Africa

Mozambique's poultry farmers are struggling to compete against cheap imports.

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos names his billionaire daughter new boss of the state oil company, after sacking the entire board in April.

Benin are still hoping to play their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Equatorial Guinea despite a Fifa ban from global football.

June 2, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Thursday said they have distributed seeds and agricultural tools to over 200,000 refugees and their host communities across South Sudan to help them become more self-sufficient in a country facing a serious food crisis.

Non-food items distributing to IDPS by the UNHCR workers in Maridi on 4 March 2016 (ST Photo)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the two world organizations said assessments have shown that the food and nutrition security situation is worrying in many parts of the country, including in Upper Nile – a region hosting four refugee camps and South Sudan's largest refugee population of 134,000 Sudanese refugees.

A nutrition survey, conducted in late 2015, the statement revealed, found that Upper Nile's Maban refugee camps registered higher levels of malnutrition compared to 2014. This was particularly the case in Doro camp, where the rates of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were respectively 15.5 percent and 2.6 percent – above UNHCR standards of 10 percent and 2 percent.

“To quickly respond to high malnutrition rates we are distributing nutritious food for children under five years and all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. We are pleased to announce that these interventions are working well, but we are also looking beyond quick-fix solutions that help refugees become more self-reliant and less dependent on humanitarian assistance in the long run. This is the essence of the UNHCR-FAO partnership,” says Ahmed Warsame, UNHCR Representative.

This year, the two UN agencies have jointly contributed 186 tons of crop seeds, assorted vegetable seeds, hand tools and fishing kits for refugees and local communities in Unity, Upper Nile, Jonglei, Central Equatoria and Western Equatoria. This donation will enable communities to start planting their cereals and replenish their stocks, in so decreasing food shortages.

“People here lack the resources to buy the things they need to start planting and need support to be able to produce their own food. These distributions have been very timely since the planting season has just started,” says Serge Tissot, FAO Representative.

“It is vital to strengthen the livelihoods of vulnerable communities in the long-term so that they can become more resilient, absorbing shocks and increasing their access to food through their own means.”

While many have received assistance through direct distributions in the past, the statement said in 2016 refugees in Central Equatoria were invited to attend seed fairs for the first time. With this FAO, in partnership with UNHCR, strives to help transform agriculture in South Sudan by facilitating the sale of high quality local seeds instead of imported seeds.

At the fair, it said, vulnerable farmers were issued with vouchers to be exchanged with local traders for seeds which directly injected cash into the local economy.

“Without seed distributions we cannot survive. Not all of us are able to keep seeds for next year, some people do, but because of lack of food, sometimes we are forced to eat the seeds kept for planting,” said Michelle, Sudanese refugee from Blue Nile State.

“We hope for peace so that we can return home, where we can be free,” she added.

UNHCR and FAO, they said, are committed towards increasing refugees' access to livelihood opportunities and reducing dependency on humanitarian aid.

Of late, a joint livelihood strategy for South Sudan was launched looking to address this issue with a clearly defined action plan. The strategy targets both refugees (70 percent) and local communities (30 percent) in refugee-hosting areas across the country.

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (NYALA) - Governor of South Darfur State Adam al-Faki has threatened to arrest journalists and jail them in the infamous prison of Port Sudan if they published “negative and bad” reports about his state.

South Darfur governor Adam al-Faki (ST Photo)

While accompanying the Federal State Minister for Health, Sumaiya Idriss, during a tour at Nyala Educational Hospital, al-Faki said that journalists are drawn to reporting only bad news and contribute to create a negative image of South Darfur state.

This bad reputation affects the economic, social and security situations of the South Darfur State, he stressed.

Reports from South Darfur State often reflect the increasing insecurity there such as armed robberies, kidnapping for ransom, carjacking.

In order to curb criminal activities and attacks by armed gangs, the state of emergency has been imposed in South Darfur state since August 2014, including a curfew in Nyala during the night.

