Garang Malak

GARANG A. MALAK

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

Wednesday October 20 2021

A man stands opposite the modern port at the harbour in Port Sudan at Red Sea State. FILE PHOTO | REUTERS

Summary

Blessed with natural resources such as gold and rich in maritime biodiversity, the picturesque region of white sands and mangroves stretches some 714 kilometres (444 miles) -- from Sudan's borders with Egypt in the north to Eritrea in the south.
But traffic through Sudan's main maritime nerve centre Port Sudan has been paralysed since anti-government protests broke out in mid-September.
The protests are just the latest chapter in decades of intense tribal and factional infighting driven in part by Sudan's shifting political alliances under ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

By AFP

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From Washington to Moscow, Tehran to Ankara, Sudan's strategic Red Sea ports, blockaded for a month by protesters, have long been eyed by global powers far beyond Africa's borders.

Blessed with natural resources such as gold and rich in maritime biodiversity, the picturesque region of white sands and mangroves stretches some 714 kilometres (444 miles) -- from Sudan's borders with Egypt in the north to Eritrea in the south.

"Sudan's Red Sea ports are a trade hub for neighbouring landlocked countries like Chad, Ethiopia and central Africa," Ahmed Mahgoub, head of Port Sudan's southern terminal, told AFP.

But traffic through Sudan's main maritime nerve centre Port Sudan has been paralysed since anti-government protests broke out in mid-September amid disenchantment with the region's political and economic marginalisation.

So, since October much of the trade has been re-routed via other regional ports, mostly in Egypt.

The protests are just the latest chapter in decades of intense tribal and factional infighting driven in part by Sudan's shifting political alliances under ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

He was deposed in April 2019 after mass protests against his three-decade iron-fisted rule.

Demonstrators say they oppose an October 2020 peace deal between Sudan's post-Bashir transitional government and rebel groups as "it does not represent" them.

Militarily strategic

The protests in the east have also triggered unrest in the capital Khartoum, where pro-military demonstrations erupted on Saturday demanding the dissolution of the embattled transitional government.

But for foreign powers who covet Sudan's Red Sea coast, the region has strategic military dimensions.

It hosted Iranian fleets for decades under Bashir, to the dismay of Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, whose Red Sea port of Jeddah lies opposite Port Sudan on the other side of the waterway.

And in 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bashir negotiated the building of a naval base in Port Sudan, to be staffed by up to 300 military and civilian personnel and to include nuclear-powered vessels.

That same year Bashir also signed a 99-year lease for the island of Suakin with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a move that angered Egypt and other rival Sunni Muslim powerhouses worried about Ankara's spreading regional influence.

The deal provides for building maintenance, docks for ships and renovating Ottoman-era edifices on the island.

Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II is said to have dubbed Suakin the "white city" as it is home to spectacular buildings made of porous coralline limestone quarried from coral reef.

Suakin is one of many Red Sea islands held by Sudan which analysts see as "integral to the country's national security".

The islands cover a total area of 23,100 square kilometres (8,9100 square miles), equivalent to the size of Djibouti, said Shaimaa Abdelsameea, a professor at the Red Sea University.

'Race for control'

These islands could be used as observation outposts or for conducting military manoeuvres, she noted.

"They are however all uninhabited, making them vulnerable to illicit activities including smuggling," said Ahmed Abdelaziz, a professor at Port Sudan University.

Sudan had sought to cement its ties with Russia under Bashir to offset the crippling sanctions imposed by Washington against his autocratic regime.

And last year, Moscow announced the signing of a 25-year agreement with Khartoum to build and operate the base in Port Sudan.

However, in June, Sudan said it was still "reviewing" the deal after it found that some clauses were "somewhat harmful".

The move came as Khartoum pushed to solidify ties with the United States following Bashir's ouster.

In December, Washington removed Khartoum from its crippling State Sponsors of Terrorism list, a designation that had long strangled Sudan's economy.

The lifting of sanctions took place after a meeting between former US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Senior US military officials have since visited Sudan.

