Africa

At a time when Africa is mobilizing resources for pandemic recovery and sustainable development, illicit financial flows (IFFs) are robbing the continent of $50 billion annually, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a high-level virtual meeting on Thursday held under the African Union’s (AU) ‘Silencing the Guns’ initiative. 

December 9, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. Congress is on the verge to pass legislation supporting the democratic transition in Sudan that will tighten the control over the military-economic firms and force them to hand it over to a civilian-led government.

The ‘‘Sudan Democratic Transition, Accountability, and Fiscal Transparency Act of 2020'' (SDTAFTA) is incorporated in the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2021 which set budget levels for the US military.

The lower house of the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, passed the NDAA on 8 December by a veto-proof majority (335-78 vote in favour) to prevent President Trump from vetoing it as he threatens because it incorporates a communication law that shields Twitter, Facebook and other tech giants from content liability.

The bill now will go to the Senate where the position of Republican Senators remains unclear. Also, it is not certain that the outgoing president will ultimately sign the popular budget as the House has demonstrated strong support to the legislation and ready to impose it against his will.

Introduced in March 2020, the Act authorizes the U.S. president to provide assistance to the Sudanese government to "strengthen civilian oversight of the Sudanese security and intelligence services and ensure that such services are not contributing to the perpetuation of conflict in Sudan and to the limitation of the civil liberties of all people in Sudan".

Also, it says that upon Sudan removal from the terror list, the U.S. efforts to restructure and cancel Sudan's debt would be subjected to a certification by the US President providing that Sudan has taken steps to improve fiscal transparency.

This fiscal transparency includes the civilian control over the finances and assets of the military and security apparatus, transparent budget of these forces, identifying the military shares in all public and private companies and transferring it to the ministry of finance or any organism under civilian control

"Ceasing any involvement of the security and the intelligence services in the illicit trade in mineral resources, including petroleum and gold," further reads the law.

Suliman Baldo who serves as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Enough Project told the Sudan Tribune that the most important in this legislation that its seeks to establish a transparent mechanism to control the management of these military companies and prevent corruption.

"Within six months U.S. President will submit a report to the Congress on Sudan identifying individuals and entities that commit violations to hat violate this law and hinder the smooth democratic transition in Sudan," he further said.

The head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has resisted attempts by the government to control the economic activities of the army in Sudan. Also, he added the telecommunication sector to military control.

On the other hand, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the control of his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo 'Hemetti' continue to invest in the gold mining and seek to invest in other sectors such as the uranium in cooperation with Russian investors.

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U.S. House passes bill to support Sudan transitional government

December 9, 2020 (KAMPALA) - Government is working on an interconnection to export electricity to South Sudan, a Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) official disclosed.

UETCL's Managing Director, Valentine Katabira told reporters in Kampala Wednesday that the interconnection is part of the agenda to create a regional electricity sharing platform through which the East African Community achieves stable power supply.

“The interconnection with South Sudan is in line with the East African Community policy of connecting each country to have a power-sharing grid for better supply,” he remarked.

Currently, Uganda generates 1,200 megawatts with local demand of 600 megawatts, which creates a surplus of about 600 megawatts.

The landlocked country, officials say, is expected to add another 300 megawatts with the completion of Karuma Hydro Power Dam.

The interconnection to South Sudan, according to set to UETCL, which will allow Uganda to export electricity to another East African country, is expected to be completed next year.

Uganda currently exports electricity to Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and parts of eastern the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Meanwhile, UEDCL's Executive Director, Paul Mwesiga revealed that Uganda's government plans to connect 6.4 million households on the national grid through public-private partnerships.

“In order to do achieve government's target of connecting this 6.4 million household before completion of the 2020/21 financial year, we need to embark on sustainable financing through public-private partnerships,” he said, adding, “It is important that more households are connected in order to have a reduction in tariffs”.

The connections are estimated at $ 6.5b as part of the government's agenda to extend power connection, especially to rural areas.

South Sudan has one of the lowest electricity access, with more than 90 per cent of the population lacking access to electricity. Additionally, over 70 per cent of businesses in South Sudan reportedly depend on diesel-powered generators to operate, while most families rely on kerosene to light up homes.

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December 9, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – Two key Democratic senators defended their positions on a proposed bill that would restore sovereign immunity for Sudan and said they are prepared to work with the Trump administration to reach an agreement on the legislation to pass this month.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, and Sen. Robert Menendez, right (Getty Images)

The Sudanese government signed a bilateral claims agreement with the United States last month that stipulated removing Sudan from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and passing the ‘legal peace' bill in return for paying $335 million to settle claims with the victims of terror attacks.

The deal covers the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack against the USS Cole off the port of Aden in 2000 as well as the 2008 killing of USAID employee in Khartoum.

But the Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee objected to the settlement saying it discriminates against African embassy employees who later became US citizens and extinguishes potential claims by 9/11 families.

