Africa

Three people have been killed and many others injured by a car bomb in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Nigeria's military announces that death sentences handed to 66 soldiers for munity have been commuted to 10-year prison terms.

December 18, 2015 (WAU) - Fire on Friday has burned down more than five hundred water plastic pipes in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state.

WBGS firemen train their hoses during a fire at an open storage area of plastic pipelines in Wau, on December 18, 2015 (ST Photo)

The plastic pipelines have been used by the state ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Cooperation Development for connecting clean water supplies into resident's homes in Wau town, the state capital.

General Gregorous Thiepdit Akol who is a state commissioner for civil defence [Fire Brigade] was at the scene when the fire engulfed the area. He told Sudan Tribune that the outbreak of the fire was caused by street children, adding that firemen could not respond on time due to lack of water tanks for firefighting.

“This fire which burns many pipes was caused by the street children and we the fire fighters did not respond on time. This is because we lack fire [fighting] water tanks in Wau. We have only one which is at the airport,” he said.

“This time, we have our water tankers on the way from Dubai, they may arrive in the country as soon as possible,” he said.

The plastic pipe lines were assembled in open space for some years without being connected to supply water to residents. Many more others have also been lying idle in some parts of the town since 2010 after the ministry launched the project to connect homes in the town with clean water but the project stopped due to lack of funds.

After the project stopped, the ministry was unable to reassemble its many carters across the town with trucks left in open spaces due to lack of fuel while other needed mechanical repair.

One of the off-road trucks which was used for transporting the pipe line was also gutted in the fire.

The site project manager now said the ministry was preparing to open a court case against the damages and loss in the fire.

Firemen had been more blamed for their negligence if such incidents occurred. Last year, fire consumed stores at the University of Bahr el Ghazal, burning more than 1000 mattresses used by students.

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's dialogue body known as 7+7 has stressed that the national dialogue conference won't be extended saying it would wrap up on January 10th.

Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby (L) listen to the national anthem during opening session of Sudan National Dialogue conference in Khartoum October 10, 2015. (Photo SUNA)

The government-led national dialogue conference was inaugurated in Khartoum on October 10th amid large boycott from the major political and armed opposition.

Member of the 7+7 mechanism Faisal Hassan Ibrahim described the conference as a new phase in Sudan's political life, saying it offers an opportunity to arrive at common principles that lead to the advancement of the Sudanese nation and promote its ties with the regional and international community.

He stressed in a press conference Friday that the meeting of the political and armed groups to discuss Sudan's issues including the constitution would create an effective political system that overcomes crises and challenges facing the nation in areas of freedoms, economy, governance, identity and peace and unity.

Ibrahim pointed out that the general secretariat of the dialogue conference has documented the minutes of the sessions by audio and video, saying this high degree of transparency has enhanced its credibility among the skeptics.

He stressed that there is no intention to extend the dialogue conference, saying it is expected to wind up on January 10th, 2016.

Ibrahim pointed that several opposition activists have arrived in Khartoum to participate in the conference including Taragie Mustafa, expecting that several members of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) would soon join the conference.

“The national dialogue [conference] which is being currently held Khartoum coincides with the anniversary of Sudan's independence. The dialogue recommendations would represent the true meaning of the independence,” he said.

For his part, the secretary general of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and member of the 7+7 mechanism Kamal Omer said the conference had faced the challenge to achieve political consensus in order to resolve the country's crises, noting the conference would reach an agreement on a permanent constitution.

He said the ongoing dialogue would achieve security and stability in the country, saying the holdout parties have missed the opportunity to participate in the conference.

Omer further described the dialogue conference as the “true independence” of Sudan, saying dialogue would continue until it achieves the national consensus.

The rapporteur of the general secretariat Omer Haydar for his part reviewed the deliberations of the six committees of the conference, pointing the participants included 80 political parties, 29 armed groups and 48 national figures.

He said the committees have so far discussed 420 working papers besides listening to several lectures by academics and experts on the various issues of the dialogue.

