DAM, NY, AGNEWS, 26 december 2010 – [La Rwanda Electricity Corporation (Reco) et la Société tunisienne de l’électricité et du gaz (Steg) ont conclu, le 23 novembre, un contrat pour l’électrification de six districts dans l’est du Rwanda, d’un montant de 70 millions de dollars (une centaine de millions de dinars tunisiens).]
BURUNDI :
La formation des militaires au Congo, au Burundi et au Bénin se poursuivra (Belgique)
Opérations militaires à l’étranger: pas de nouvelle initiative pour 2011
26.12.10 – Pierre Magos
Malgré une marge de manoeuvre ténue, le gouvernement en affaires courantes prend tout même quelques décisions. Le Conseil des ministres a approuvé vendredi le programme d’opérations militaires belges à l’étranger pour 2011. Notre pays doit aussi honorer ses engagements internationaux.
La matière est particulièrement sensible pour un gouvernement en affaires courantes. Pas question de prendre des initiatives nouvelles en déployant par exemple plus de troupes ou en en retirant des théatres d’opération.
La Belgique reste ainsi disponible pour participer à la force d’intervention rapide de l’OTAN. Elle maintient son engagement d’un maximum de 626 militaires en Afghanistan jusqu’en fin 2011. De la même manière, la centaine d’hommes présents au Liban y resteront jusqu’à la fin du mandat de la FINUL prévue au 31 aout prochain.
Autre partie du monde où l’armée belge restera engagée: la corne de l’Afrique dans le cadre des missions de lutte contre la piraterie, tantôt sous l’égide de l’Union Européenne, tantôt sous pavillon de l’OTAN. La Frégate Louise-Marie est d’ailleurs actuellement en mission dans la région.
Et puis, cette fois sous mandat de l’ONU, la Force aérienne maintiendra le C-130 et son équipage engagé au Congo pour assister la MONUSCO.
Enfin, toujours en Afrique, la Défense poursuivra ses partenariats notamment pour la formation des militaires au Congo, au Burundi et au Bénin. Peut-être plus annecdotique, la Belgique est aussi présente en Mer Baltique avec un chasseur de mines et en Méditerranée pour des opérations de l’OTAN de lutte contre le terrorisme.
On le voit, plus encore que les limites imposées par le régime d’affaire courantes, le gouvernement s’en tient strictement aux engagements pris (avant la crise politique) au sein des instances internationales, comme l’ONU, l’OTAN et l’Union Européenne.
Burundi: Le chef de l’Etat au secours des malades démunis
AFRIQUE CENTRALE – BURUNDI / Santé-Burundi – Une dizaine de patients démunis ont été libérés de l’hôpital, vendredi, suite à l’intervention directe et personnelle du chef de l’Etat burundais, Pierre Nkurunziza, qui a réglé à leur place une facture impayée de soins de santé de l’ordre de 5,4 millions de Francs burundais (près de 5.400 dollars américains), a appris la PANA de source proche de la présidence de la République à Bujumbura.
Après avoir réglé la facture, la conseillère principale, chargée des questions sociales à la présidence de la République, Mme Rose Gahiru, a parlé à la presse d’un geste qui entre dans le cadre des fêtes de fin d’année.
L’insolvabilité est à l’origine de beaucoup de cas de séquestration de patients nécessiteux dans les hôpitaux du Burundi.
Les enfants de moins de cinq ans et les mères qui accouchent sont les deux catégories qui sont à l’abri de ce genre de mauvaise surprise depuis que le régime du président Nkurunziza a décidé de supporter gratuitement leurs soins. Pana 25 décembre 2010
La menace des islamistes somaliens “toujours grande”
25/12/10 ANGOP –
Bujumbura – La menace des islamistes somaliens “est toujours très grande” au Burundi, où plusieurs tentatives d’attentats ont été récemment déjouées, selon le ministre burundais de la Sécurité, qui a appelé les Burundais à “la vigilance”.
“La menace est toujours grande, elle a été proférée à plusieurs reprises”, alors que les shebab et leurs sympathisants “circulent activement” dans toute la région, s’est inquiété le général Bunyoni.
“Nous appelons la population à être vigilante et à signaler tous les étrangers suspects et toute situation anormale”, a-t-il poursuivi. “Nous avons déjà déjoué plusieurs tentatives sérieuses et plusieurs arrestations de suspects ont été opérées, dont certains étaient recherchés pour leur participation dans ce type de forfaits”, a annoncé le ministre, qui n’a pas donné d’autres précisions.
Ces suspects ont été livrés au Kenya et à l’Ouganda, a-t-il ajouté sans donner davantage de précisions. Le Burundi a envoyé fin novembre un bataillon supplémentaire en Somalie, portant à quelque 3.500 le contingent burundais au sein de l’Amisom déployée à Mogadiscio et qui compte désormais plus de 8.000 hommes, le reste de la troupe étant étant composé de soldats ougandais.
Plus d’une trentaine de soldats burundais ont été tués en Somalie depuis 2007. Les insurgés islamistes shebab ont menacé à plusieurs reprises le Burundi de représailles, notamment dans la foulée d’un double attentat revendiqué par les shebab et qui a fait 76 tués à Kampala le 11 juillet.
Burundi: Des vœux anticipés du chef de l’Etat aux corps de défense
AFRIQUE CENTRALE – BURUNDI
Bujumbura, Burundi – Le chef de l’Etat burundais, Pierre Nkurunziza, a présenté jeudi ses vœux de nouvel an 2011 et des hommages appuyés aux membres des corps de défense et de sécurité du Burundi pour le travail accompli au cours de l’année 2010.
C’est surtout la sécurisation des secondes élections générales post-conflit de 2010 qui a valu aux militaires et policiers la reconnaissance du président Nkurunziza. « Vous avez bien assuré la sécurité du pays avant, pendant et après les élections alors que les mauvaises langues disaient que vous ne serez pas à la hauteur de cette noble tâche », a-t-il souligné en substance.
« Je vous recommande de continuer à assurer la sécurité de tous les habitants du Burundi et à garder votre neutralité car la paix et la sécurité sont les piliers de tout développement », a-t-il enchaîné.
Le président burundais s’est enfin engagé à régler les problèmes matériels des corps de défense et de sécurité au cours de l’année nouvelle 2011.