"The Red Sea is a key waterway for the movement of American fleets," according to Abdelsameea.

"It links the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and the Fifth in the Arabian Gulf," she said.

"So, the race for control over Sudanese ports is very natural."

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Youth plan protest memorials a year after bloody Nigerian crackdown

Wednesday October 20 2021

A protester holds up a scarf with the same colours as the Nigerian national flag during a live concert at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, on October 15, 2020, during a demonstration to protest against police brutality and scrapping of Special Anti-Robbery Squad. PHOTO | FILE

Summary

Messages calling on youths to rally in the capital Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt to "honour the memory of the victims" have been shared tens of thousands of times across social networks.
Youth-led demonstrations against police brutality in Africa's most populous country came to a halt after October 20, 2020, when security forces shot at thousands of peaceful protesters gathered at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos.
Nigeria set up the judicial panel last year to investigate the bloodshed and wider allegations of police abuses.

By AFP

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Activists say they will stage commemorations in several cities in Nigeria Wednesday, one year after security forces violently suppressed protests, despite several warnings from the authorities.

Messages calling on youths to rally in the capital Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt to "honour the memory of the victims" have been shared tens of thousands of times across social networks.

Youth-led demonstrations against police brutality in Africa's most populous country came to a halt after October 20, 2020, when security forces shot at thousands of peaceful protesters gathered at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos.

The crackdown was live-streamed on social media and Amnesty International has since said it has confirmed that at least 10 people were killed.

The Nigerian army denied shooting live rounds, telling a judicial panel only blanks were used to disperse a crowd that had violated a curfew.

The protest movement that has sprung up since is named after the social media hashtag #EndSARS.

It started as a campaign to close the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit but snowballed into wider protests against bad governance.

'Fallen heroes'

The singer Falz, who has over eight million followers on Instagram, is among those who shared details of a planned rally in Lagos.

"It is impossible for us not to memorialise our fallen heroes," Falz wrote. "We will never ever forget."

"Innocent Nigerian citizens waved flags and sang till they were shot at, injured and killed."

A procession of cars would cross through the tollgate, the epicentre of the earlier demonstrations, to mark the anniversary, he said.

"We know their way, so a procession of cars is the safest option to minimise police harassment," he added.

Recent weeks have seen multiple warnings against more EndSARS protests by the authorities, who say they turned into rioting and pillaging last year.

According to Amnesty, at least 56 people died nationwide during the weeks of protests.

Police reported 51 civilians and 22 officers killed in and around the demonstrations, with 205 police stations and other buildings set ablaze or vandalised.

In February, several dozen protesters gathered at the Lekki tollgate to demand justice for the victims of the crackdown. All the protesters were arrested.

Lawyer Moe Odele took to Twitter to urge all lawyers who tried to represent those arrested to "stand by tomorrow" for the memorial.

"They will not intimidate us into silence," said Odele.

Culture of impunity

A major deployment of security forces is expected Wednesday in Lagos, particularly at the Lekki tollgate, where several police units have already been deployed over recent nights, witnesses have told AFP.

In the federal capital Abuja, gathering is scheduled at the Unity fountain, scene of previous demonstrations and physical attacks on protesters last year.

At other southern cities including Port Harcourt and Nsukka, candle-lit marches are set for the evening.

In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Tuesday that victims were still awaiting justice.

It said it had interviewed 54 people, including victims and their family members, protesters, civil society members, doctors and journalists.

The rights group was unable to confirm a death toll but witnesses told researchers they saw "what appeared to be at least 15 lifeless bodies and that military officers had taken away at least 11."

"Failure to pursue justice will strengthen the culture of impunity and reinforce the perceptions that brought protesters to the streets in the first place," said HRW researcher Anietie Ewang.

Nigeria set up the judicial panel last year to investigate the bloodshed and wider allegations of police abuses.

Public hearings ended on Monday and its findings should shortly go to the government.

In the headlines

Kilimanjaro, Kenya glaciers to vanish by 2040

UN report warns that glaciers on mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change.