The decision also banned riding of motorcycles by more than one person, driving unlicensed vehicles and wearing of Kadamool (turban which covers the face).

The governor, who disagreed with a doctor on how to run the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital, turned to reporters saying "go and write that the governor quarrelled with the doctors"

On her part, the state health minister said her visit comes in the context of implementation of specialised medical facilities in the regional hospitals, rehabilitating rural hospitals and efforts to provide rural and isolated areas with midwives.

Idriss stated that the total cost of the government plans to implement specialized medical units has reached one billion Sudanese pounds, pointing that the health ministry is working to solve the challenges facing doctors.

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement -North (SPLM-N) warned against the recent deployment of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the war-torn state of Blue Nile saying the Sudanese government plans to exterminate its indigenous population .

Last Tuesday the Sudanese government dispatched hundreds of the SRF militiamen to Ed- Damazin the capital of Blue Nile where they were received by the state officials and army commanders. RSF field commander, Mohamed Hamdan Hametti also was there and addressed the troops that reportedly arrived from Darfur region.

The SRF militiamen are accused to taking part in the counterinsurgency campaign led by the Sudanese army against Darfur rebel groups. UN agencies estimate that some 300 thousands civilians were killed.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Thursday, SPLM-N Secretary General, Yasir Arman said the militia, which fights the SPLA-N combatants since three years in South Kordofan state, will not make any difference on the ground and expected they would face the same fate like in the Nuba Mountains.

However Arman said the SPLM-N is alarmed by this arrival because their first target this time is the civilian population in the Blue Nile.

"The (RSF's) objective is to exterminate the indigenous people of Blue Nile and to eliminate them from their land, which is one of the most fertile and mineral rich lands of Sudan that includes gold".

He further went to point that the government of President Omer al-Bashir plans to sell the Blue Nile fertile areas to Arab investors.

" Bashir has been promised a huge investment for agriculture in Sudan by the Yemen war coalition as he is part of it, promising that Sudan will be the bread basket of the Arab world," he stressed.

The SPLM-N secretary general said they are very concerned of this "new genocidal project" in the Blue Nile and vowed that the rebel fighters will defeat the regime forces and abort this project.

He called on the Sudanese people to politically resist the regime saying the intends to re-engineer the Sudanese social fabric in the interest of the corrupt business class of the NCP and its allies in the name of investment.

He also called on the regional and international communities to condemn this project in the interest of "respect of human rights and diversity all over Africa". Also he said the Arab investors should wait the end of war.

"For the international community, it is regrettable to indict General Bashir and to leave him to continue what he has been indicted for, and on some occasions, to blame the victims," he further stressed.

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (JUBA) – The world's economic centre house - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) based in New York - has warned of further deteriorating economic situation in South Sudan unless quick economic reform policies were adopted and political environment eased.

South Sudanese finance officials at signing of the treaty to become World Bank/IMF's newest member (AFP File photo)

The IMF staff team, led by Jan Mikkelsen, visited South the Sudan capital from 23 May 23 to 1 June, during which they held discussions in the context of the nation's 2016 Article IV Consultation. Mikkelsen, the IMF's top envoy for South Sudan, is also the mission's chief for South Sudan and deputy division chief.

According to the IMF team, said the current approach by government of South Sudan to its economic situation is wrong, stressing that the deficit in 2016/17 could top US$1.1 billion or 25 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It added that if deficit is financed through borrowing from the central bank or accumulation of arrears, as is the case now, the situation would continue to fuel inflation and put further downward pressure on the exchange rate.

It recommended that restoring macroeconomic stability in the world's youngest nation would require collaborative efforts from South Sudan and its development partners in changing the policies and restoring political and security stability in the war-ravaged country.

“If macroeconomic policies do not change, the economic situation will deteriorate further, resulting in more humanitarian suffering and potentially threatening the still-fragile peace process,” partly reads the IMF's statement, which was released on Wednesday.