L’armée burundaise compte actuellement plus de 25.000 hommes issus de la fusion des ex-combattants rebelles et soldats gouvernementaux ayant joué un rôle actif dans la décennie écoulée de guerre civile.
La nouvelle police nationale, quant à elle, est forte de près de 20.000 hommes.
Le passé des forces de défense et de sécurité est lié à une série de coups d’Etat sanglants comme celui qui a emporté le premier président démocratiquement élu, Melchior Ndadaye, en 1993, ouvrant la voie à une longue guerre civile dont les séquelles se font sentir aujourd’hui encore.
Pana 24 décembre 2010
Burundi: Addendum To Alleged Nuclear Smuggling In Burundi
¶1. (C/NF) Post wishes to alert the Department and Washington agencies per reftels that it has received additional information regarding the incident of nuclear smuggling reported in Bujumbura cable 479 dated 06/27/2007. XXXXXXXXXXXX and I have met on XXXXXXXXXXXX additional occasions since that initial meeting. XXXXXXXXXXXX During each meeting XXXXXXXXXXXX furnished additional information regarding the alleged uranium. XXXXXXXXXXXX produced a flash drive with digital images of the Brom Merck and copies of a booklet located with the cache describing the results of a laboratory analysis conducted on the uranium, a description of the uranium, a short history of uranium, and health warning pages. XXXXXXXXXXXX furnished four poor quality color photos printed on paper. XXXXXXXXXXXX he furnished the four photos provided earlier on paper, but this time in digital format plus an additional 12 digital images. Six of the photos are of the alleged uranium container in a wicker basket. Five of the photos are of the front side of the tag attached to the container. Two of the tag photos display the orange back of the tag attached to the container.
¶2. XXXXXXXXXXXX: #1 Booklet #2 Brom Merck #3 Unknown #4 Unknown #5 Unknown #6 Wicker basket without the uranium container #7 Uranium container and wicker basket #8 Wicker basket #9 Wicker basket #10 Uranium container and wicker basket #11 Uranium container and wicker basket #12 Back of tag #13 Back of tag #14 Front of tag #15 Front of tag #16 Front of tag #17 Front of tag #18 Front of tag
¶3. (C/NF) Due to the poor quality of the color photos it might be difficult for you to read the front of the tag. It is transcribed below.
A POIDS BRUIT 19 kgs E POIDS NET 03 kgs G TENNEUR 70% C N 16 012 URANIUM
¶4. (C/NF) If you cross reference some of the numbers with the booklet (#1) the letters CGAE running vertically from bottom to on the left side of the tag probably mean ‘Commissariat General A L’Energie Atomic’ from page 2 of the booklet. The same gross and net weight can be found on page 9 of the booklet. Tenneur or potency (spelled incorrectly) is listed as 98.7% on the booklet but 70% on the tag. N 16 012 is probably the ‘result d’analyse number’ that can also be found on page
¶9. The number on the tag is not the same number on the booklet.
¶5. (C/NF) XXXXXXXXXXXX was accompanied by XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that the bunker where the alleged uranium and other materials were found was located 107 miles west of Bukavu. The materials have since been moved. One container weighing 3kg is currently located in Bukavu and another 3 kg container is located in Goma, both of which are under XXXXXXXXXXXX,s control. XXXXXXXXXXXX further stated that he knows of someone who has 3 containers who would be willing to sell them in addition to a 72 kg package of multiple containers at another location.
¶6. (C/NF) XXXXXXXXXXXX indicated that he has not approached anyone else or informed another country regarding the alleged uranium. XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that he is a pastor in good standing in the community and not interested in monetary reward. He is only interested in keeping the materials out of the hands of the wrong people, specifically the Arabs who will ‘destroy’ people with it. XXXXXXXXXXXX . He has no specific knowledge regarding Uranium, Bromerck, or any other chemicals that were in the bunker. It took four months to open the bunker. In the process of opening the bunker two men were killed by a grenade booby trap. There were also land mines planted around it.
¶7. (C/NF) Additionally, at some time in the past the Catholic mission in Bukavu bought 12 g of red mercury from the cache. There is no indication that any other materials, specifically the Uranium, have been sold.
¶8. (C/NF) RSO assessment: After interviewing XXXXXXXXXXXX the C.O.S and myself feel that XXXXXXXXXXXX is quite naive of all matters concerning the uranium. The group of people he represents (as he likes to describe his relationship with them) have all the details regarding the alleged uranium. Any specific questions or requests we have are communicated to them and they communicate back via XXXXXXXXXXXX. Thus far XXXXXXXXXXXX and his accomplices have provided all the information we have asked for. Overall the entire group, including XXXXXXXXXXXX, feel that they have something of value and are anxiously waiting for some sort of indication from us that we are willing to pay for it or travel to the Congo to view the materials. At this point in time they are waiting for us take the initiative with regard to a payment or visual inspection of the materials. We have not made any offers of payment, discussed an amount, or offered assurances that we plan to observe the alleged uranium first hand.
¶9. (C/NF) XXXXXXXXXXXX MOLLER
WikiLeaks Cablegate (Sweden) / 26 December 2010 [ A diplomatic cable dated 2007-07-17, according to WikiLeaks:]
S E C R E T BUJUMBURA 000515 / SIPDIS/ DEPT FOR: DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/ITA / EO 12958 DECL: 07/17/2017
TAGS KCRM, KNNP, MNUC, PARM, PREL, PTER, ASEC, BY SUBJECT: ADDENDUM TO ALLEGED NUCLEAR SMUGGLING IN BURUNDI
REF: A. A. BUJUMBURA 479 B. B. 06 STATE 163201 C. C. 04 STATE 230588
Classified By: XXXXXXXXXXXX reason 1.4 (g,h)
Rwanda, Burundi cry foul on Mwapachu succession
By CATHERINE RIUNGU (email the author) / Posted Monday, December 27 2010
The vacancy created by the impending exit of East African Community Secretary General Juma Mwapachu is dividing the region, between Rwanda and Burundi on the one hand and Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on the other.
Jostling for top seat as Mwapachu term ends
Sources familiar with Rwanda’s President Kagame’s thinking say that the new entrants into the EAC view as “unfortunate and divisive” the arguments advanced by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania that it is not yet time for a Rwandese or Burundian to lead the EAC — ostensibly because the new member countries are “too young.”