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has finally agreed to receive all the 609 members of the advance team of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of former vice-president, Riek Machar, and directed all the state governors and chief administrators in the country to enlighten the citizens about the peace agreement and the coming of the advance team as well as to prepare for their reception in the national capital, Juba and in the states.

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (L) exchanges signed documents with rebel leader Riek Machar in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha on 21 January 2015 (AFP)

The change of mind came days after the chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana, served the two warring parties with timetable for the implementation of the first phase of the peace agreement signed in August to end 21 months of civil war.

Mogae in the timetable scheduled for the return of all the 609 members of the SPLM-IO advance team, dividing them into three groups, with the first group of 150 to be led by the chief negotiator, Taban Deng Gai, followed by another group of 150 and the last group of 309, all to return to Juba within a period of two weeks.

Information and broadcasting minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, who was vocal about objection to the return of the more than 600 cadres of SPLM-IO, however on Friday said president Kiir agreed to receive all the members of the advance team in show of commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreement.

“The president of the republic in the meeting of Wednesday with the state governors and senior members of the SPLM [Sudan People's Liberation Movement] affirmed commitment of the government to implement the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the republic of South Sudan. He asked the governors and members of parliament to enlighten the citizens in their constituencies and states and to also prepare and receive members of the advance team of the SPLM-IO once they are in the country,” Lueth told reporters on Friday.

The government's spokesperson said Juba had been ready to receive the advance team of the opposition from the time the two parties completed security arrangement workshop at the venue of the talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and agreed to move to the country for implementation of the agreement.

“The government has been ready to receive the advance team of the SPLM-IO since November. They were supposed to participate in the first meeting convened by Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission but they decided not to come and instead the list of advance team which keeps changing every day,” said Lueth.

He said the delay in the coming of the advance team of the SPLM-IO had nothing to do with the government.

“They are the ones who know why they are not coming so that we come and start with the implementation of the agreement here. We have concluded negotiations already. What is left is the implementation,” he added.

The minister blamed the delay in the return on the lack of readiness by the SPLM-IO. He did not however come up again with the demand previously put forward by the government that they only wanted 30 members of the advance team instead of the over 600.

Opposition leader's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, when contacted on Friday confirmed that the leadership of SPLM-IO received information through IGAD indicating the government had agreed to the return of the whole team to Juba and states.

“Yes, our leadership received through IGAD a verbal no-objection response from the government to receive the whole team of 609. We however still wait for a written document from the leadership of the government stating their acceptance to receive the team,” he told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

He however said the East African regional bloc, IGAD, which has been facilitating the travel of the team, was yet to put some final touches on the logistical and procedural arrangements, including travel documents and clearance of visas for the members from Pagak, the SPLM-IO headquarters.

He could not confirm the date on which the first group will travel to Juba, but added “this can happen on Sunday or early next week.”

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese finance minister has downplayed calls on him to resign from his position after announcing reforms to float exchange rate as part of attempts to fix the struggling war induced economy in the country.

David Deng Athorbei (ST File Photo)

Minister David Deng Athorbei in an announcement he made on Tuesday together with the governor of the Bank of South Sudan, Cornelio Koryom Mayik, stressed that the new reforms would benefit the country in the long run, but admitted short term shocks that will affect low income citizens.

“What is important now is not what others are saying, including those calling for resignation. What is important is to enlighten our people about the benefits which will come from the implementation of these reforms to the country,” Athorbei told Sudan Tribune in an exclusive interview on Friday.

Athorbei argued that the reform would harmonise the foreign exchange rate in the market, despite higher rate, and allow everybody to access hard currency without preferential treatment.

The reform has abandoned a fixed foreign exchange rate in favour of floating foreign exchange, allowing market forces of demand and supply to determine the value of South Sudanese pound against foreign currencies.

After the announcement local and foreign banks in the country immediately increased the exchange rate to 20 South Sudanese pounds per a dollar and the fuel price suddenly skyrocketed to 22 South Sudanese pounds per litre, tripling the price.

The decision to further devalue the local South Sudanese currency through floating exchange has received mixed reactions, with many ordinary people and critics of the government describing it as “inappropriate and untimely.”

Adigo Onyoti, leader of the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) in the national legislative assembly argued that the reform could lead to more suffering of the people.

