose comme référentiel, la Banque mondiale ne devait donc plus avoir d’inquiétudes pour accompagner la RDC dans son effort de reconstruction nationale.

Le ministre des Finances a donc donné des assurances nécessaires, rappelant qu’avec cette matrice, rien ne pouvait désormais obstruer les relatons entre la RDC et la Banque mondiale, particulièrement dans le secteur des ressources naturelles où la Banque mondiale a multiplié d’oppositions en l’encontre de la RDC, particulièrement dans le cadre du projet KMT, résilié depuis août 2009 par le gouvernement congolais.

En rapport avec cette matrice, Matata Ponyo s’est exprimé en ces termes : « Il s’agit d’une matrice qui essaie de faire le point d’un travail de consensus qui vient de se réaliser entre la Banque mondiale et la République Démocratique du Congo en ce qui concerne la gestion des ressources naturelles. Vous le savez, nous avons eu quelques petits problèmes avec la Banque mondiale en ce qui concerne l’affaire KMT, mais cela n’a pas entamé la collaboration entre les deux parties. La matrice vient de prouver que la RDC et la Banque mondiale travaillent en très bonne collaboration parce que des mesures que nous allons arrêter de commun accord privilégient une gestion rationnelle et optimale des ressources naturelles dont la RDC a effectivement besoin pour le développement durable ».

Pour éviter toute forme de confusion, le ministre des Finances a fait remarquer que cette matrice n’est pas le fait d’une imposition de la Banque mondiale, mais le résultat d’un consensus pour l’optimalisation dans la gestion des ressources naturelles.

Il s’agit, par contre, a-t-il dit, de la volonté exprimée au plus haut sommet de la République de mettre de l’ordre dans le secteur des ressources naturelles, rappelant, à l’occasion, que chef de l’Etat a toujours privilégié une meilleure gestion des ressources naturelles, la bonne gouvernance, la responsabilité des hommes au niveau des institutions publiques. Et donc, cette volonté du chef de l’Etat vient une fois de plus s’affirmer.

Un acte de réconfort

Au nom de la Banque mondiale, Marie-Françoise Marie-Nelly a salué le geste posé par le gouvernement congolais. Car, il s’agit, a-t-elle indiqué, des mesures qui s’intègrent dans les stratégies sectorielles définies par tous les départements. Le deuxième point important, pense-t-elle, est le sens de cette matrice qui se retrouve dans le dernier message du chef de l’Etat à la nation.

Elle n’a pas manqué de saluer les efforts entrepris au niveau du ministère des Finances pour consolider la stabilité du cadre macro-économique et accélérer le rythme de mise en œuvre des réformes structurelles. Son souhait est que tous les autres ministères s’intègrent dans cette nouvelle dynamique afin de « pouvoir mobiliser davantage des ressources pour que les grands programmes qui ont été amorcés puissent effectivement se déployer ».

Selon elle, la matrice convenue avec le gouvernement a l’avantage de créer les conditions de gouvernance économique et d’amélioration du climat des affaires qui permettront de « passer à une deuxième phase de mobilisation des ressources et d’améliorer l’utilisation de celles-ci, un élément important qui relève des ministères du Budget et des Finances dans la mise en œuvre d’un cadre moderne de passation des marchés publics ».

Avec cette matrice, a-t-elle fait savoir, la Banque mondiale entend en faire usage pour « continuer à œuvrer ensemble et redoubler d’efforts pour que 2011 permette de voir davantage des résultats concrets sur terrain ». Car, depuis toujours la Banque mondiale reste convaincue que « ce qui peut amener le changement c’est la mobilisation efficiente des ressources pour le bien-être des populations », a déclaré la directrice des opérations de la Banque mondiale en RDC, Marie-Françoise Marie-Nelly.