It has not helped that the jostling for the position is being viewed in Kigali and Bujumbura in the light of the warming political ties between Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The latter joined the Ugandan leader on the campaign trail three weeks ago.
“So Kenya wants it — and I think, given what transpired between Museveni and Raila in Uganda, we can understand why they would want the next five years to be in safe hands. But it is idiotic, you cannot have a membership organisation where rights are granted on basis of seniority — even though when it comes to paying contributions, everyone pays the same,” our source said of President Kagame’s feeling about the developments around the secretary general’s position.
Rwanda is making no secret of the fact that it is interested in putting forward a candidate to vie for the post when it falls vacant in April after the incumbent, Mr Mwapachu, a Tanzanian, steps down on rotation.
If this issue is not sorted out amicably, analysts say it could kill “the Community in the popular imagination” if the public thinks that Rwanda and Burundi are being shoved aside.
According to the Treaty establishing the body, the secretary general has to come from a different member state after each 5-year tenure.
Rwanda’s EAC Affairs Minister Monique Mukaruliza was quoted by the Rwandan press as saying that the country was ready for the seat.
“Under the traditional rotation arrangement, it is supposed to be Rwanda or Burundi’s turn to take over,” she said in an article published in the New Times.
“We shall agree with Burundi who comes first because we joined the bloc at the same time, but if Burundi agrees, we shall occupy the chair,” she added.
She argued that the principle of the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC is clear about the occupancy of the post of secretary-general.
Ms Mukaruliza added that according to Article 67 of the treaty, the secretary-general shall be appointed by the Summit upon nomination by the relevant Head of State under the principle of rotation.
Rwanda currently has the youthful lawyer Alloys Mutabingwa as Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, and the most likely candidate for the post, should Rwanda succeed in its bid for the powerful position.
A warm welcome in Burundi’s capital Send to a friend
Saturday, 25 December 2010 / By Elisha Mayallah / http://thecitizen.co.tz/sunday-citizen/-/6608-a-warm-welcome-in-burundis-capitalq
I found Bujumbura International Airport busy and thriving after touching down one morning from Nairobi. Like many airports in Africa, it is not only its location that makes the BIA special, but also its feel. And Bujumbura has a pleasant, relaxed feel to it.
I fought my way to the immigration desk to process my visa, and was amazed by the friendliness of the staff at the airport. “Bonjour Monsieur” was the ordinary greeting I would be accosted with, and that gave me time to adjust my thinking and talking to reflect the French language.
I went through the visa registration form, filled the papers, slowly recording each detail correctly and handed my passport to the immigration official. I was lucky that I knew some little French; otherwise it would have been difficult to follow the details on the forms.
Driving to the city centre
Fighting back the jet lag as we drove to the main city, it felt good having a moment to think less about the daily stress. On the way I saw the green vegetation landscape that reflected the rich urban life. One of the most beautiful sights to enjoy on the way was that of a hundred young men cycling with loads of huge milk plastic containers heading to the city centre for sale.
Pedestrians were everywhere; taxis are just as many. The roads of Bujumbura are never quiet, ever full of people and cars. Eventually my taxi stopped at Shammah Hotel.
After seeing the range of frightful accommodation on offer, I found refuge in the top floor of the hotel. The rooms are reasonably large, relatively clean and provide a gorgeous view of the city.
Leaving my hotel room each morning for the three days I stayed in Bujumbura revealed the beauty of the city, and everywhere I turned the atmosphere was electric.
The busy market
Overwhelmed by curiosity during one lunch hour, I visited the market in central Bujumbura. Flanked by thousands of people and public transport, the large market has thousands of vendors selling nearly everything under the sun – fruits, vegetables, soap, new and used clothes, shoes, hardware, household items, books and many more.
On the outskirts of the market sellers line up along the main arterial roads, spreading their goods on the ground, and offering an attraction of their kind.
I spent one evening in Buyenzi. It is one of the slums of Bujumbura, where the residents are mostly Muslim. Buyenzi was always part of the hinterland of my imagination since the early 1980’s. As a teenager I have always been interested in the name Buyenzi.
Buyenzi, I thought, was the kind of place for a get-away, where you do absolutely nothing but enjoy the pleasures of the place. I walked around the vast streets of Buyenzi with a young man who offered to be my guide at a small fee.
The exclusivity and deplorable quality of life has always attracted visitors to Buyenzi, I noticed. Amid trepidation and probably a little unimaginative, I found the visit lively and inspirational.
Later, as my guide escorted me back to the city centre he encouraged me to visit other Bujumbura suburbs like: Bwiza, Bugarama, Rumonge, Cibitoke, Kinama and Gisenyi. It sounded so real from a young man of 13 years, who sadly told me what befell his family. His entire family, except his sister, was killed in the ethnic fighting that left the Tutsis and Hutus divided.
I fought back tears as I handed him some few banknotes before we parted. After 72 hours of great food, interesting company and relaxation, I found Bujumbura a pleasant city, making it an ideal place to explore. With some restaurants serving delectable food of homegrown ingredients and milk, Bujumbura is the place to appreciate life.
Email: elisha.mayallah@gmail.com
Burundi inflation rate up 5.5 pct in November
Fri Dec 24, 2010 BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – Burundi’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 5.5 percent in November from 4.7 percent in October, due to higher housing, water and energy costs, the country’s statistics board said on Friday.
“The housing, water and energy index increased by 5.5 percent over the past 12 months to November from 0.6 percent in October,” Elie Ndiririkirirenza, in charge of price index at the Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics (ISTEEBU), told Reuters.
“Transport prices also contributed to the rise of inflation after the government revised up oil prices.”
Ndiririkirirenza said the transport index rose 1.1 percent over the last 12 months to November from -1.0 percent in October.
The annual inflation rate in the landlocked country of 8 million fell to 10.5 percent in 2009, from 24.5 percent in 2008, helped by a fall in prices of essential commodities such as fuel and food.
The year-on-year inflation rate has been in single digits so far in 2010, hitting a peak of 9.8 percent in July.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts the headline inflation will jump to 7.5 percent in 2010 from 4.6 percent in the previous year.
IMF predicts Burundi’s economy to grow by 4.5 percent in 2011 from an estimated 3.9 percent this year.
How long do East African pupils remain in school?