“I don't really know how this decision will benefit the people. I don't know how it will work. They are talking of long run but will the people who will die as a result of this decision wait,” asked a furiously looking Anyoti when asked what he thought of the decision on Friday.

“People will die and if they die then who they (those in government) think will benefit. So for them it means people must die so that it becomes beneficial. I have never before [heard] about a policy which advocates death of the people first. I have never heard even from prominent thinkers who have discovered and came out with many theories that they have such a theory,” added Anyoti.

The opposition leader in parliament told reporters that minister of finance and economic planning, Athorbei, and the governor of central bank of South Sudan, Mayik, have failed the people and so they either resign from their positions or should be removed by a presidential order.

“You have thousands of people who are not working. They are going to be affected by this. Thousands of people have low income. Our people are going to suffer more because of the lack of studying,” he said.

However, some economists and experts supported the move to float the exchange rate, saying South Sudan was unable to sustain the fixed rate due to lack of US dollars, leaving them with no option but to float it.

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) wrapped up a three-day informal meeting and agreed to resume discussions soon.

Presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud and SPLM-N SG in a private discussion at the venue of peace talks on November 22, 2015 (ST Photo)

Last November the two warring parties in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan failed to reach cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements, as the five-day talks showed that important gaps persist in the positions of the two sides.

In a bid to bridges the gaps, the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) organized a three-day round of informal talks between the two sides from 16 to 18 December where the two sides debated on how to overcome their differences.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the spokesperson of the SPLM-N negotiating team Mubarak Ardol said the two sides were not able to reach an agreement on the main outstanding issues.

“However they laid out their positions on those issues openly and seriously and agreed to hold a second informal meeting at the earliest time for further deep discussions and allow each side to consult with its allies in order to achieve comprehensive peace,” he said

According to the statement, SPLM-N chief negotiator Yasir Arman said in statements following the meetings that this round of talks was characterized by openness and transparency, pointing to the issues and the manner by which the talks were conducted.

He underlined the need to achieve several goals including the comprehensive peace, participation of all political and armed groups in the dialogue and provision of food, peace and freedoms.

The statement further said the talks were marked by the discussion of the national issues besides issues pertaining to the Two Areas, adding the two sides discussed the comprehensive peace and the participation of all parties in the dialogue besides the security and political arrangements in the Two Areas.

Ardol noted the informal round of talks underscored the importance to end the war in the Two Areas and Darfur simultaneously and to allow the participation of all parties in the dialogue in order to achieve national consensus besides addressing the issues pertaining to the Two Areas and arriving at a national agenda to unify the Sudanese people.

The government delegation didn't yet issue any statement about the three-day meeting, but sources close to the meeting said the presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud repeated the same positions announced last November.

The African Union mediators propose to government and rebel groups to sign a cessation of hostilities agreement and to reach a deal over the humanitarian access to the needy in the war zones.

The two agreement are part of confidence building measures, the AUHIP intend to implement paving the way for the participation of the rebel groups and holdout opposition groups in the national dialogue conference.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 2011.

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (RUMBEK) - The caretaker governor of South Sudan's Lakes state Matur Chut Dhuol has sacked the commissioner of Cueibet county, Isaac Mayom Malek, Rumbek East county's Martin Matian Ayuon and George Kuac Dhieu of Yirol West.

Lakes state governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol (ST)

Dhoul, in a decree issued Wednesday, also empowered the executives directors of the three counties to immediately act until new appointments were made.

The decree came into effect on 6 December, but no reason provided for Dhuol's decision.

Malek was Lakes state's longest serving commissioner since 2010 while his Yirol West and Rumbek East county counterparts were both appointed in 2014.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

December 18, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Eritrean government has referred to the Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea (COIE) as unwarranted political witch-hunt against the Red Sea nation.

Eritrean president, Isias Afewerki (AFP Photo)

Asmara's reaction comes after the “Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea” has recently issued invitations to “interested individuals, groups and organizations” to submit alleged human rights violations, “including where these violations may amount to crimes against humanity perpetrated in Eritrea since its independence.”