Faustin Kuediasala/Le Potentiel

“Tintin au Congo” devant un tribunal en Belgique

| 13.12.10 |

http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2010/12/13/tintin-au-congo-devant-un-tribunal-en-belgique_1452744_3246.html

Mbutu Mondondo a déposé une plainte devant un juge d’instruction bruxellois pour racisme contre la société Moulinsart SA, qui gère les droits d’Hergé, créateur de Tintin. AFP/SEBASTIEN PIRLET

Après plus de trois ans de procédure, l’interdiction en Belgique de Tintin au Congo franchira-t-elle une étape décisive, lundi 13 décembre, au tribunal de première instance de Bruxelles ?

Bienvenu Mbutu Mondodo, 42 ans, Congolais mais résidant en Belgique depuis plus de vingt ans, comptable de profession, est décidé à obtenir la condamnation pour racisme de l’album d’Hergé, via l’insertion d’un bandeau explicatif et d’un texte “contextualisant le sujet dans l’époque”, faute de quoi il exige “l’interdiction pure et simple” de sa vente en Belgique. C’est en apprenant, en 2007, la décision prise en Grande-Bretagne d’accompagner la version anglaise de Tintin au Congo d’un bandeau et d’un encart remettant cette BD dans le contexte du paternalisme colonial belge des années 1930, ainsi que la vente interdite aux moins de 18 ans décidée par une chaîne de grands magasins britanniques, que M. Mbutu Mondodo a porté plainte, à l’été 2007, devant les tribunaux du royaume.

“J’ai d’abord téléphoné à Moulinsart (la Fondation Moulinsart SA, qui gère les produits dérivés de l’oeuvre d’Hergé), après la décision britannique. On m’a répondu que cela ne me regardait pas et on m’a raccroché au nez. La société n’a pas voulu parler à quelqu’un d’ordinaire. J’ai été vexé qu’on ne prenne pas en compte la remarque d’un simple citoyen, j’ai alors saisi la justice”, raconte M. Mbutu Mondodo. “Au regard de la loi belge de 1981, cette BD est clairement raciste”, poursuit-il. “J’ai l’intention de faire venir devant les tribunaux plusieurs témoins, dont des historiens et des représentants de l’Eglise, afin de prouver que cette BD a été commandée à Hergé par l’Eglise belge, désireuse d’attirer des colons et des vocations de missionnaires.”

“OUI À LA PÉDAGOGIE”

Le tribunal de première instance de Bruxelles doit statuer sur plusieurs questions : sa compétence dans ce dossier (ou dans le cas contraire, son transfert au tribunal de commerce) et la production des contrats liant l’éditeur traditionnel de Tintin, Casterman, et la Fondation Moulinsart SA. Les deux sociétés s’y opposent, arguant du secret des affaires. Bienvenu Mbutu Mondodo estime “essentiel” l’examen de ces liens.

De leur côté, Casterman et Moulinsart SA plaident le contexte de l’époque de parution de la BD (en 1930-1931 dans les pages du journal Le Petit XXe) et l’aspect “hyper-politiquement correct” de la plainte.

Bienvenu Mbutu Mondodo était par ailleurs l’un des invités vedettes du premier Salon des auteurs africains de bande dessinée, qui a eu lieu du 3 au 5 décembre à la mairie du Ve arrondissement, à Paris. Le Salon, qui a réuni une trentaine d’auteurs venus du Gabon, du Cameroun, du Bénin, du Tchad, de République démocratique du Congo, etc., a programmé plusieurs conférences-débats dont l’une était consacrée au thème “Colonisation et décolonisation dans la BD”, et à laquelle participait Bienvenu Mbutu Mondodo. Ce dernier a réitéré les raisons de sa plainte contre Tintin au Congo, réfutant au passage “toute quête de notoriété” et “les rumeurs selon lesquelles (il) ne paierai(t) pas ses avocats”.