“The peace agreement signed in August 2015 has now registered significant progress with the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU). However, political reconciliation must now be consolidated and the TGoNU should work as a cohesive government for it to chart a new course toward broad-based and inclusive economic development,” it added.

South Sudan government, the IMF team further argued, must also do its part by raising non-oil revenue and cutting expenditures, particularly in the payroll, current operations, travel, and investment.

Moreover, it added that, there is a need to strengthen expenditure controls, budget preparation, and to limit arrears accumulation.

“These measures could reduce the fiscal gap to about US$300 million. Meanwhile, the central bank should regain control over monetary policy by refraining from lending to the government, setting inflation on a decelerating path, and gradually start replenishing its international reserves,” it advised in the statement.

It, however, said by not succumbing to the measures in reforming the economy, it would be impossible for the government to meet its obligations, including expenses related to the peace deal, suggesting needs to cover this remaining gap from external sources.

IMF however said the donors may not come forth with provision of financial support to the South Sudanese transitional government unless such measures are adopted and implemented.

“Strong policy efforts by the government could lay the basis for donors to play a role in providing support to close the fiscal gap, including through budget support. The mission urges the government to restore credibility by not only preserving peace and the rule of law, but also by starting to implement a stronger public financial management framework and enhancing transparency in its financial transactions,” stressed the New York-based financial body.

Demonstrating political unity and commitment in the coming months to economic stabilization and strengthening public financial management, the IMF said, “Will be key steps to rebuilding policy credibility and regaining access to external financial support.”

The IMF's high level delegation during their three days visit to the South Sudanese capital, Juba, between 30 May and 1 June, met with President Salva Kiir, First Vice President, Riek Machar, Vice President, James Wani, Finance minister, Deng Athorbei, and governor of the Bank of South Sudan (BoSS), Kornelio Koryom.

South Sudan has suffered political instability and external shocks over the last two and a half years. Since the civil war started on 15 December 2013, around two million people have been displaced, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.

The decline in oil production by almost half in the oil producing states of Unity and Upper Nile and the sharp drop in international oil prices caused large shortfalls in foreign exchange receipts and government revenue.

“The country is experiencing an economic crisis with a sharp decline in national income and high inflation, which approaches 300 per cent,” IMF further warns.

Moreover, the value of the South Sudanese pound, it said, has dropped by close to 90 per cent since the exchange rate liberalization in December 2015, while central bank international reserves have dwindled to a few days of import coverage.

South Sudan depends on oil revenues by 98 per cent of its budget as non-oil revenues have not been tapped for the past 10 years of existence either as a semi-autonomous entity or independent country.

Observers say despite being oil-rich, South Sudan is likely to record negative gross domestic product growth in 2016 after growing by 30.7 percent two years ago, largely due its conflict, decline in oil production and global fall in oil prices.

The country imports from regional countries both food and non-food items despite that over 90 per cent of its land is arable and the nation has millions of animals, including cattle, sheep and wild life.

Its economy has not been diversified for the past 10 years as corruption took its toll with billions of dollars believed to have been squandered over the years by some senior government officials.

Although potentially rich, South Sudan is ranked one of the poorest in Africa and the world at large, with the worst indicators of health, education and underdevelopment.

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (BOR)—Traditional chiefs of Jonglei state have expressed concerns over the overwhelming divorce cases in Jonglei state, which prompted the state government to order for a review of customary laws to minimise separation among the married.

Chiefs gather at Wanglei in Twic East county 1, August, 2015 (ST).

During a meeting organised last week by the state government through the ministry of local government that brought together many chiefs from Duk, Twic and Bor counties, several Dinka Bor customary laws were reviewed with some amendment made to be applied in the local courts throughout the state once approved.

The Bor county paramount chief, Alier Aluong, said the Dinka Bor community had fixed the bring price to 30 heads of cattle, adding that the divorce wouldn't be granted by any statutory courts unless by the chiefs concerned at village or payams level.