But the Eritrean reacted negatively charging that the action by the commission of inquiry was instead serving a political agenda against the government.

“This act constitutes yet another campaign of unwarranted witch-hunting of Eritrea by an entity which has clearly opted to instrumentalize human rights to serve political agendas,” the Eritrean government said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

The CoIE is tasked by the Human Rights Council to investigate alleged violations of human rights in Eritrea. The Commission's mandate has been extended for one year to June 2016.

Recent reports by the commission revealed gross human rights violations in the East African nation including some violations which may amount to crimes against humanity.

The latest statement issued by the Eritrean government accused the CoIE of being afflicted by political bias and a litany of procedural flaws in the manner that it carried out its “investigative mission” from the outset.

The UN inquiry has held the regime in Asmara responsible for systematic, widespread and serious human rights violations that have created a climate of fear.

The accusations by the commission including possible crimes against humanity could subject Eritrean political and military officials to indictment at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Angered by the commission's report issued in June, Eritrea has elucidated parts of the reports it said were flawed.

Among the major anomaly Eritrea argued was the resolutions by the commission it said were adopted in an under-handed manner to serve overriding political agendas of certain countries.

It stressed the resolutions were mainly tabled and co-sponsored by Somalia and Djibouti.

Asmara said “Somalia and Djibouti were prodded to do so to give an African semblance to an exercise that was in reality led behind by certain powers.”

The three-member commission is chaired by Mike Smith (Australia), with Victor Dankwa (Ghana), and Ms. Sheila B. Keetharuth (Mauritius), who also serves as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea.

The statement further went on to accuse the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea of having a personal history of “biased and subversive involvement” in the affairs of a sovereign nation.

“She was hand-picked for the job in spite of her compromised political stance and obvious conflict of interest” the statement said, adding “she was appointed to the COI; an explicable act bound to corrode the neutrality, objectivity and credibility of that new fact-finding body.”

The reclusive Eritrea nation has given deaf-ears to a number of requests by the UN commission of inquiry to visit Eritrea forcing the panel to collect information from asylum seekers.

The last COI's report was based on a year-long process that involved 550 interviews and 160 written submissions. Eritrea however argues the process lacks rigorous validation for its veracity.

Referred by right groups as Africa's North Korea, a east African nation, Eritrea, is amongst the world's worst oppressive nations.

Currently there are an estimated up to 10,000 political prisoners languishing in the country's “notorious” prison facilities. Most are reportedly in prison without any charges.

According to UN report, Eritrean government is using a “rule by fear” policy to maintain grip on power.

“It is not law that rules Eritreans, but fear,” said Sheila Keetharuth, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea.

“Rule by fear - fear of indefinite conscription, of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, of torture and other human rights violations must end,” she said.

The government systematically silences anyone who is suspected of intentions or attempts to question or dares to criticize government policy.

President Isaias Afwerki has been in rule since the country gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

There is neither any functioning opposition party in Eritrea nor has ever been an election since independence as the tiny East African nation remains turned into one party state.

(ST)

By Steve Paterno

Thus far, the implementation of the compromised South Sudan's peace deal is at standstill. Most benchmarks for the implementation are not met or rather simply ignored. Many hurdles stand on the way, and among which, problems associated with the coming of SPLM-io advance team to Juba. Rumors of arrival of this team are running amok over the last few weeks as proposed dates for their coming keep shifting. Disagreement among the parties involved and logistical hindrance seem to be real issues behind this saga.

The government continues to stress that for the process to move smoothly, only specified figure of individuals who are assigned designated task from the io need to be sent to Juba in order. This is so as to ease the management of their logistic as well as their security and wellbeing. The whole point behind this insistence is that there are still outstanding issues, which are required to be thrashed out to pave way for the formation of a transitional government. The members of io in their parts are fiercely fighting each other over as to who should not be left out from the list of those to be repatriated to Juba. Meanwhile, the mediators are coerced to comply with the demands of members of io who keep steeping up and insist that their names are included among the list of those to be repatriated. That is why their number keeps on increasing by the day.