A ses côtés, Patrick Lozès, président du Conseil représentatif des associations noires (CRAN), qui soutient M. Mbutu Mondodo dans sa plainte. Plus conciliant, il “préfère la solution des bandeau et texte explicatifs à une interdiction : non à la censure, oui à la pédagogie”. Quant aux auteurs de BD africains présents au débat, ils étaient peu sensibles à la plainte de M. Mbutu Mondodo. “Interdisez Tintin au Congo en RDC mais pas au Gabon, je dessine d’ailleurs les Noirs comme Hergé !”, a lancé en riant l’auteur de BD et caricaturiste gabonais Pahé. Pour Willy Zekid, du Congo-Brazzaville, qui collabore au journal satirique ivoirien Gbich, “il y a d’autres combats plus importants que cette interdiction, qui n’est pas mon combat. Il revient aux Africains de créer des BD qui montrent l’Afrique telle qu’elle est. Il y a aussi la lutte pour la liberté de la presse”.

Yves-Marie Labé

Article paru dans l’édition du 14.12.10

US-Congo Minerals Law: Overdue Reform or Fuel on the Fire?

13 December 2010

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/ISN-Insights/Detail?lng=en&id=125531&contextid734=125531&contextid735=125528&tabid=125528

By targeting companies sourcing minerals from Congo, a new US bill seeks to reform a trade with links to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. But insiders worry the law will create a de facto embargo, putting tens of thousands out of work and fueling further violence.

By Jon Rosen for ISN Insights

When US President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in July, the aim was to clean up American finance. Yet an obscure passage, buried deep inside the 2,300-page legislation, seeks to reform an industry thousands of miles from Washington – one that activists say is fueling rape and other acts of violence against civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The “Miscellaneous Provision,” introduced into the bill by Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, requires US companies that use tin, tantalum, tungsten (the so-called “3Ts”) and gold to disclose whether minerals used in their products originated in the Congo or any adjoining country. When the law takes effect in April 2011, companies sourcing minerals from Congo or its nine neighbors must submit an annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detailing measures taken to exercise due diligence in their supply chain. They must also declare whether their products are “DRC Conflict Free;” that is, whether their mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players or other devices contain materials that have directly or indirectly benefited armed groups in the region. While there are no penalties for non-compliance, the disclosures must be made public on companies’ websites, and firms continuing to source in “conflict minerals” face significant reputational damage.

By targeting the end-users of Congo’s minerals, proponents of the bill believe it will force a degree of transparency on a shadowy, extortion-laden supply chain – similar to the crackdown on so-called blood diamonds – and eventually cut a vital stream of revenue to the region’s many bad actors. Critics, however, charge that it is a hastily constructed measure that could create a de facto embargo on minerals from the region and potentially exacerbate the crisis.

“This legislation will have unforeseen consequences,” said Harrison Mitchell, a director at Resource Consulting Services, a London-based consultancy specializing in extractive and agricultural sectors. “Companies must now decide whether they can put a due-diligence program in place or whether they will source their minerals from elsewhere. No one wants a de facto ban, but if it happens it could put tens of thousands of people out of work and increase poverty on the ground.”

Fueling the conflict

Often dubbed “Africa’s World War,” the Congo crisis did not begin because of mining, and remains a complex tragedy, driven by tensions over land rights, regional and ethnic power struggles, and a vacuum of governance created by years of state decay under the notoriously corrupt dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Still, most analysts contend that the minerals trade, a key source of financing for numerous armed groups, has long been a driver of the region’s atrocities, including rampant sexual violence that often goes hand in hand with the scramble to control valuable mining areas. According to the Enough Project – a Washington-based advocacy campaign and a prominent voice on the Congo crisis – armed groups generated an estimated $185 million in 2008 from stakes in the four minerals targeted by the US legislation.

Though gold, high in value and easily smuggled, is potentially the greatest racket, the metal most vulnerable to the US law is the tin ore, cassiterite – eastern Congo’s largest mineral export by volume and a key component of solders used in most electronic devices. Thought to contain up to one third of the world’s reserves of the ore, the region accounts for approximately six-to-eight percent of global tin production .

Though once extracted on an industrial scale, all is now mined artisanally: dug from open pits by individual men, and sometimes boys, laboring with pick axes and shovels. Most of the mines are subject to a constantly shifting maze of extortion involving scores of militias and individual actors, including units of the FARDC, the weak, chronically underpaid and often renegade Congolese army. Army commanders, militia leaders and regional warlords secure critical funds that help keep eastern Congo mired in conflict by levying taxes on the minerals as they change hands from miners to traders based in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province.