Stella Nyanzi: Uganda's 'rudest woman'

Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective -- and entertaining -- way to shake people out of their apathy.

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

Rwanda tries to ease tension after incursion in Congo

After mining, DRC turns focus on 'illegal' logging

Polls for Somalia Lower House to start next week

Turkey frees Ugandan blogger who had ‘killed’ Museveni

Stella Nyanzi: Uganda's 'rudest woman'

Wednesday October 20 2021

Dr Stella Nyanzi. PHOTO | FILE

Summary

The former university researcher, who holds a doctorate on sexuality in Africa says she stands ready and armed with an arsenal of explicit imagery designed to shock and provoke change.
A polarising figure, Nyanzi has drawn scorn from religious conservatives, and even from some feminists, who criticise her relentless focus on sex.

By AFP

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Her sexually explicit protests have been likened to pornography, but Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective -- and entertaining -- way to shake people out of their apathy.

"I learnt very early that there are some topics in Uganda that are tired and... the only way to capture attention is to introduce some shock value," the 47-year-old told AFP in an interview in Kampala.

And plenty of people have been shocked by Nyanzi's methods, which range from calling President Yoweri Museveni "a pair of buttocks" to baring her breasts during a court hearing.

But the former university researcher, who holds a doctorate on sexuality in Africa and boasts nearly 300,000 followers on Facebook, is unrepentant.

"We don't see or we pretend we don't see what's happening in society especially the excesses and the violations" under Museveni's decades-long authoritarian rule, she said.

"To say to a violent, militant, brutal regime that you are violent, stop, does not (have) as much impact as to say... f*#! the r#!^*&! militant p!#*& of the dictatorship."

She has paid a high price for her willingness to challenge authority -- imprisoned for "cyber-harassment" in 2019 after she posted a profane poem on Facebook about Museveni and suffering a miscarriage after being beaten in jail.

Although she insists that her losses are "not worth writing home about", grief is at the heart of her quest to bring down Museveni.

After losing her parents in quick succession six years ago -- unable to find life-saving medicines or get an ambulance in time -- Nyanzi turned to humour, in part to escape the overwhelming sadness that engulfed her.

In her hands, however, humour has also become a weapon to channel her rage against a government she blames for the deaths of her parents and thousands of Ugandans who lack access to reliable health care and other public services.

Read: Stella Nyanzi: My activism comes from grief and pain

'Radical rudeness'

A polarising figure, Nyanzi has drawn scorn from religious conservatives, and even from some feminists, who criticise her relentless focus on sex.

"I am tired of feminists telling me how I am wrong and how I can't do this and how this is anti-feminist," she said.

"Just allow me to be free, to do my own thinking and my own protest," she said, pointing out that her no-holds-barred approach to sexuality is based in pre-Christian Ugandan culture and aimed at empowering women by encouraging them to discuss taboo subjects.

Her tactics also borrow from a political tradition of "radical rudeness", which has its roots in the country's anti-colonial struggle.

And while her blistering online diatribes comparing Museveni's regime to parasitic pubic lice have earned her the tag of "Uganda's rudest woman", the strategy has also made her a social media star outside the country.

Online threats from pro-government trolls don't faze her.

"I am not looking for love and hugs," she said.

"I go to social media very consciously and very purposefully to speak truth to power, truth which our traditional public media no longer speaks."

Furthermore, the toxic rhetoric she encounters pales in comparison to the very real risks faced by many activists in Uganda.

Nyanzi fled to Kenya earlier this year after her partner was allegedly abducted and tortured.

Although she has since returned to Kampala, she is contemplating the possibility of a life in exile to protect her three children.

Read: Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi flees to Kenya

'Expression of rage'

But the self-described optimist, who contested parliamentary elections in January and lost, has no plans to throw in the towel.

"The hope that (Uganda) can change and may become better for the next generation keeps me going," she said.

With a median age that is less than 16, most Ugandans have no memory of life before Museveni. The former rebel seized power in 1986, after toppling two presidents.

At 77, he belongs firmly to her "father's generation", Nyanzi said.