This week ABC News reported that the state department offered to beef up payment to 1998 victims by $150 million out of its own funds. However, the sticking point remains the 9/11 issue and talks with the state department which brokered the settlement deal appeared to have stalled.

Schumer and Menendez issued a joint statement today saying that their offices “drafted not one, but two legislative options for restoring Sudan's sovereign immunity, preserving and protecting the claims of 9/11 families, and resolving the embassy bombing and other international terrorism-related claims against Sudan”.

“We offered two versions in the spirit of cooperation and compromise, both of which overcome severe problems with the deal the State Department cut with Sudan that have tragically pitted different groups of victims of terrorism against one another” the statement reads.

Sources say that the 9/11 families want to go after Sudan in courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) rather than the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act (JASTA) which the Trump administration advocates.

Sudan became exposed to individual lawsuits because FISA stripped it of immunity due to its inclusion in the terror blacklist since 1993. The East African nation will officially get off this list in the coming days.

The two senators said their proposed versions of the bill enjoy the support of key house and senate democrats and are prepared to pass either one before the end of the year.

“We strongly support a successful transition to democracy in Sudan; making this deal work for victims of terrorism should not be in conflict with that goal. As negotiations with the Trump administration continue, we call on Senate Republicans and the State Department to step up to the plate and work with us to make it a reality.”

Sudan itself has its own reservations on the bills, officials say and believe the differences have a 50-50 chance of being resolved this year given the unsuccessful rounds of negotiations.

But a new factor came into play which is the normalization deal between Sudan and Israel last October which was driven by intense pressure from the US. Last week, the New York Times reported that chairman of Sudan sovereign council Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan warned US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo that the peace deal is in jeopardy unless the bill is passed.

The US-based Axios news site reported on Monday that Israel is lobbying senators and members of Congress to approve the bill at the request of Khartoum.

“Since Sudan decided to normalize relations with Israel, Israel obviously has an interest to help resolve Sudan's problems in Washington. This can encourage other countries to normalize relations with Israel too," a senior Israeli official told Axios.

The Israeli officials said they got assurances from the Trump administration and from senior senators and members of Congress that the issue of the immunity bill will be solved.

The Congress is also under pressure from the victims' families who would only get paid the $335 million in compensation if the bill is passed.

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With so-called vaccine nationalism spreading “with full speed”, the Secretary-General told a journalists, following the fourth annual African Union-UN conference, that the continent must be “effectively supported” to fight the pandemic everywhere. 

Insecurity continues to plague Central Africa, the UN envoy for the region told the Security Council on Wednesday, highlighting concern for cross-border violence.  

https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=E4lYeHgbi A . . . .

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG), which has been on location in Ghana observing the recent elections has today issued an interim statement calling for peace as they await full results. The Group s interim statement noted the voting exercise was held successfully, despite unprecedented circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital literacy as a fourth literacy has become necessary to talk about in education and eLearning. Although reading, writing, and mathematics are respected as the basis of being literate, literacy in this day is not complete if a person is not capable of accessing and creating digital information.

UNICEF calls on governments to prioritize the reopening of schools, take all actions possible to make classrooms as safe as possible, and avoid nationwide school closures. The number of schoolchildren affected by COVID-19-related school closures soared by 38 percent in November, placing significant strain on the learning progress and well-being of an additional 90 million students globally.

Despite losing to his contender, Murtala Mohammed of the main opposition NDC at Monday 39;s general elections, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Tamale Central, Dr. Ibrahim Anyars saw his votes appreciating in the figures as compared to 2016.

December 8, 2020 (UNITED NATIONS) - UN senior official on Wednesday called on the international community to support the fragile democratic transition in Sudan saying it can be derailed by the huge challenges the country has been facing.

Rosemary DiCarlo (UN Photo)

Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council on the situation in Sudan and the activities of UNITAMS which preparing to begin its activities to support the democratic transition on the 1st of January 2021

Speaking in a virtual meeting of the 15-member body attended by the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, DiCarlo spoke about the difficult economic situation in Sudan coupled with the health crisis due to the COVID-19.

"Given Sudan's arrears, the country has been unable to avail of debt relief. The increased spending on emergency health programmes, coupled with a decline in public revenues, has led to a budget deficit of approximately USD 250 million per month," she said.

The US diplomat also highlighted the political fragmentation of the ruling coalition and their recent dispute with the military component over the formation of the partnership body to coordinate the transition and peace implementation process.

"Sudan is at a critical juncture. It can move forward decisively in its transition, but that process can still be derailed by the many challenges it faces," said DiCarlo.

"It is incumbent on all of us to support Sudan in its efforts to achieve democratic governance, economic prosperity and an inclusive society for all Sudanese," she further stressed.

UNITAMS deployment

Speaking about the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), she said the mission has already begun to deploy to Khartoum since October.

"The mission will focus on the four objectives outlined in Resolution 2524: assist the political transition; support peace processes; assist peacebuilding, civilian protection and the rule of law; and support the mobilization of economic, development and humanitarian assistance," said the international diplomat.