Transparency – at what cost?

While the US legislation has forced new urgency into the due diligence process, pressure on “conflict mineral” users is not new. In 2009, two leading minerals players, the Belgian exporter Traxys and Thaisarco, a Thai-based smelting and refining company, suspended operations in the Congo , citing pressure from advocacy groups in the wake of a 2008 UN Security Council resolution that called upon countries to “ensure that importers, processing industries, and consumers of Congolese mineral products” exercise due diligence on the origin of the minerals they purchase.

Firms that continue to source from the region, including traders, smelters, and end users of the “3T” minerals, have been engaged in various transparency efforts that pre-date the new US law. Most prominent is a supply chain initiative launched last year by the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI), a membership-based organization representing major tin producers and smelters, which has begun tagging minerals at a pilot site in South Kivu Province and plans to commence in North Kivu shortly. The aim, says ITRI manager for sustainability, Kay Nimmo, is to develop a system of traceability from mine to exporter that will ensure tin is not being sourced from mines controlled by militias – essentially what the US Congress is now demanding.

Though they admit it is no silver bullet, supporters of the US law say that forcing transparency in the supply chain is the best way to disrupt the lucrative war economy that fuels the armed groups’ culture of violence.

“I would never say that instilling good governance in the minerals supply chain will bring an end to the conflict,” said Jason Stearns, former Coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Congo and doctoral student at Yale University. “But it will diminish the stakes over which the various parties are fighting, and it may make demobilization more attractive for some combatants when they can no longer occupy lucrative mines.”

Though most armed groups have stakes in other rackets, including charcoal, timber, and fuel, even those inside the mining business admit their trade is a key lifeline for the region’s numerous militias and renegade commanders. Most, including ITRI’s Nimmo and David Bensusan, CEO of the Rwanda-based trading house Minerals Supply Africa, accept the need for reform and say they support the basic principle of the US legislation. The problem, they say, is the timing. Despite its progress, says Nimmo, ITRI’s traceability scheme – a massive undertaking in a country the size of western Europe – will not be put in place by the legislation’s April deadline.

“We are not just talking about implementing a system in areas where conflict funding is known to exist, but in other provinces of the DRC, and other adjoining countries, an area covering practically a third of Africa,” she said in an 8 November press release. “Realistically, with the resources available to us, it is unlikely that all cassiterite from the region can be covered by the system in time and many current production areas will unfortunately as a result be subject to an effective embargo by next April.”

If Nimmo’s warning is correct, insiders worry, the trade could be driven underground, as smugglers evade due diligence schemes that are funded by existing stakeholders and export to buyers in India and China, where companies are less vulnerable to bad publicity.

“The legislation has interfered with a transparency initiative that was happening anyway,” said Bensusan, who’s firm is the largest exporter of tin originating from Congo. “It is forcing an embargo. There will be an increase in smuggling, and more people will join militias. Miners put out of work have to eat somehow. I just don’t think the US Congress thought this through.”

A sneak preview?

To the bill’s many critics, evidence of its likely consequences can be found in a current minerals export ban – in force since September in three of Congo’s eastern provinces. The ban, announced after President Joseph Kabila visited North Kivu’s Walikale territory – home to the region’s largest cassiterite mine as well as a grisly July incident in which rebels raped at least 179 women – was supposed to be lifted by 15 October. Though it remains in force, despitecosting thousands of jobs, mining controlled by armed groups has resumed. According to Enough, the ban has “accomplished little more than creating increased tension in the east,” as militias use “exploitative measures, including forced labor, to pressure local communities to continue extraction.”

Though the motivation behind the ban remains a mystery, some believe it is linked to the government’s aim to introduce large-scale mining in the region – a move that would provide a steadier flow of tax revenue. The prospect, however, of outside firms investing in such an environment is unlikely – due to security risks as well as Congo’s abysmal record of corruption.