"Museveni is living on borrowed time... his family and his system will one day be out of power."

When that happens, she hopes that her compulsion to protest will also become a thing of the past.

But until then, she stands ready and armed with an arsenal of explicit imagery designed to shock and provoke change.

"What I am doing is not erotica and it's not pornography. It's rage and the expression of rage using my body."

In the headlines

Kilimanjaro, Kenya glaciers to vanish by 2040

UN report warns that glaciers on mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change.

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

Rwanda tries to ease tension after incursion in Congo

After mining, DRC turns focus on 'illegal' logging

Polls for Somalia Lower House to start next week

Turkey frees Ugandan blogger who had ‘killed’ Museveni

Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya, Rwenzori glaciers to disappear by 2040

Wednesday October 20 2021

Tourists at the top of Mt Kenya. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Summary

Mount Kenya is expected to be deglaciated a decade sooner, the WMO said, which will make it one of the first entire mountain ranges to lose glacier cover due to human-induced climate change, according to the report.

By BRIAN NGUGI

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East African glaciers will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change, a new United Nations (UN) backed report warned Tuesday.

The report from the World Meteorological Organisation and other agencies, released ahead of the UN climate conference in Scotland that starts October 31, forecast that at current rates all glaciers on Mt Kenya, Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro and Uganda’s Rwenzoris - would be gone by the 2040s.

Only three mountains in Africa are covered by glaciers: the Mount Kenya massif, the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda, and the continent's highest Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Even though the glaciers are too small to act as significant water reservoirs, WMO underlined their touristic and scientific importance.

Mount Kenya, an extinct volcano that is a key attraction site for tourists because of its glaciers, is Africa's second-highest peak after Kilimanjaro.

It is expected to be deglaciated a decade sooner, the WMO said, which will make it one of the first entire mountain ranges to lose glacier cover due to human-induced climate change, according to the report.

“The rapid shrinking of the last remaining glaciers in eastern Africa, which are expected to melt entirely in the near future, signals the threat of ... irreversible change to the Earth system,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in the report.

A report in 2017 said that the Lewis Glacier, the largest on Mt Kenya, has decreased by 90 percent in volume since 1934, with the highest rates of ice volume loss occurring around the turn of the century.

The State of the Climate in Africa 2020 report highlights Africa’s disproportionate vulnerability but also reveals how investing in climate adaptation, early warning systems, and weather and climate services can pay off.

It said climate change contributed to mounting food insecurity, poverty and displacement in Africa last year.

Apart from worsening drought which impacted agriculture, there was extensive flooding recorded in East and West Africa in 2020, the report noted, while a locust infestation of historic proportions, which began a year earlier, continued to wreak havoc.

In May this year, a separate report by British charity Christian Aid warned climate change is set to ravage tea production in Kenya, the biggest global supplier of black tea, threatening the livelihoods of millions of plantation workers and tea farmers.

The report looked at how shifting temperatures and rainfall patterns in tea-growing regions in Kenya, India, Sri Lanka and China could affect the quality and yield of the world's most popular beverage.

Kenya is highly vulnerable to climate change, with projections suggesting its average annual temperature will rise by up to 2.5 degrees Celsius between 2000 and 2050, said Christian Aid's report.

Ahead of crucial UN climate talks in Glasgow, campaigners are calling for countries to cut carbon emissions, cancel the debts of developing countries such as Kenya, and mobilise climate finance to help countries adapt.

In the headlines

Stella Nyanzi: Uganda's 'rudest woman'

Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective -- and entertaining -- way to shake people out of their apathy.