By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (email the author)
Posted Monday, December 27 2010 http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/
Millions of dollars have been spent towards education efforts in East Africa, most of them directed toward the attainment of universal primary education (UPE), as championed by the Millennium Development Goals.
Tanzania and Burundi, for instance, have recorded a 99 per cent enrolment rate into the first grade of primary school.
The pertinent question is: How effective are these funds in retaining children in school?
Once enrolled, how long can the pupils be expected to last in the education system, and how many years of schooling, on average, are actually attained by East African pupils?
By measuring these parameters, inferences on the cost effectiveness of education funding — both from the taxes paid by East Africans and donors — can be made.
The global average of expected years of schooling grew from 7.9 years in 1970 to 11.0 years in 2008 out of the minimum recommended 16 years.
However, East Africa is faring badly a 9.1 years, equivalent to a pupil completing primary school, but dropping out of high school.
The average number of school years actually completed regionally was a mere 4.7 years.
The scenario is particularly dismal in Burundi, where on average pupils completed only 2.7 years of school.
According to the Global Education Digest 2010 published by Unesco, in the late 1990s, developing countries began to recover some of the educational ground lost in the 1980s, when enrolments stagnated or even declined in sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
In fact, the pace of progress accelerated since 2000 and if trends between 2000 and 2008 continue, the increase in school life expectancy in the current decade will be three times the level achieved in the 1970s.
In sub-Saharan Africa, school life expectancy nearly doubled from 4.4 years to 8.4 years in the past 30 years.
Despite this progress, the region has the lowest number of school years — almost half of the number of years in North America and Western Europe (16.0 years).
Globally, in 2008, girls could expect 10.7 years of schooling or half a year less than boys (11.2 years) – part of this advantage was due to higher repetition rates among boys.
There was also substantial variation among regions. A girl could expect one year more of education than a boy in North America and Western Europe, one year less than a boy in South and West Asia, and 1.5 years less than a boy in sub-Saharan Africa.
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RWANDA
Le courant passe
26/12/2010 à 12h:17 Par Abdelaziz Barrouhi, à Tunis
La Rwanda Electricity Corporation (Reco) et la Société tunisienne de l’électricité et du gaz (Steg) ont conclu, le 23 novembre, un contrat pour l’électrification de six districts dans l’est du Rwanda, d’un montant de 70 millions de dollars (une centaine de millions de dinars tunisiens).
Les travaux pour la construction de 560 km de réseau et le montage des équipements fournis par des industriels tunisiens devraient démarrer au début de 2011 et durer vingt-six mois. Ce sont au moins 50 000 foyers rwandais qui auront pour la première fois accès à l’électricité. À la fin des travaux, le taux d’électrification dans cette région rurale sera porté de 6 % à 35 %.
Othman Ben Arfa, PDG de la Steg, a précisé à Jeune Afrique que l’entreprise publique ferait appel en priorité aux techniciens rwandais, qui travailleront avec les ingénieurs et monteurs de la Steg. Cette dernière assurera aussi des formations dans le secteur de l’électricité. « Le Rwanda dispose de hauts cadres compétents et intègres, dans un pays qui marche », ajoute Ben Arfa.
La Steg, qui a notamment à son actif l’électrification, à près de 100 %, du territoire tunisien avec un taux de délestage extrêmement faible, comparable à celui des pays européens les plus avancés, dispose de ressources humaines auxquelles des pays comme la France ont déjà eu recours dans le passé. Depuis quatre ans, elle s’est déployée en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient à travers sa filiale Steg International, citée par la Banque mondiale comme une réussite dans la réalisation de projets d’électrification rurale. En août 2009, cette filiale avait mis en œuvre au Rwanda un programme pilote consistant à apporter de l’électricité à 4 200 foyers.
EXLUSIF AFP – Génocide rwandais: le Hutu Mbarushimana mis en examen en France
De Mathieu FOULKES (AFP) – 23/12/2010
PARIS — Déjà réclamé par la CPI pour son rôle présumé dans des crimes commis en 2009 dans l’Est du Congo, le Hutu rwandais Callixte Mbarushimana a été mis en examen à Paris pour crimes contre l’humanité dans une enquête sur le génocide au Rwanda en 1994.
Secrétaire exécutif des Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), M. Mbarushimana, 47 ans, vivait en France depuis 2002, où il a obtenu le statut de réfugié politique, quand il a été interpellé le 11 octobre à Paris sur la base d’un mandat d’arrêt sous scellés (secret) délivré par la Cour pénale internationale (CPI).
La CPI le soupçonne de cinq chefs de crimes contre l’humanité et de six chefs de crimes de guerre, notamment de meurtres, viols et tortures commis en 2009 en République démocratique du Congo pendant des opérations militaires lancées contre les FDLR par les armées congolaise et rwandaise.
Le parquet de Paris a ouvert en parallèle, fin septembre, une information judiciaire pour crimes de guerre et crimes contre l’humanité lors du génocide rwandais en 1994 au cours duquel environ 800.000 Tutsis et Hutus modérés ont été tués, selon l’ONU.
C’est dans le cadre de cette enquête, ouverte après plusieurs plaintes de rescapés du génocide, que le juge d’instruction parisien René Cros l’a mis en examen mardi pour “crimes contre l’humanité”, selon une source proche du dossier.
Ibuka (“souviens-toi”, en langue rwandaise), la principale organisation de survivants du génocide, l’accuse de s’être “distingué dans les massacres de Tutsi” à plusieurs barrages routiers dans la capitale, Kigali, où, affirme encore l’organisation, il a même “fait massacrer” des collègues tutsi qui “travaillaient avec lui au Pnud” (Programme des Nations unies pour le développement).
M. Mbarushimana, détenu depuis plus de deux mois dans une prison de la région parisienne, n’était en revanche pas recherché par le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR), qui siège à Arusha (Tanzanie).
Cette mise en examen est “une bonne chose”, a réagi auprès de l’AFP Alain Gauthier, porte-parole du Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda (CPCR), à l’origine de plusieurs procédures menées en France contre des participants présumés au génocide de 1994.
“Nous craignions qu’avec une extradition devant la CPI, il puisse échapper aux charges qui pèsent sur lui” pour sa participation présumée au génocide rwandais, a-t-il ajouté.