“We have agreed that the pride price is 30 heads of cattle. If you pay more than that, that is not bad so long as you want to please your in-laws. But in case you separate with the woman, the court will only consider 30 heads of cattle from which the necessary reductions would be made from, in case you have kids with her. The rest will not be considered”, said Aluong.

“The other biggest issue, if you mess with someone's wife, she will not be your wife. If you elope someone's wife, you will be charged some six heads of cattle and imprisonment for some months”, he added.

Most cases in the statutory courts in Bor are dominated by women wanting to separate with their husbands, but chiefs argued that such cases be handled by traditional courts.

Achieu Duoi, a woman representative, agreed with laws restricting divorce, saying it should not be granted on un-necessary grounds, as the statutory courts practiced.

She further said the existing customary laws should reflect some articles prohibiting the use on skins of various emollient that come as bath additives and showers gels.

“I am against the boys who go sagging, and some ladies who apply creams to change their skins' colour. We have tried to talk against them, but they had ignored us. Our mothers and grandmothers did not apply creams to change their bodies' colour. You men had allowed these women to change their skin colour because you tend to love ladies with brown skins, and leave the black ones”, Achieu told Sudan Tribune in Thursday.

The customary laws will be announced to the public by the governor's office if approved.

(ST).

June 2, 2016 (JUBA) – A senior presidential advisor allied to President Salva Kiir, has denied any consensus reached by the presidency to review the number of states in the country, saying the President had no power to reverse the 28 states as the matter had allegedly been in the hands of the people.

Tor Deng Mawien (ST Photo)

In an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune on Thursday, Presidential Advisor on Decentralization and Intergovernmental Linkages, Tor Deng Mawien, a relative to President Kiir, said the committee agreed on Wednesday by the presidency to be formed will only work on the boundaries of the 28 states but not to temper with their numbers.

Mawien totally dismissed the joint spoken statement which First Vice President, Riek Machar and Vice President, James Wani, issued to the public on Wednesday after the presidency meeting.

In the joint statement to the press by the two deputies after the meeting, a committee of 15 members will be constituted from all the parties to the August 2015 peace agreement and from the international partners to come up with recommendation on the number of new states and determine their boundaries.

“We discussed the issue of the 28 states. We decided to tackle this through a committee. That committee will be composed of 15 members…So that they can work on the number of states, review them and they come up with recommendation on the number of the states and this will be within 30 days. Within 30 days this work will be done,” said First Vice President, Riek Machar, in a press statement to the media, also broadcasted on the South Sudan TV (SSTV) on Wednesday evening.

Machar said the 15 members of the committee will include 10 South Sudanese from the parties in the peace deal and 5 others from the international partners. He added that they would ask South Africa and Tanzania to bring in two members from their countries.

He also said the presidency agreed to release prisoners of war and to budget for establishment of cantonment areas for the forces across the country.

Also, Vice President, James Wani, who held the joint spoken statement with Machar, confirmed the outcome of the presidency meeting with President Kiir's participation.

“Really, I have nothing to say further, what the First Vice President has just articulated is absolutely in place. These are the issues we agreed on,” Vice President Wani said.

“But one would want to underline the fact that the meeting of today by the three of us has been one of the most successful meetings,” Wani added.

However, the presidential advisor, Mawien, who did not attend the presidency meeting, said reviewing the number of the states was not agreed in the presidency.

“As far as I know there were only three important issues which the President with First Vice President and the Vice President have discussed and reached a consensus. The meeting of the three leaders which took place yesterday afternoon was very important. It resolved that cantonment sites for SPLM-IO forces will be established in the country. This means some places will be identified as areas of assembling points in Equatoria and other places in the country. The meeting also resolved to release prisoners of war and to lift the state of emergency. These were the issues which were discussed. There was no consensus on the number of states,” presidential advisor, Mawien, said on Thursday when asked to comment on the latest political development.