Nevertheless, what are really happening in io camp is saddening to say the least. And those are actually the much more contributing factors in the implementation process.

First of all, the io is virtually disorganized, without any semblance of structures or command center. Their members are scattered all over, with some juggling from one hotel to another, and moving from different to another. Others are shouting their guts out from the comfort of their living rooms in Diaspora. And also there are those wandering in the bushes of South Sudan. In order for them to assemble in one point is a logistical nightmare.

Secondly, it is reported that those who are residing in Pagak compare their livelihood to” hell on earth.” Pagak, a mere village is completely devoid of any basic amenities that can make life suitable. Those individuals who once thrived on living on hotels paid by government are now sharing their tiny tents with encroaching snakes, deadly scorpions, and uninvited insects. To think of a shower is to imagine of a luxury. Food is so scarce that they ought to be stolen from relief agencies. The suffering is real. For these individuals, coming to Juba and with the prospect of getting accommodated in hotels is a real bailout and a means of rehabilitation of livelihood, not an opportunity to implement the peace agreement. This is actually the real reason behind the huge number of the team. This could also explain the infighting among the io as all want the bailout and rehabilitation from enduring what they describe as “hell on earth.”
Thirdly, the so-called io advance team is predominantly composed of civilians, mostly from the Diaspora. In another words, the Diaspora civilians hijack the show, since, the fighting commanders are sidelined. Such deliberate exclusion of fighting commanders from participation will further down the road implicate the implementation process and can even have a repercussion of a national scope.

These, compounded with other factors are real impediment for the implementation of the peace process. The repatriation of io members must be a gradual process that takes a life of its own. The process must take place in accordance to the agreements the parties agree on.

Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Romain Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at stevepaterno@yahoo.com

Voicing deep concern at the continuing escalation of violence in Burundi, the United Nations Security Council today called for urgent acceleration of mediation efforts by East African States and urged all Burundian stakeholders to fully cooperate with a proposed African Union (AU) peace-keeping mission.

Rwandans vote overwhelmingly to allow President Paul Kagame to extend his term in office, according to initial referendum results.

Rwandans have voted to change the country's constitution, allowing President Paul Kagame to run for a third term.

The African Union announces a plan to send 5,000 peacekeepers to protect civilians in Burundi, even without the government's consent.

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 18 2015 (IPS)

The world’s refugee crisis – triggered mostly by conflicts and persecutions – will continue to be one of the biggest problems facing the United Nations next year.

With almost a million people having crossed the Mediterranean as refugees and migrants so far, 2015 is likely to exceed all previous records for global forced displacement, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned in a new report released Friday.

But 2016 could be even worse — if the Syrian conflict continues unabated and new political trouble spots arise, primarily in the Middle East and Africa.

“As we enter 2016, the world needs to aim for a new global compact on human mobility. Demonizing and scapegoating these people based on their religion, ethnicity or country of origin has no place in the 21st century,” says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The United Nations is appealing for a staggering 20 billion dollars in funds to meet next year’s humanitarian needs — five times the level a decade ago.

But donors have been exceedingly generous, says Ban, “but we will likely enter 2016 with a funding gap of more than 10 billion dollars — the largest ever. “

The increased funds will be needed largely to feed, shelter and provide medical care to millions of refugees fleeing conflict zones, including Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.

But the devastating conflict in Syria, now into its fifth year, has been described as “the main driver of this sea of humanity on the move.”

According to the UN, about 60 million people are now homeless as a result of armed conflict, instability and persecution, and more than 125 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2016.

The 20 billion dollar target for 2016 seems phenomenal in comparison to the UN’s regular budget of 5.57 billion dollars for 2016-2017 and its peacekeeping budget totaling 8.2 billion dollars for 2015-2016.

Since the crisis is expected to continue into 2016, the World Humanitarian Summit meeting in May 2016 in Istanbul is expected to be “a critical moment to address systemic funding problems, and agree on concrete steps to better prepare for and respond to crises.”

The UNHCR study, titled ‘Mid-Year Trends 2015’, says the global refugee total, which a year ago was 19.5 million, had as of mid-2015 passed the 20 million threshold (20.2 million) for the first time since 1992.