Dans la procédure enclenchée par la CPI, M. Mbarushimana, bien que n’ayant pas mis les pieds en RDC depuis des années, est considéré par le bureau du procureur de la CPI comme responsable de ces crimes en tant que dirigeant des FDLR, et donc donneur d’ordres.
Basées dans l’est de la RDC, les FDLR sont considérées comme l’un des principaux fauteurs d’insécurité dans la région des Grands lacs africains. Plus de 15.000 cas de violences sexuelles ont ainsi été recensés en RDC en 2009, selon le bureau du procureur de la CPI.
La cour d’appel de Paris a donné son feu vert à la remise de M. Mbarushimana à la CPI mais celui-ci a formé un pourvoi en cassation, examiné le 12 janvier, qui a suspendu sa remise à la CPI.
Parmi les griefs qui sont reprochés à M. Mbarushimana figure la publication régulière de communiqués de presse à partir de la France, dont le dernier, daté du 26 août, démentait l’implication des FDLR dans ces viols.
Rwanda’s coffee, tea and mineral exports rise
By BERNA NAMATA (email the author) / Posted Monday, December 27 2010
A large increase in Rwanda’s exports is expected to narrow the country’s widening trade gap this season.
The gap between exports and imports is expected to end with a moderate deficit of $9.4 million this year from a surplus of $144.8 million in 2009.
Official figures from the Central Bank show that in the first nine months of this year, Rwanda exports increased by 30.5 per cent, while the volume rose by only 3.6 per cent.
Last year, the country’s trade deficit worsened mainly due to lower exports and higher imports.
The country’s external current account deficit increased from negative $230 million, approximately five per cent of GDP in 2008 to negative $381.5 million, approximately seven per cent of GDP in 2009.
While export earnings at $193 million were $74 million lower than 2008 total earnings as a result of weaker global demand and low domestic production, the country’s import bill grew by nine per cent to $963 million.
The increase in the import bill was attributed to the country’s joining of the EAC Customs Union in 2009.
Finance Minister John Rwangombwa said export value has been largely boosted by overall improvement in commodity prices on international markets.
“We had good investments in coffee. We are seeing the results now. We have also seen an increase in tea,” he said.
Coffee, tea and minerals remain dominant in the country’s exports accounting for 67.9 per cent of the total export earnings in the first nine months this year.
Tea exports performed well in both value and volume increasing by 20.9 per cent and 18 per cent respectively mainly due to high international prices, from an average of $2.50 per kilogramme to $2.56 per kg.
Coffee exports registered a sharp rise between January and November largely due to a positive trend of prices for the crop which gained between 35 per cent and 40 per cent on the international market.
According to Ocir Café, the Rwandan coffee authority, coffee exports in the 11 months of 2010 rose by 27.45 per cent from Rwf22.1 billion ($37 million) to Rwf30.4 billion ($51 million) in 2009.
In volume terms, shipments from Rwanda reached 20,000 metric tonnes compared with 16,000 metric tonnes.
Mr Rwangombwa said the country is in the advanced stages of unveiling a national export diversification strategy to boost the sector.
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Rwanda’s social security fund expands to $270m
By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (email the author)
Posted Monday, December 27 2010 at 00:00
The Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SSFR) has recorded significant expansion with its investment portfolio now valued at over Rwf160 billion ($270m).
The Fund’s investments have continued to grow at an average rate of 29.6 per cent since the year 2000.
Since 2006, the Fund has been implementing reforms that have seen it grow its portfolio from approximately Rwf60 billion to Rwf150 billion ($253.1 million) last year, placing it among the leading financial institutions in the country.
According to the 2009 revenue projections, the Fund, also known by its French name Caisse Sociale du Rwanda (CSR) expected to collect Rwf24 billion; as of November 2009, a total of Rwf23.6 billion had been collected, representing 24.3 per cent average growth rate since 2000.
While real estate development takes the lion’s share of the portfolio, the Fund has also invested in bonds, corporate loans, mortgage loans, foreign and local equity.
“We are growing but mainly that growth is into real estate; we are trying to finish up some of the big properties we started last year,” said Afrique Ramba, acting director general of SSFR.
Mr Ramba noted that the fund’s investment plan implementation is going well, with the majority of investments in real estate due for completion next year.
Ongoing estate projects in advanced stages include completion of a 17-storey commercial building at Kigali’s Grand Pension Plaza, in which the Fund has so far sunk approximately Rfw9 billion.
Though the majority of the Fund’s investments are domestic, it has two equity investments abroad, in Kenya (in Safaricom) and the US (in a pharmaceutical company).
In 2008, the Fund became the third largest shareholder in the Kenyan telecom giant Safaricom after buying shares worth $7.6 million in its initial public offering.
According to Ramba, despite the fact that the value of Safaricom shares has seen a drop, the Fund is still upbeat about the investment.
“It is still a strong company in Kenya, with more than 70 per cent market share; it is still expanding on the data side of the market and also mobile money,” he said.
Mr Ramba said the Fund expects to collect Rwf90 million as dividends.
“As long term investors there is no need for worry; the share price keeps moving up and down. We don’t have any problem with cash; we shall wait until we think the value has really appreciated and then we can sell out,” Mr Ramba said.
The Fund currently has only 300,000 active contributing members out of a total Rwandan population of 11 million.
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RDC –Congo
RDC: à onze mois de la présidentielle, des candidats émergent
Belga | 26 Décembre 2010 A moins d’un an de l’élection présidentielle prévue le 27 novembre prochain en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), les candidats, déclarés officiellement ou non, commencent à émerger et à affûter leurs armes.