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

Rwanda tries to ease tension after incursion in Congo

After mining, DRC turns focus on 'illegal' logging

Polls for Somalia Lower House to start next week

Turkey frees Ugandan blogger who had ‘killed’ Museveni

Uganda Cranes coach 'Micho' sentenced for sexual assault

Tuesday October 19 2021

Zambia coach Milutin Sredojevic reacts during their friendly match against Kenya at Nyayo National Stadium on October 9, 2020. Micho was on July 27, 2021 appointed as Uganda Cranes head coach. PHOTO | NMG

Summary

Micho was handed a suspended jail term after being convicted on two counts of sexual assault in the Gqeberha Regional Court on Tuesday
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the sexual assault happened when the woman delivered coffee to Micho and his colleagues at the 2020 Cosafa Cup
Upon delivering coffee, the victim allegedly asked Micho if he wanted sugar with his coffee but the Serbian mentor said no, before allegedly saying he wanted ‘another type of sugar’ while pointing at the woman’s private parts

By DARREN ALLAN KYEYUNE

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Fufa has given Uganda Cranes coach Milutin "Micho" Sredojevic permission to attend a private matter in South Africa after he was convicted of sexual assault.

“We have this afternoon received information that the private matter has been concluded for now. The coach will come back to resume his duties accordingly,” Fufa wrote in a two-paragraph statement.

Micho was handed a suspended jail term after being convicted on two counts of sexual assault in the Gqeberha Regional Court on Tuesday.

“This afternoon a barista accused Sredojevic of touching her buttocks and making inappropriate sexual remarks towards her during the U-21 Afcon qualifiers in the VIP section of the Wolfson Stadium, where she was working,” www.heraldlive.co.za reported.

The Serbian was sentenced to three years imprisonment, suspended for five years. What this means is that Micho should not be found guilty of the similar offence in the next five years – and should this be the case, he will be arrested with immediate effect.

At the time, Micho was the head coach of the Zambian senior national team – and this was a year after he had left South Africa’s Orlando Pirates for Zamalek (Egypt).

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the sexual assault happened when the woman delivered coffee to Micho and his colleagues at the 2020 Cosafa Cup.

Upon delivering coffee, the victim allegedly asked Micho if he wanted sugar with his coffee but the Serbian mentor said no, before allegedly saying he wanted ‘another type of sugar’ while pointing at the woman’s private parts.

The said woman then laid a complaint to her boss who, in turn, reprimanded Micho and warned him not to do it again.

However, Micho allegedly went further later that day, touching the same woman inappropriately – and that’s when the case of sexual assault was opened against the now Uganda head coach.

He was arrested and released on a R10, 000 ($684.99) bail. He had been in and out of the court, and on Tuesday, he was found guilty and subsequently slapped with a suspended five-year sentence.

In the headlines

Kilimanjaro, Kenya glaciers to vanish by 2040

UN report warns that glaciers on mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change.

Stella Nyanzi: Uganda's 'rudest woman'

Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective -- and entertaining -- way to shake people out of their apathy.

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

Rwanda tries to ease tension after incursion in Congo

After mining, DRC turns focus on 'illegal' logging

Polls for Somalia Lower House to start next week

Turkey frees Ugandan blogger who had ‘killed’ Museveni

Rwanda tries to ease tension after incursion in DR Congo

Tuesday October 19 2021

Rwandan soldiers in Kanyesheza on the Rwanda-DR Congo border in 2014. FILE PHOTO | AFP

Summary

Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) said it was pursuing smugglers who crossed the border at Hehu in Rubavu District.
In Kinshasa, civil society organisations and Congolese politicians had described the incursion as “an act of provocation.”
But Rwanda has been quick to reassure its neighbour that they enjoy a cordial relationship.

By PATRICK ILUNGA

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Rwanda army has acknowledged incursion into the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, describing it as unintentional.

The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) said it was pursuing smugglers who crossed the border at Hehu in Rubavu District.

“Rwandan law enforcement forces unintentionally crossed a few metres into the DRC while pursuing the smugglers who were carrying unidentified packages and believed to have been armed,” said RDF in a statement on Tuesday.

In Kinshasa, civil society organisations and Congolese politicians had described the incursion as “an act of provocation.”

The National Assembly even summoned the Defence minister to respond to the lawmakers' queries on the reported border clash between RDF and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).

But Rwanda has been quick to reassure its neighbour that they enjoy a cordial relationship.

“The RDF and FARDC maintain good relations and continue to collaborate on security matters,” the Rwanda army said.