Barring the entry of such industrial scale operations, and assuming the current export ban is lifted, the end users of Congo’s minerals must respond to the US legislation by continuing attempts to prove due diligence within the existing, artisinal supply chain structure. While many companies are working hard to do this, the fate of the region’s mining hangs in the balance.

“Right now, I don’t think anyone can certify one way or another if their minerals are conflict free,” said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel, a firm engaged in multiple transparency efforts, including the ITRI initiative.

“We believe we can find a way to verify our supply chain,” he told ISN Insights. “But I don’t want to forecast what will happen if we cannot.”

Jon Rosen is a freelance journalist focusing on East and Central Africa. He holds an Master’s in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and has spent the last several months reporting from Kigali, Rwanda.

International Relations and Security Network (ISN)

Airtel plans $400m DRC investment

13 December 2010

http://www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com/Article/2730851/Sectors/25199/Airtel-plans-400m-DRC-investment.html

Bharti Airtel has announced a $400m investment plan in one of the networks it acquired this year from Zain

Bharti Airtel is planning to spend $400 million to improve its network in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the next three years.

Bharti Airtel is looking to expand its reach to the most rural areas, according to Antoine Pamboro, Airtel’s managing director in Congo.

Bharti took over the operation in June 2010 along with a number of other former Zain businesses in sub-Saharan Africa for a total of $9 billion. The networks have all been rebranded Airtel.

Penetration in DRC is still low, at about 15% in December 2009. GTB

KENYA :

Magal to Deploy Surveillance Systems at Mombasa’s Port

December 13, 2010 http://www.governmentvideo.com/article/101204

Magal Security Systems, Ltd., an Israeli company producing security systems, signed a contract valued at $21.4 million with the Port Authority of Kenya, to secure the Port of Mombasa.

Under the contract—which was signed Dec. 13, 2010—Magal will be involved with the development of civil and communications infrastructure; the installation of a comprehensive security solution; commissioning, training and support activities at the port, the company says in a written statement.

Kenya to set up court for chaos suspects

(AFP) – 13/10/2010

NAIROBI — Kenya said Monday it will set up a local court to try those involved in the violent aftermath of the 2007 polls, two days before the International Criminal Court announces names of key suspects.

The ICC took charge of trying the perpetrators of the unrest after Kenya failed to set up a local court. Its prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is expected to reveal the names of six people suspected of being behind the chaos on Wednesday.

“Kenya?s national interests of peace and security, political stability, national reconciliation and comprehensive justice for all victims of post-election violence cannot be achieved without a local judicial mechanism,” said a statement issued after a special cabinet meeting Monday.

“Consequently, irrespective of what transpires at the ICC on Wednesday 15th December, 2010 and in view of the fact that ICC is only a court of last resort, the government will establish a local judicial mechanism…” added the statement from President Mwai Kibaki’s office.

It was unclear whether Kenya intends to take back the trial of the suspects from the ICC or whether the local tribunal will complement the Hague-based court.

Lawmakers last year rejected a bill aimed at establishing a local court, which would have required a constitutional amendment, saying it could be prone to political interference.

Kenyan politicians have remained divided over Moreno-Ocampo’s probe into the unrest, while some have been apprehensive at a possible trial.

Last month, former higher education minister William Ruto, who has been accused of playing a key role in the clashes, travelled to The Hague saying he wanted to “set the record straight.”

He last week lodged an appeal with the ICC’s pre-trial chamber seeking to halt its process.

Moreno-Ocampo said earlier this month he had wrapped up investigations and would ask the ICC judges to issue summonses for the six. Arrest warrants were only necessary for those who failed to honour the summonses, he said, stressing that “Their guilt or innocence will be decided by the judges at the end of the judicial process.”

A hearing to confirm the charges will be held in late 2011 or early 2012.

Kenya plunged into its worst post-independence unrest after the disputed December 27, 2007 presidential elections which claimed the lives of some 1,500 people and displaced another 300,000 others.

Then opposition leader and pre-poll frontrunner Raila Odinga claimed Kibaki had rigged his re-election, sparking riots that quickly turned into reprisal ethnic killings.