Mawien further explained that the issue of the number of the states was no longer in the hand of the president for him to decide whether to reverse the order or not.

“I think the issue of the states is no longer with the president. It has left his hand and it is now owned by the people themselves. If there are people who still want this issue to be discussed again, or if they want the number of states to be reduced or expanded, they should now talk to the people and see what the people will say in this regard. What the committee will do is to review borders and make necessary recommendations on how issues relating to borders can be resolved amicably,” explained Mawien.

The decision of the three leaders has also received mixed reactions from the public with opposition figures insisting on the revocation of the establishment order, asserting that the agreement was signed on the basis of ten states in addition to the fact that the decision itself was not constitutional in the first place.

Onyoti Adigo, the Minority Leader in the national parliament from Democratic Change party, said Thursday his party would continue to reject the implementation of 28 states because it violated the peace agreement.

“I understand that political parties will be represented in the committee. For us, we will not nominate a member to participate unless the terms of reference are clarified. We need to know the work of the committee itself first and when it will start work. When this is clarified, we will nominate,” said Adigo.

The opposition figure asserted that the establishment order unilaterally issued by Pesident Kiir to expand the number of states to 28 from 10 was issued without carrying out studies so that the views of the people at the grassroots levels were incorporated.

“No studies were carried out. It was a decision of certain people who wanted to sabotage South Sudan like now. There are problems caused by the 28 states. The current economic crisis is one of them. As we speak there are people who did not get salaries for three months, four months and two months, it is a problem of 28 states,” he said.

“There is no money. If there is no money to pay employees where will the budget come to establish all these states? It is not economically a viable decision.”

He said his party has not stopped rejecting the creation of more states, adding that they will stick to the 10 states.

“Of course we are still rejecting it until now, we will not accept 28 states, now there is no room for 28 states or 13 states or 50 states, and we demand 10 states according to the agreement,” he added.

President Kiir on 2 October 2015 issued an establishment order announcing the creation of 28 states. He later issued another order appointing governors to run the new states even after he signed the peace agreement based on 10 states with the armed opposition faction under the leadership of Machar.

Critics say the 28 states, which gave the ethnic Dinka almost half of the country's states, is meant to grab other communities' lands in Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal regions and annex them to the Dinka lands.

Proponents however argue that the decision was made in accordance with the will of the people.

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (JUBA) – Conflict has emerged over interpretation of the would-be formed committee by the South Sudanese presidency to review the number and boundaries of states in the country, with differing explanations as to the main purpose of the committee in determining the status of states in South Sudan.

First Vice-President Riek Machar (L) and President Salva Kiir (R) listen to the national anthem following a ceremony during which Machar was sworn in on April 26, 2016. (Phot AFP/Samir Bol)

The presidency composed of President Salva Kiir and his two deputies, Riek Machar and James Wani, on Wednesday resolved to form a 15-member committee to review the 28 states unilaterally created by the former government despite a peace agreement signed on the basis of 10 states.

In a public joint spoken statement to reporters on Wednesday after the meeting, which was also broadcasted on the national television, the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), Machar and Wani said the committee would determine the number of new states and their boundaries.

The inclusive membership committee would include 10 from South Sudanese peace partners and the other 5 from the international community. The committee will recommend a way forward within 30 days.

However, Ateny Wek Ateny, President Kiir's press secretary, told the media on Thursday that the main purpose of the committee was not about the number of states, but rather about reviewing the boundaries of the created new 28 states which “bother” people.

He said the committee's task will be to try to determine the boundaries of the 28 states, but added that they may add more states to the current 28 but will not be allowed to reduce the number.

“The importance of the committee is specifically to settle the borders and see the problems that bother the states. The committee can come up with a recommendation to increase the number of states but it's impossible that it could be less than 28 states. Because nobody will accept that his state will be removed. Nobody will want that. Whose state will be removed and whose state will remain,” he asked.