On Monday, Congolese military officials accused the Rwandan army of invading six villages in North Kivu province, resulting in a clash between the two sides.

“They came within 200 metres of the national road number 2. They were contained by armed forces … until the arrival of reinforcements, they turned back,” Col Ndjike Kaiko Guillaume, head of the military operations in North Kivu said.

He added that there was an exchange of fire from “support and individual weapons”.

“We recovered a weapon and there was also looting,” the military chief said.

Rwanda’s ambassador to DR Congo, speaking from North Kivu, had dismissed the allegations of a clash and looting, saying there was no evidence.

“The fact is very minor around the pursuit of a fraudster. The rest is just buzz from … fabricated tension," ambassador Vincent Karega said on Monday.

Congolese army officials said they would refer the matter to an International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

"We are all members of the joint verification mechanism. We are going to refer the matter to this mechanism in the near future to find out the motive for this attack," Col Guillaume said.

The DRC and Rwanda have had a tumultuous relationship for years. However, relations have been thawing, with the two countries recently signing bilateral agreements including on gold mining and production.

In the headlines

Kilimanjaro, Kenya glaciers to vanish by 2040

UN report warns that glaciers on mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change.

Stella Nyanzi: Uganda's 'rudest woman'

Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective -- and entertaining -- way to shake people out of their apathy.

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

After mining, DRC turns focus on 'illegal' logging

Polls for Somalia Lower House to start next week

Turkey frees Ugandan blogger who had ‘killed’ Museveni

COP26: Book calls for more scientific research to advance blue economy

Tuesday October 19 2021

The Kenyatta International Convention Centre venue of the global blue economy conference in Nairobi, Kenya. PHOTO | DAILY NATION

Summary

The publication, Science, Research and Innovation for Harnessing the Blue Economy, is an outcome of the Science and Research Symposium segment of the three-day Sustainable Blue Economy Conference held in November 2018 in Nairobi.
It is an initiative between the government of Kenya and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and it represents the developments that have taken place since the 2018 conference.
The 156 page documentation highlights a broad range of topics canvassed by the knowledge community, including the place of science and research in the blue economy and the sustainable use of minerals and energy resources.

By FAUSITNE NGILA

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Scientific discourse must be at the centre of interventions aimed at reversing global environmental change, as leaders prepare for the e upcoming 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

The sentiments were made during the unveiling of a book on the use of technology in advancing the potential of the blue economy in a virtual event in New York, ahead of the COP26 summit to be held between October 31 and November 12.

The publication, Science, Research and Innovation for Harnessing the Blue Economy, is an outcome of the Science and Research Symposium segment of the three-day Sustainable Blue Economy Conference held in November 2018 in Nairobi.

It is an initiative between the government of Kenya and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and it represents the developments that have taken place since the 2018 conference.

Dr Vladimir Ryabinin, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO said documentation of scientific knowledge and innovations showcased at the Nairobi event is critical for governments to take action against climate change hazards on the blue economy front.

“The innovations showcased at the 2018 conference and which are captured in the book will also be relevant to scientists, civil society and the private sector as they generate the science we need for the ocean we want,” said Dr Ryabinin.

The 156 page documentation highlights a broad range of topics canvassed by the knowledge community, including the place of science and research in the blue economy and the sustainable use of minerals and energy resources.

It expounds on deep sea mining, sustainable shipping, maritime transport, management of coastal zones as well as the governance and security of the blue economy.

It also accentuates a barrage of new initiatives triggered by SBEC 2018 and intended to advance the promise of the blue economy globally.

The book notes that a key challenge to advancing the promise of the blue economy in developing countries, especially in small island development states (SIDs) and Africa in general, remains the lack of scientific capacity.

The Global Ocean Science Report of 2020 concludes that major disparities exist in the capacity around the world to undertake marine scientific research.

SEI, through its global strategy for oceans and biodiversity, aims to bridge science and policy through the quartet identified as sources of marine pollution; coastal resilience and adaptation, governance of the blue economy, and commodity–driven land-use change and biodiversity loss.