In a settlement mediated by former UN chief Kofi Annan, Kibaki stayed on as president while Odinga became prime minister in a power-sharing government.

Annan has insisted that the ICC was only tasked with pursuing the masterminds and bemoaned the lack of progress in prosecuting lower-ranking perpetrators in Kenya’s national courts.

The ICC, set up under the Statute of Rome, investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, if national authorities with jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.

The European Union said last week it was worried about growing harassment of witnesses of the 2008 violence “and the human rights defenders that are trying to assist them.”

Two alleged witnesses last month retracted their statements against Ruto, claiming they had been paid to testify.

Since then police have opened an investigation into the head of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, Hassan Omar, who is accused of having bribed the witnesses, something he denies.

EU representative Eric van der Linden, asked about the risk of renewed violence when the six names are published, said: “We trust that Kenyans will respect the due legal process and avoid incitement to violence”.

Kenya’s Chelimo returns to Honolulu’s 38th marathon

By Chance Gusukuma

http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101213_the_king_returns.html

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 13, 2010

The man they call the “King” back in Kenya patiently bided his time and then imposed his will on a strong field to win the 38th Honolulu Marathon going away.

Using his experience from last year’s runner-up finish to maximum advantage, Nicholas Chelimo outthought and then outran his compatriots in the 26.2-mile race yesterday in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 28 seconds. Fellow Kenyan Richard Limo finished a distant second in 2:17:18, and Solomon Bushendich placed third (2:19:54).

A year after finishing second to Patrick Ivuti, the 27-year-old Chelimo earned the champion’s laurels and first-place prize of $40,000 plus a $1,000 time bonus. His victory capped a year during which he also won the Nagano Marathon in Japan and fell a stride short of another win two months ago at the Eindhoven (The Netherlands) Marathon.

“I am very happy to return (to Honolulu for) my victory,” a smiling Chelimo said after the race.

In stark contrast to last year’s scintillating start, this year’s elite men seemed to sleepwalk through the early-morning downtown darkness. The slow start included cautious 5:26, 5:23 and 5:25 miles, and the lead pack of eight Kenyans and Nicholas Stanko, of Haslett, Mich., passed the 10K mark (6.2 miles) at a pedestrian 32:56 pace.

After 7 miles, the lead group shrank to six — Gilbert Kirwa, Chelimo, Richard Limo, Solomon Bushendich, six-time Honolulu champion Jimmy Muindi and Patrick Makau, a two-time winner this year in Rotterdam and Berlin and owner of the year’s fastest marathon time (2:04:48). But the men didn’t turn in their first sub-5-minute mile (4:59) until they had tepidly trotted through 9 miles.

“The pace, I think, went a little bit fast and slow, fast and slow, fast and slow, so it was very … tactical,” Chelimo said.

As they ran, the Kenyan contingent, including Chelimo, talked tactics, mindful that a fast first half might take its toll in the second half of the race.

“Last year, I experienced if you run very fast (early),” maybe it will be very terrible (later),” Chelimo explained after the race.

“Nicholas had a big advantage, obviously, by running here last year,” said Zane Branson, Chelimo’s agent. “You just learn to respect the course, because it’s a course that needs respect.”

While Makau mostly hung back, Kirwa and Limo took turns pushing the pace, Kirwa often forging a few steps ahead as the six men ran up and around Diamond Head and down Kilauea Avenue.

As expected, nominal pacesetter Makau stepped off the course just after the 11-mile mark. Muindi dropped back soon afterward as the lead pack of four passed Ainakoa Avenue in Waialae and headed out into a slight headwind to Hawaii Kai.

Kirwa and Limo picked up speed as the lead pack of four hit the half-marathon mark in 1:07:40, more than 3 minutes off last year’s pace.

Though the storm system that drenched the islands earlier this week gave way to dry 69-degree race day conditions, weather still turned out to be a big wild-card factor. The profuse perspiration dripping off the leaders hinted at the humidity pushing 96 percent.

“You could see how much they were sweating, and how much they were suffering, too,” said Branson.