Further, she added that the political mission will provide good offices, technical support and capacity building, and will leverage the work of the United Nations country team.

While the UNITAMS's headquarter will be in Khartoum, the mission will establish field offices in Darfur, the Two Areas and eastern Sudan.

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December 8, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Senior Sudanese officials and the visiting Saudi Arabia's foreign minister discussed the security of the countries bordering the Red Sea and the need for joint cooperation.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was in Khartoum on Tuesday in the first visit to Sudan after the collapse of the former regime.

During his one-day, he met with the head of the Sovereign Council and the Prime Minister to discuss bilateral relations and ways to activate bilateral cooperation agreements between the two countries.

The Sovereign Council and the cabinet office issued separate statements following their meetings with the visiting Saudi top diplomat saying that he discussed the Red Sea security with them.

"The Saudi Foreign Minister praised Sudan's position and its participation in the Decisive Storm campaign (in Yemen), noting that the two sides agreed to jointly cooperate with regard to the security of the Red Sea," reads a statement by the Sovereign Council quoting Al Saud.

For its part, the cabinet said the meeting dealt with the "importance of the security of the countries bordering the Red Sea, in light of the conflict that broke out in the Tigray region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia".

In January 2020, Sudan joint a Saudi initiative to establish a regional alliance between the countries bordering the Red Sea including Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen and Jordan. Eritrea did not take part in the agreement demanding to include Ethiopia which has no access to the Red Sea.

However, despite the regime change in Sudan, Khartoum moved on and signed a deal with Russia negotiated by the former president to establish a navy base on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, off the Saudi coast.

The prime minister said the meeting discussed regional conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Libya and it was agreed on the need to resolve these conflicts peacefully without foreign intervention.

On the ongoing discussions about the filing of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the Saudi minister backed Sudan's position on the need to reach a binding agreement for the three parties.

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December 8, 2020 (JUBA) – South Sudan has reached a health cooperation agreement with China for the next five-year period.

The deal, which was signed last week, allows China to deploy its medical teams in South Sudan over the period from 2021 to 2026.

This move, Xinhua reported, paves way for strengthened cooperation between China's Anhui Medical University and South Sudan's Juba Teaching Hospital through knowledge sharing and capacity reinforcement.

"We have always placed health care at the top of the agenda for cooperation between South Sudan and China," the Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, Hua Ning explained.

He added, “We also hope that with the support of China and other members of the international community, the health sector here will continue to develop and benefit the people”.

China has, since South Sudan's independence from Sudan in July 2011, become one of its main partners in health, a sector that is greatly affected by the security and economic challenges facing Africa's youngest state.

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December 8, 2020 (TORIT) – The leadership of the opposition National Salvation Front (NAS) has announced the alleged defection of the armed opposition faction (SPLA-IO) forces in South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria State into the hold-out group.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirilo Swaka, the ex-SPLA deputy chief of general staff for training (youtube photo)

NAS, in a statement extended to the Sudan Tribune said the Tafeng Division taskforce of the SPLA- 10 under Brig Gen. Kennedy Ongie Odong defected with forces under his command on December 5.

“The leadership of NAS and its members view this development as historical and nationalistic move. NAS encourages all other forces in the country who are dissatisfied with the dictatorial regime of Salva Kiir, including the SSPDF who feel exploited to emulate the example shown by Brig Gen. Odong and his colleagues,” partly reads the statement issued by the spokesperson, Suba Samuel Manase.

It further added, “The leadership of NAS appeals to all freedom fighters in the country to join hands together with NAS in its struggle to restore our people's lost dignity, justice, equality and freedom”.

Sudan Tribune could not independently verify claims from the hold-out group, which comes barely a week after the SPLA-IO held its 6th national conference in South Sudan's capital, Juba from December 1-5.

The conference, attended by the armed opposition top leadership, discussed the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, formation of the national and statement government, the vision and mission of the SPLA-IO in the transitional period, among others.

As part of resolution from the conference, the armed opposition movement agitated for reconstituting of the national legislature, recommitted itself to the Rome initiative and re-affirmed its commitment to the implementation of the revitalised peace deal.

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The dire shortage of food, water, fuel and cash in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia is seriously affecting people there, including aid workers, the United Nations reported on Tuesday, citing its humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.  

International support for Sudan is critical as the country continues on the path to democratic transition, amid challenges that include political disagreements, economic decline, and the COVID-19 pandemic, UN political affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday. 

There is a critical need for State institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide more stability and safety for citizens facing multiple threats, the head of the UN mission there told the Security Council on Monday. 

More than 17 million Ghanaians were eligible to vote in Monday's poll to elect a new president and parliament.

Reporter Fateh Al-Rahman Al-Hamdani writes about his experience of secretly filming inside Sudan's Islamic boarding schools to expose abuse, and reveals why the investigation was so personal to him.