Asylum applications were meanwhile up 78 per cent (993,600) over the same period in 2014. And the numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) jumped by around 2.0 million to an estimated 34 million.

A consequence of more refugees being stuck in exile is that pressures on countries hosting them are growing too – something which unmanaged can increase resentment and abet politicization of refugees, the study said.

Despite such risks, the first half of 2015 was also marked by extraordinary generosity: on an absolute basis, and counting refugees who fall under UNHCR’s mandate (Palestinians are under the mandate of the UN Works and Relief Agency or UNRWA), Turkey is the world’s biggest hosting country with 1.84 million refugees on its territory, as of 30 June.

Lebanon meanwhile hosts more refugees compared to its population size than any other country, with 209 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants.

And Ethiopia pays most in relation to the size of its economy with 469 refugees for every dollar of GDP (per capita, at PPP), according to UNHCR.

Overall, the lion’s share of the global responsibility for hosting refugees continues to be carried by countries immediately bordering zones of conflict, many of them in the developing world.

Europe’s influx of people arriving by boat via the Mediterranean is only partly reflected in the report, mainly as arrivals there have escalated in the second half of 2015 and outside the period covered by the report.

Nonetheless, in the first six months of 2015, Germany was the world’s biggest recipient of new asylum claims – 159,000, close to the entire total for all of 2014. The second largest recipient was the Russian Federation with 100,000 claims, mainly people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, according to the report.

Speaking at a high-level event marking the 10th anniversary of the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the secretary-general said the fund was a breakthrough in providing fast and predictable funding for early action at times of global crisis.

Over the past decade, the Fund has been an essential component of the UN’s humanitarian response – and it has enhanced the credibility of the United Nations, he added.

Among the CERF’s key strengths is its flexibility and speed. CERF resources are not earmarked for specific countries or crises, but can be deployed quickly wherever needs are greatest.

“Whether a crisis is sudden or protracted; whether it is in the news or not, CERF funds are allocated only on the basis of need,” Ban noted.

Within 11 hours of the earthquake in Haiti, trucks were unloading life-saving aid. And within 48 hours of Nepal’s recent earthquake, people were receiving timely life-saving assistance.

Since 2011, Ban said, the CERF has allocated more than 200 million dollars to humanitarian efforts in Syria and neighbouring countries. “And the CERF continues to deliver in the face of new challenges.”

Currently, the Fund is one of the earliest and largest supporters of early response in countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi and Honduras that are being affected by the El Niño phenomenon, which is one of the strongest in decades.

The world has changed radically over the past decade. But despite the generosity of donors, the gap between humanitarian needs and the resources available to meet them is growing every year, the secretary-general declared.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com

Ninety per cent of voters in the Central African Republic (CAR) are in favour of the new Constitution, according to partial election results, while campaigning is now under way for the presidential elections and the final list of parliamentary candidates has been published, the United Nations mission in the country reported today.

Funerals have been taking place across Ethiopia's Oromia region after weeks of clashes between security forces and protesters.

Ilsy Membreño separates green and red coffee beans, part of the tasks involved in the harvest on the Montebelo farm in El Salvador. The drop in production caused by coffee leaf rust has driven wages down to just three dollars a day. Credit: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

By Edgardo Ayala
EL CONGO, El Salvador , Dec 18 2015 (IPS)

Sitting in front of a pile of coffee beans that she has just picked, Ilsy Membreño separates the green cherries from the ripe red ones with a worried look on her face, lamenting the bad harvest on the farm where she works in western El Salvador and the low daily wages she is earning.

As it spread through this country and the rest of Central America, the fungus (Hemileia vastatrix) that causes coffee leaf rust infected the farm where she works.

“There is less coffee to pick, and in the end there is less money for us,” lamented Membreño, one of 30 people working in the harvest on the Montebelo farm in the municipality of El Congo in the western Salvadoran department (province) of Santa Ana.

The parasitic fungus feeds off the leaves of the plants, infecting them with yellow and brown spots. The leaves fall off and the beans are unable to mature.