Le président sortant, Joseph Kabila, n’a pas encore annoncé son intention de briguer un second mandat, mais bien peu d’observateurs doutent qu’il se représentera. Face à lui, émergent progressivement des candidats, comme l’opposant historique Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba, 78 ans, le président de l’Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès social (UDPS) Le rival de M. Kabila au second tour de la présidentielle de novembre 2006, le sénateur d’opposition Jean-Pierre Bemba, a en revanche bien peu de chances de pouvoir concourir en novembre. Il est en effet toujours détenu à La Haye par la Cour pénale internationale (CPI). Pour M. Kabila, la principale menace pourrait bien venir de l’un de ses anciens alliés et fidèles, Vital Kamerhe, l’ex-président de l’Assemblée nationale. M. Kamerhe, qui avait largement contribué à la victoire du président Kabila dans les Kivu (est) en 2006, a annoncé le 14 décembre avoir démissionné du Parti du peuple pour la Reconstruction et la démocratie (PPRD, le parti du chef de l’Etat). Il a créé sa propre formation, l’Union pour la Nation congolaise (UNC), et a commencé à sillonner le pays pour répandre son message. (MDP)
Le cardinal Monsengwo dénonce les intérêts partisans en RDC
26/12/2010 – Radio Vatican / En RDC, le cardinal Laurent Monsengwo a appelé les congolais à promouvoir une culture de la paix fondée sur la vérité, l’amour et la justice. Dans son homélie à l’occasion de la fête de la Noël, l’archevêque de Kinshasa rappelle qu’une paix durable et non pas passagère, a pour fondement la vérité, l’amour et la justice. Si l’on n’y prend garde, la mort sera banalisée au Congo, avertit le cardinal Monsegwo en appelant à un sursaut national, pour éviter que le pays ne sombre dans l’intolérance extrême. Plutôt qu’une culture de la paix, affirme l’archevêque de Kinshasa, c’est une culture de la guerre et de la violence qui est en vigueur dans notre pays. Toutes les dispositions sont prises et mises en place pour perpétuer la guerre, étant donné que celle-ci est favorisée par des intérêts partisans. Plutôt qu’une culture de la vérité, c’est une culture du mensonge qui se cache sous les stratégies des uns et des autres, nationaux comme expatriés. Le peuple n’est plus dupe. Plutôt qu’une culture de la justice, c’est une culture de l’injustice et de la corruption. Plutôt qu’une culture de l’amour, c’est une culture de la haine et de la division. Plutôt qu’une culture de la vie, c’est une culture de la mort et de l’insécurité qui se développe. Si l’on n’y prend garde, la mort sera banalisée dans notre pays .
UGANDA
Uganda contains diplomatic row with Khartoum over army chief’s alleged threats
December 25, 2010 (NAIROBI) – The already-strained diplomatic relations between Khartoum and Kampala have slumped into a new row over statements in which Uganda’s army chief reportedly warned north Sudan that his country would support the south if the referendum on its independence is obstructed.
Nearly half a century of intermittent civil war between north and south Sudan ended in 2005 when the two sides signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which provided for a referendum vote on the independence of south Sudan in January 2011.
The south is widely expected to vote for secession amid fears that Khartoum, which is campaigning for unity, may not accept the results.
Sudan on Friday summoned the Ugandan charge de affaires in Khartoum, Mr Nelson Kasigiri, to question him on the veracity of threats issued against Khartoum by the chief of Uganda’s army Nyakairima who was quoted by the Ugandan Daily Monitor newspaper last week as warning that Uganda would back South Sudan if war breaks out over the referendum.
“The referendum is coming, should it go the other way, we shall not tolerate Sudanese planes bombing Moyo and Adjumani districts again,” the general allegedly said, in reference to the 1990s air raids in the border region which Uganda blamed on Sudan Air forces
“If the referendum results get positive as expected” the general added “we shall be interested to say to Khartoum, goodbye.
The Sudanese ambassador in Kampala, Hussain Awad Ali, expressed Khartoum’s fury over the general’s statement, terming them as “an awkward interference in Sudan’s internal affairs.”
“How can a senior army officer interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign country where there is no territorial claim by either country on the other’s side? It’s really an astonishing statement,” he said in an interview with the Daily Monitor.
Meanwhile, Ugandan diplomats said they had succeeded in resolving the “perceived misunderstandings” after they held a meeting with Ambassador Hussain Ali.
Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary James Mugume told the Daily Monitor that the situation had been resolved after they explained to the Sudanese ambassador that Nyakairima was “quoted out of context.”
Ambassador Mugume said that his country would maintain open channels of communication with Khartoum and that Uganda wants to see the referendum “conducted on time and respect whatever the outcome.”
Sudanese officials repeatedly accused Kampala of being overtly supportive of south Sudan secession.
(ST)
TANZANIA:
Tanzania among top performing economies
By JOHN MBALAMWEZI (email the author) / Monday, December 27 2010
Tanzania’s economy is among the best performers in sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to efforts over the past two decades at achieving and maintaining stability.
Sound macroeconomic policies, market-oriented reforms and debt relief have provided a conducive environment for steady economic growth, ranging between five and seven per cent per annum since 2000.
A recent study by the Southern African Development Community shows that the monetary policy has successfully controlled inflation in recent years, bringing it to single digit levels.
Between 2003 and 2007, inflation averaged 5.8 per cent although it accelerated due to high international oil and food prices, reaching 10.7 per cent in June 2009.
As drought and food crisis caved in, inflation fell to single digits in 2010.
The study indicates that the agricultural sector plays a major role in the economy and employs nearly 80 per cent of the workforce.
Unfortunately, high dependency on this sector renders the economy particularly vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and unfavourable prices in international primary commodity markets.
The study illustrates that the low level of industrial development makes the negative economic impacts associated with agricultural dependency more severe.
The country looks to the recently announced Kilimo Kwanza, to boost farmers’ productivity and incomes on a sustainable level.
The development strategy for agriculture aims to achieve a green revolution through improved institutional arrangements, land use and financing as well as the implementation of an industrialisation strategy that is expected to transform the sector.
According to the study, the key sectors experiencing growth are mining, construction, manufacturing and tourism. But poor transport infrastructure is a major bottleneck.
Past finance has been insufficient to cope with growth and ensure an appropriate infrastructure platform that will help to achieve the millennium development goals and the National Development Vision 2025.
The business environment on the other hand remains unattractive to both local and international investors.
Reforms implementation in the sector have been sluggish and the lack of consistency between various policies towards the private sector have also had a negative impact on the investment climate.
Other legal and regulatory changes have added to the complexity and impediments of the business environment.
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KENYA :
Kenya’s flower sector likely to lose Sh1bn as snow persists in Europe
By WALTER MENYA wmenya@ke.nationmedia.com and MAZERA NDURYA mndurya@ke.nationmedia.com
Sunday, December 26 2010 / 500 tonnes being lost every day due to cancellation of flights to overseas markets
The anticipated recovery in the cut flower industry is likely to take a little longer owing to huge losses being incurred through flight cancellations as a result of snow in major European destinations.