But in an interview broadcasted by the United Nations-run Miraya FM radio on Thursday morning, James Gatdet Dak, First Vice President Machar's press secretary, told the UN radio that the committee will review the “number of the states as well as their boundaries.”

He said if the committee will not agree on the number of states, they will simply revert to the 10 states as provided for in the August 2015 peace agreement.

When contacted in a separate interview by Sudan Tribune on Thursday, Dak said the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) is for the 10 states as a priority.

“As for the SPLM (IO), we want to abide by the peace agreement. The agreement talks of the 10 states. This is our priority now, not 21 or 28 states,” Dak said, while referring to 21 states earlier proposed by the SPLM-IO during the peace negotiations in Addis Ababa last year and the 28 states created by President Kiir's faction in Juba five weeks after the peace agreement was signed.

Dak said more states may be premature for now given the security and economic challenges in the implementation of the peace agreement, coupled with the conflicts over states boundaries that the new 28 states have brought about.

He said the country, through the 15-member inclusive committee, may soon within 30 days confirm maintaining the 10 states and delay creation of more states to later period in the transitional period or after 2018 elections.

Dak acknowledged that the presidency had not yet put on paper the terms of reference for the 15-member committee, adding “this could be the reason for the misinterpretation of the task given to the committee.”

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government said on Thursday it had dislodged the fighters of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-N) from Jebel Kilgu in the Blue Nile state but the rebels insisted they still held the area .

Soldiers from Sudan's army celebrate after gaining control of the area, at the Blue Nile state capital al-Damazin, September 5, 2011 (Reuters)

The Blue Nile Governor Hussein Yassin told Ashrooq TV that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) managed to retake control of the rugged area, located at 30 km south of the state capital Ed-Damazin.

Yassin said that the liberation of Kilgu has increased space of security and stability in the troubled state, considering the victory as a “good omen” for a stable agricultural season that achieves food security in the Blue Nile".

Since April 2015, the Sudanese army has carried out some 21 attacks to capture the strategic from the SPLM-N.

Ashrooq TV reporter said the Sudanese army forces fought a fierce battle on several fronts on the road to the Jebel Kilgu area.

He further said that the SPLM-N forces have left behind a number of their fighters killed and others injured, adding that the armed forces have arrested around one hundred rebels.

While the Sudanese army didn't issue a statement about the outcome of the fighting in Kilgu, SPLM-N Spokesperson Arnu Ngutulu Lodi denied the recapture of the area by the government forces.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune late on Thursday, Lodi asserted that the fighting is still taking place around Kilgu and the SPLM-N forces "are in full control of the situation".

He added that the claimed victory is a "propaganda and lies to boost the morale" of the defeated troops.

The Sudanese government has been fighting the SPLM-N in South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011.

This week the government dispatched hundreds of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen to reinforce the regular forces.

On Wednesday, Lodi said the SPLM-N forces repelled an attack on their positions in Torda area, located south-east of Kilgu.

He added they inflicted losses on the attackers.

(ST)

A new exhibition shows treasures from two cities which have been underwater for more than 1,000 years.

Violent footage ban

Returning Somalis hope for better future despite attacks

The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the deadly attack on 1 June 2016 perpetrated by Al-Shabaab militants on the Ambassador Hotel, Mogadishu.

Two United Nations agencies have joined forces to distribute seeds and agricultural tools to 200,000 refugees and their host communities across South Sudan, helping them become more self-sufficient in a country facing a serious food crisis.

A Gambian-born pub worker scooped £4m on a lottery scratchcard in the UK and then returned to work to finish the last four hours of his shift.

France hands Egypt the first of two advanced Mistral warships, which were originally being built for Russia until the conflict in Ukraine.

The first episode of the new TV series starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will be recorded in South Africa.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is chased by an elephant while on a trip to South Africa.