Coffee production generates some 150,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs, according to the report “Coffee Cultivation in El Salvador 2013”, drawn up by the governmental Salvadoran Coffee Council (CSC). Between 1995 and 2012, coffee represented 7.5 percent of the country’s total exports.

The fungus threatens to further impoverish El Salvador’s rural areas, where 36 percent of households already live in poverty, according to the government’s Multiple-Purpose Households Survey 2013.

Membreño told IPS that before the coffee leaf rust outbreak ravaged the farm, she picked two quintals (92 kilos) a day, earning around eight dollars a day during the three-month harvest.“The disease caught us with our pants down.” -- Julio Grande

“But now I don’t even manage to pick one quintal, and I earn just three dollars a day,” she said with resignation.

The other day labourers who talked to IPS described a similar situation when we visited the privately-owned farm, which is 116 manzanas (a manzana is equivalent to 0.7 hectare) in size.

Climate change has also hurt the coffee crop, with lengthy droughts in the rainy season and heavy rains in the dry season.

“The rain has knocked the coffee beans off, and we lose time picking them up,” said Sonia Hernández, a mother of three who is also working on the Montebelo farm, told IPS.

Official figures published on the CSC web site show that output plunged from 1.7 million quintals in the 2012-2013 harvest to just 700,000 in the 2013-2014 harvest, due to the coffee leaf rust outbreak.

In the period in question, the total payments to temporary harvest workers dropped from 21.6 million dollars to 8.7 million dollars.

Production rallied somewhat during the 2014-2015 harvest, to 925,000 quintals. The CSC’s forecast for the 2015-2016 harvest is 998,000 quintals – still below the output obtained prior to the outbreak.

“Without a harvest, these poor people don’t have work,” Manuel Morán, the foreman, told IPS.

Montebelo is in the Apaneca-Lamatepec mountains, where conditions are perfect for coffee cultivation. But neither corn nor beans, the staples of the Salvadoran diet, are grown in the area.

And without land to grow subsistence crops or money to buy food, the people in this rural community face threats to their food security.

“We don’t have anywhere to plant corn or beans, we depend on our work on this farm for a living,” said Membreño.

There are approximately 19,500 coffee growers in the country, 86 percent of whom are small farmers with less than 10 manzanas of land, who represent 21 percent of the total national output, according to the CSC.

“Outside of harvest time, we gather firewood, that’s how we support ourselves, because there isn’t anything else here,” said Membreño, who has an eight-year-old son. Her husband works in the same activities.

Coffee leaf rust, found in El Salvador since the late 1970s, began to spread rapidly in 2012. But the devastating effects were not felt until 2013, and caught coffee growers as well as the government off guard.

“The disease caught us with our pants down,” Julio Grande, a researcher at the governmental National Centre of Agricultural and Forest Technology (CENTA), told IPS.

In one area of the Montebelo farm, he is studying the biology of the parasite and the epidemiology of the disease, while testing fungicides.

The idea is integral treatment of the disease, simultaneously focusing on fertilisation of the plant, pruning, and the use of fungicides, he said.

These three elements together can bring good results, he added.

In fact, in the areas where he used fungicides, the coffee bushes are relatively healthy, and out of danger.

“The fungicides work, but if the other aspects of the equation are neglected, the effect is limited,” he added.

Renewing coffee plantations is an effective technique, because the older the plants, the more vulnerable they are to the fungus, the researcher added. El Salvador’s coffee trees are considered old – over 30 years old.

Besides technical assistance, fungicides and other inputs, the government distributed around eight million coffee rust-resistant plants to 4,200 farmers, to begin a process of renewal of their fields, Adán Hernández, manager of Centa’s coffee division, told IPS.

And on their own, farmers have planted another eight million, he added.

But large-scale renovation would require heavy government investment, to buy from private nurseries the 300 million seedlings needed to plant the 217,000 manzanas of coffee bushes in the country. And at any rate, there are not enough seeds available to do that.

Meanwhile, sitting next to the pile of coffee cherries, Ilsy Membreño has just one thing on her mind: how to get by on three dollars a day.

Edited by Verónica Firme/Translated by Stephanie Wildes

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