Industry players said that they could lose up to Sh1 billion because of the winter weather in these areas. For a sector that has been reeling from dipping returns in the last two years, the flight cancellations could not have come at a worse time. The country’s value of horticultural exports dropped by 2.9 per cent to Sh71.6 billion in 2009, from Sh74 billion a year earlier due to the global recession.
And in April this year, a volcanic eruption in Iceland, which threw up ash, disrupted air traffic across northern Europe. As a result of the eruption, Kenya Airways (KQ) cancelled flights to and from London and Amsterdam, dimming hopes of recovery for the horticultural industry.
As a result, flower farmers lost about Sh120 million a day. A falling euro, as a result of Greece’s economic crisis soon after the volcanic eruption, further dampened their hopes.
Kenya Flower Council chief executive officer Jane Ngige said last week that about 500 tonnes are being lost every day since the winter conditions began.
“This season has been trying because demand has significantly dropped in Europe since shoppers are not going out because of the weather. For us, the interruption of flights means the cut flower cannot be airlifted and would most likely go to waste,” said Ms Ngige.
These flowers had already been harvested and packaged, ready for export, just in time for the festive season.
And at the Coast, some hotels said they were experiencing some delays in the arrival of international guests as passengers were stranded at various European airports.
But the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers (KAHC) said the situation has not been serious to warrant cancellation of bookings.
KAHC Coast region chairman Titus Kangangi said that there have been some bit of delays in arrivals but added that they are yet to establish the extent of the situation.“We are following up the matter with the directorate of civil aviation who are in charge of ground handling to tell us what the problem is. They have assured us that we will get the relevant information in due course but at the moment there is no cause for alarm.
100 per cent occupancy
“Most of the hotels are already recording 100 per cent occupancy since the beginning of the festive season on December 23,” he said in a telephone interview with the Daily Nation.
Mr Kangangi, however, said the festive season has benefited greatly from domestic tourists mainly from upcountry and other countries within the region.
He said the introduction of direct flights to Mombasa by Rwanda Air, Uganda Airlines, Zan Air of Zanzibar and Ethiopian Airlines have boosted the fortunes of the hospitality industry at the Coast, a situation that Mr Kangangi said would easily reach the numbers recorded before the post-election violence.
The European Union is Kenya’s biggest destination of cut flower, taking up to 80 per cent of the exports.
Mr Richard Fox, the managing director of Homegrown, the largest exporter of cut flowers and vegetables in East Africa, said the firm was constrained by flight cancellations.
“Clearly, the imposition of flight restrictions due to adverse weather conditions in the UK and across Europe has had a major impact on our business,” said Mr Fox.
AFRIQUE SUD :
BRICS or CRIBS when South Africa joins?
Sunday, December 26, 2010 http://www.newstime.co.za/Lifestyle/BRICS_or_CRIBS_when_South_Africa_joins/17580/
According to certain observers the inclusion of South Africa in BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India and China- will result in a name change to BRICS.
This of course ignores the alternative CRIBS which might be appropriate if our matriculants keep getting their hands on the exam papers.
The third BRIC summit takes place in China during 2011.
South African President Jacob Zuma will attend but only as an observer.
The membership will then be frozen for some time which means that aspirants like Egypt and Indonesia will have to wait awhile.
A great pity because with Kenya on board they could become the BRICKS which is apt for the emerging markets.
AFRICA / AU :
Africa Offers Easy Uranium
By Julio Godoy WIKILEAKS
PARIS, Dec 26, 2010 (IPS) – Wikileaks cables have revealed a disturbing development in the African uranium mining industry: abysmal safety and security standards in the mines, nuclear research centres, and border customs are enabling international companies to exploit the mines and smuggle dangerous radioactive material across continents.
The Wikileaks cables reveal that U.S. diplomats posted in a number of African countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Niger, and Burundi, among others – have had direct knowledge of the poor safety and security standards in these countries’ uranium and nuclear facilities.
The cables also highlight the involvement of European, Chinese, Indian, and South Korean companies in the illegal extraction and smuggling of uranium from Africa. Most European nuclear reactors use uranium imported from African countries.
In one classified document, dated Sep. 8, 2006, the U.S. embassy in the DRC capital Kinshasa reported that several U.S. diplomats and security service personnel toured the Kinshasa Nuclear Research Centre (CREN-K) on Jul. 27 that year in order to assess the facility’s security needs.
CREN-K houses the DRC’s two nuclear reactors. Neither reactor is currently functioning, but staff conduct nuclear-related research and teaching at the facility.
Although inactive, CREN-K stores significant amounts of uranium and nuclear waste. This radioactive material includes 138 nuclear fuel rods, at least 15 kg of enriched and non-enriched uranium, and some 23 kg of nuclear waste.
At CREN-K, “external and internal security is poor, leaving the facility vulnerable to theft,” Roger A. Meece, U.S. ambassador to DRC, reported in the 2006 document.
Meece’s detailed description of the security measures at CREN-K suggests that security is not just “poor,” but non-existent. According to the report, the fence surrounding CREN-K “is not lit at night, has no razor-wire across the top, and is not monitored by video surveillance.
“There are numerous holes in the fence, and large gaps where the fence was missing altogether,” Meece wrote.
“University of Kinshasa students frequently walk through the fence to cut across CREN-K, and subsistence farmers grow manioc on the facility next to the nuclear waste storage building,” he added.
In March 2006, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) contractor using a Geiger counter detected elevated levels of radiation in this manioc plot.
According to the cable, none of CREN-K buildings have sophisticated locks, intrusion alarms, motion detectors, or video surveillance systems.
“Once inside the facility, no one controls the entrance to the nuclear reactor, although a key is required to enter the room,” Meece wrote.
“The fuel rod storage room, where the nine unused fuel rods are stored, was not locked, and the fuel rods are not kept in a separate locked container.”
But security gaps in nuclear and radioactive facilities in the DRC go beyond CREN-K. In a separate cable, dated Jul. 11, 2007, Meece reported that several sources “recently stated that the Malta Forest Company is (illegally) mining and exporting uranium from the DRC.”
According to the report, the company is “mining the uranified rock while mining copper and cobalt, then exporting the uranified ore and circumventing radiation testing by using an established system of corrupt government officials.”
Meece explained that foreign companies purchase the uranified ore and refine it abroad to separate the uranium, copper, and cobalt.