Entering Hawaii Kai, Limo made some tentative spurts to test the others, but the leaders mostly shared the work — sometimes almost single file, sometimes four abreast — as they looped around Hawaii Kai and headed back onto Kalanianaole. Kirwa made a final try to take the lead but both he and Bushendich fell back by the 21-mile mark.

Chelimo made his move at 22 miles, first once, then twice with a big surge, and suddenly the race was done. Limo could not answer his countryman’s attack, and the blue-clad Chelimo finished strong and steady over the punishing final 3-mile stretch along Kahala Avenue and up and around Diamond Head.

“It was difficult for me,” said Limo. “This was my first time in Honolulu. I didn’t know the course.”

“It was a long run and a short race,” said Toni Reavis, who provided radio commentary from the men’s pace truck. “Not a long race which might’ve drained (Chelimo).”

“Given the conditions he was facing (and) the field he was facing, he played his cards just right and was rewarded for that.”

“It’s a big advantage, the course knowledge, not only knowing the terrain and also the landmarks and dealing with the heat,” added Dr. Jim Barahal, Honolulu Marathon Association president.

The win was another big step in the slow but steady rise for Chelimo, who Branson concedes he took the Kenyan on as a client only at the recommendation of Muindi.

It was former marathon world-record holder Paul Tergat who first spotted the potential in Chelimo and who dubbed him with his regal nickname.

“Maybe (Tergat) saw the future of Nicholas,” says Branson. “It was kind of a joke, but it stuck with him. I go and talk to guys (Nicholas’s hometown) in Ngong and say, ‘Have you seen Nicholas Chelimo?’ and they don’t know who I’m talking about, and I say, ‘King,’ and everybody knows (him).”

AFRICA / AU :

L’ACBF crée sa 28ème cellule chargée de l’élaboration de politiques au Togo avec un don de U.S. $ 2 millions

Publié le 13 décembre 2010

http://www.reussirbusiness.com/11667-L-ACBF-cree-sa-28eme-cellule.html

(ACBF) – L’ACBF apporte son appui au Gouvernement togolais dans la création d’une cellule chargée de l’élaboration des politiques le Centre Autonome d’Études et de Renforcement des Capacités pour le Développement du Togo (CADERDT).

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La Fondation pour le Renforcement des Capacités en Afrique (ACBF) signera le 10 décembre 2010 un accord de don d’un montant de 2 millions de dollars E.U sur quatre ans avec le Gouvernement de la République togolaise à Lomé, Togo, pour la création du Centre Autonome d’Études et de Renforcement des Capacités pour le Développement du Togo (CADERDT). Le CADERDT devient ainsi la 28ème cellule chargée de l’élaboration de politiques que l’ACBF contribue à créer en partenariat avec les acteurs nationaux en Afrique. Le portefeuille de l’ACBF compte actuellement 27 cellules chargées de l’élaboration de politiques dans les 21 pays africains suivants : Bénin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Éthiopie, Érythrée, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libéria, Malawi, Mali, Mauritanie, Namibie, Niger, Sénégal, Sao Tome et Principe, Swaziland, Zambie et Zimbabwe.

Le CADERDT a pour mandat de renforcer l’analyse et la gestion des politiques économiques nationales ainsi que les programmes de développement du Togo. L’insuffisance en matière de capacités a été identifiée comme priorité immédiate pour la cellule chargée de l’élaboration de politiques dans la mesure où le Togo a connu une détérioration des capacités institutionnelles et humaines requises pour animer le processus du développement du pays. Pour qu’il puisse mettre en œuvre un cadre de développement global tel que les DSRP ou les OMD, le pays a besoin de se doter d’une masse critique de ressources humaines compétentes et qualifiées dans le secteur public, d’une société civile responsable et transparente et d’un secteur privé prospère comme moteur de croissance.