“In this way, foreign companies purchase uranium from Malta Forest, while Malta Forest appears to be exporting copper and cobalt,” he wrote.
In 2006, for example, two Finish companies, Opolo Chemicals and Konkola Chemicals, reportedly told the IAEA that they imported one ton of uranium from the DRC. The DRC, however, claimed that it did not export any uranium in 2006.
In addition, the cable warns that high levels of radioactivity have been measured in numerous regions of the DRC.
“All of Katanga Province could be said to be somewhat radioactive,” Meece reported.
Katanga is the country’s southernmost province. With an area of 518,000 square kilometres, Katanga is 16 times larger than Belgium, and holds a population of more than four million people.
In the cable, Meece refers to research carried out in May 2007 in the Luiswishi mine, located approximately 20 km northwest of Lubumbashi, the region’s capital city. After analysing 100 kg of rock samples from the mine, a scientific commission from Kinshasa found “dangerously high levels of radiation existed at Luiswishi mine, and that the mine operator …was suppressing this fact to continue mining operations.”
The mine operator is the Mining Company of South Katanga (CMSK), predominantly owned by the Malta Forest Company.
The cable also refers to several other findings of high radioactivity and corruption in other Congolese uranium mines, operated by Chinese and South Korean companies. These mines are staffed by “artisanal diggers” – a euphemism for local workers extracting uranium and other radioactive material without enjoying any health protection.
Other U.S. classified cables revealed by Wikileaks report cases of smuggling uranium and other radioactive material in Tanzania, Burundi, Niger, Portugal, and Georgia.
Meece continues to serve in the DRC, as head of the U.N. mission. (END)
UN /ONU :
USA :
CANADA :
AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
Pirates seize another ship off Somalia, EU force says
December 25, 2010|By the CNN Wire Staff
Pirates in the Indian Ocean captured Saturday a general cargo ship and its 27-member Thai crew, the European Union Naval Force Somalia said.
Twenty-five vessels and 601 hostages are now being held by pirates in the region, officials said in a statement.
The Thai MV Thor Nexus was hijacked about 450 nautical miles northeast of the island of Socotra, officials said.
The ship was on its way to Bangladesh from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. No details of the attack were known Saturday.
Pirate attacks and subsequent ransoms have become a frequent hazard for sailors off Somalia, which has had no effective central government since 1991.
Pirates on Monday hijacked another cargo ship, officials said. The attack happened about 400 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles.
At least four pirates, using two small boats and rocket-propelled grenades, boarded the MV Orna, a Panama-flagged merchant vessel owned by a United Arab Emirates company.
The European Union Naval Force Somalia is a multinational task force with the mission to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Programme and vessels of the African Union Mission in Somalia
CHINA :
BRIC to Become BRICS as China Invites South Africa to Join
World | December 25, 2010, Saturday
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=123543
South Africa’s foreign minister Nkoana-Mashabane pictured with US Secretary of State Clinton. Photo from flickr
South Africa will attend the BRIC summit in 2011 Q1, thus becoming part of the grouping of four major newly advanced global economies – Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
This has become clear after Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, announced that China had invited South Africa to join BRIC. With South Africa’s addition, the grouping will be renamed “BRICS”.
Nkoana-Mashabane wrote to the foreign ministers of the BRIC countries back in 2009 expressing her state’s desire to join the grouping.
“The rationale for South Africa’s approach was in consideration of a matter of crucial importance to BRIC’s Member States, namely the role of emerging economies in advancing the restructuring of the global political, economic and financial architecture into one that is more equitable, balanced and rests on the important pillar of multilateralism. Our approach to intensifying our relations with emerging powers and other countries of the South is, of course, through active and strong bilateral engagement,” the South African foreign minister said as cited by CNN International.
Even though South Africa is the most advanced economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, its growth has experienced much greater difficulties than BRIC countries such as China, Brazil, and India. What is more, the South African economy is only 31st in the world in terms of size, far smaller than the economies of China (3rd), Brazil (8th), India (11th), and Russia (12th).
China’s trade with Africa charges ahead
Associated Press / December 26, 2010 – BEIJING (AP) — China plans to further boost its soaring $100 billion trade with Africa, the government said Thursday, defending its sometimes criticized presence on the continent as mutually beneficial.
Chinese demand for oil, gas, iron ore and other raw materials for its rapidly growing economy has spurred trade and investments in Africa in recent years.
A central government report released Thursday said that in the first 11 months of this year, China–Africa trade volume reached $114.81 billion, a 43.5 percent year–on–year increase. That follows a decline in 2009 due to the global financial crisis.
That growth is likely to gain traction in the coming years as the “economic and trade cooperation is bright” between the two sides, said the “China–Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation” report prepared by the State Council Information Office.
“As economic globalization progresses, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa will definitely gain momentum to reach a larger scale, broader scope and higher level,” it said.
Beijing is encouraging Chinese companies, flush with cash from the country’s economic boom, to invest in Africa in an effort to diversify an economy driven by exports and outside investment. China’s interest in Africa has largely targeted oil, gas and mining but is expanding to manufacturing, real estate, infrastructure and other sectors.
But the influx of Chinese investors has brought about tensions and criticism over control of Africa’s resources, worries about unfair business tactics and complaints that local communities get too little of the economic rewards.
In October, two Chinese mine bosses in Zambia were charged with attempted murder after shooting miners during a pay dispute. Chinese companies have invested nearly $3 billion in Zambia, a major copper producer, according to the Zambian government.
While the report did not address local disputes, it defended China’s presence in Africa, saying Beijing’s efforts are fair, mutual beneficial and provide balanced trade and economic cooperation with African countries.
Chinese enterprises “adopt open, transparent … ways of cooperation to jointly exploit and utilize resources with African countries and international enterprises against monopoly and exclusiveness,” the report said.
Some experts said Africa’s openness to Chinese investment is partially because its trade does not come with criticism of human rights records and other political issues.
“African countries also like that Chinese are less critical of their internal political affairs and there’s less bureaucracy so projects and deals are executed a lot faster,” said He Wenping, director of African studies at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies in Beijing.
In 2009, China’s direct investment in Africa reached $9.33 billion with the majority directed at mining followed by manufacturing, the report said, a jump from $490 million in 2003.
INDIA :
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 26 décembre 2010… AGNEWS /DAM, NY,26/12/2010