Prenant la parole avant la signature de l’accord de don, Mme Frannie Leautier, Secrétaire Exécutive de l’ACBF, a souligné les raisons pour lesquelles la création du CADERDT est à marquer d’une pierre blanche par l’ACBF et le Gouvernement du Togo. « Le CADERDT est un autre témoignage de la raison pour laquelle les cellules chargées de l’élaboration de politiques demeurent le berceau des processus de développement de l’Afrique. Elles sont non seulement des espaces pour l’innovation et le savoir, mais fournissent aussi les ingrédients de base requis pour traduire dans la réalité les programmes de développement en Afrique. Le CADERDT sera pour le Togo une plateforme essentielle pour la recherche, la formation, la gestion du savoir et le dialogue sur les politiques. Le Togo a besoin de toutes ces ressources pour parvenir à des résultats, à une transparence et à une responsabilité meilleurs. Nous formons le vœu que la cellule chargée de l’élaboration de politiques se mette immédiatement au travail en vue de produire des résultats dont le peuple togolais sera le plus grand bénéficiaire ».

Le CADERDT s’attachera, entre autres, à améliorer les politiques économiques et sociales destinées à appuyer la mise en œuvre des stratégies de développement du pays ; accroître la performance des institutions nationales dans la mise en œuvre, le suivi et l’évaluation des stratégies de développement et des programmes de réforme du pays ; accélérer l’appropriation nationale des politiques et programmes économiques et asseoir une culture de renforcement des capacités au Togo.

L’accord qui sera signé le 10 décembre 2010 consacre la mise en place du don qui a été approuvé par le Conseil d’Administration de l’ACBF lors de sa 41ème Session ordinaire tenue à Marseille en 2009.

La Fondation pour le Renforcement des Capacités en bref

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INDIA :

Diamond institute to be set up in Botswana

13/12/2010

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=4&aid=7288&dir=2010/December/Monday13

A foreign trade institute in Uganda and a diamond centre in Botswana are amongst the 19 training institutes that India will set up across Africa in the next two years.

The two sides have finalised the location of the institutes ahead of India’s second continent-level summit with Africa next year.

They are part of the commitment that followed the first India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008. The training institutes, envisaged in the 2008 Delhi Declaration, were unveiled in the joint action plan India and the African Union (AU) launched in March this year.

But it was only last week that the AU conveyed to the Indian side the final list of locations where these training institutes, Gurjit Singh, joint secretary in charge of East and South Africa in the external affairs ministry, told IANS.

“The implementing agencies have already started working on these institutes. We hope to set up most of them over the next two years,” said Singh, a former Indian envoy to Ethiopia.

The India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT) in Uganda, the India-Africa Institute of Information Technology (IAIIT) in Ghana, the India- Africa Diamond Institute in Botswana and the India-Africa Institute of Education, Planning and Administration (IAIEPA) in Burundi will be some of the flagship projects that will underline New Delhi’s focus on capacity-building and human resource development in its Africa policy.

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), the Educational Consultants India Ltd (EdCIL) and the Indian Diamond Institute, Surat are amongst the implementing agencies.

Besides, India’s National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) will help set up vocational training centres in Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Burundi and Gabon, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, along with Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), will be setting up the Human Settlement Institutes in Kenya, Togo, Mauritania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In March this year, India and the 53-nation AU, the pan-African body headquartered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, launched an action plan that outlined a detailed strategy for accelerating bilateral engagement across sectors for the next four years. The plan details the development-centric partnership between India and Africa, which will be the focus of the next bilateral summit that will be held in one of the African countries. Various African countries are vying to host the summit, but no decision has been taken, informed sources said.

Jean-Pierre Ezin, commissioner of the African Union Commission for Human Resource and Science and Technology, told IANS that India can transform the African continent through education. The India-aided Pan-Africa e-network, that seeks to bring tele-education and tele-medicine to the African people, is widely cited as a sign of India’s empowering engagement with the continent and was awarded recently a top European award for innovation.

India’s bilateral trade with Africa is estimated to be around $40 billion, with top Indian companies ramping up their investment in diverse sectors in Africa.-(IANS)

BRASIL:

EN BREF, CE 13 décembre 2010… AGNEWS /DAM, NY,13/12/2010