“Our work with climate adaptation in coasts and islands is informing governments around the world on integrating aspects related for example to cascading risks, vulnerabilities, and justice into spatial planning and environmental policy,” said Prof Mans Nilsson, the SEI executive director.

United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson congratulated the Kenyan government for publishing the book, noting that it was a timely contribution to the repertoire of scientific information that has the potential to influence on the ground actions across the world that are necessary to inform sustainable goals that have a water and ocean dimension.

“It is impossible to have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean. A sustainable blue economy is humanity’s only hope for a future that can be bequeathed to the next generation,” he said.

And as part of the actions to strengthen science for environment and climate diplomacy, SEI Africa said it is collaborating with Kenya in several other areas including the lead up to COP26 and the 2022 UN Ocean Conference.

“In building the scientific knowledge base for informed policy action on blue economy in Africa, we are delighted to have made the dream of the book become a reality and are extremely proud of this partnership,” said Philip Osano, SEI Africa director and also a member of the book’s editorial committee that was led by chief editor, Prof George Outa, a SEI-affiliated researcher on environment and climate diplomacy.

The New York event also builds the momentum for the 2022 United Nations conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 scheduled to be co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal in Lisbon.

The publication could prove crucial for policy development and implementation, as it calls for an interdisciplinary approach to science and research that includes biophysical science, law and policy, human geography and finance, which are all required in generating state of the art evidence-based decision making.

“The publication of this book underlines my very strong conviction that scientific knowledge, and the unceasing quest for it, is the cornerstone of every human advancement,” said Amb Macharia Kamau, Kenya’s Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr Francis Owino, Principal Secretary responsible for the Blue Economy in Kenya noted that while major disparities exist in capacities around the world to undertake blue economy scientific research necessary for proper management of human activities, the success to that cause lies in the ability to strengthen synergies.

In the headlines

Kilimanjaro, Kenya glaciers to vanish by 2040

UN report warns that glaciers on mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori will disappear in the next two decades because of climate change.

Stella Nyanzi: Uganda's 'rudest woman'

Ugandan activist and writer Stella Nyanzi says sex is the most effective -- and entertaining -- way to shake people out of their apathy.

Why Sudan’s Red Sea ports are coveted by regional powers

Rwanda tries to ease tension after incursion in Congo

After mining, DRC turns focus on 'illegal' logging

Polls for Somalia Lower House to start next week

Turkey frees Ugandan blogger who had ‘killed’ Museveni

After mining, DR Congo turns focus on 'illegal' forest harvesting contracts

Tuesday October 19 2021

Workers at a forest harvesting site in the Congo basin. FILE PHOTO | BIOSPHOTO | AFP

By PATRICK ILUNGA

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The Democratic Republic of Congo government has announced an imminent purge of “doubtful contracts” in the forestry sector, promising another round of anxiety in an area of the economy deemed exploited by foreign entities.

The decision was announced on Monday by the government spokesman and Minister for Information Patrick Muyaya, who said Kinshasa would revisit all permits on tree harvesting to ensure they are not exploiting the country.

Mr Muyaya said line officials had been directed to conduct a “technical and financial” audit on all forest concessions in the DRC.

President Felix Tshisekedi, he said, has also ordered Ève Bazaiba, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Environment and Sustainable Development, to suspend “all doubtful contracts pending the outcome of the audit.”

According to an initial verification, the Congolese government claims numerous “illegal” contracts, among them “those signed in September 2020, including six concessions by a single company covering a total area of 1,376,375 hectares in violation of the law.”

DRC law limits the acreage control by a single firm to 500,000 hectares.

This review primarily targets a firm known as Trade Link Sarl based in Lubumbashi, the biggest city in southwestern region of Haut-Katanga.

In September last year, the Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development Claude Nyamugabo Bazibuhe signed six concessions, raising eyebrows on whether due diligence was followed.

In February this year, environment conservation charity group Greenpeace called for the cancellation of four forestry concession contracts covering more than 777,000 hectares awarded to Group Services, a local operator, which it deemed “illegal.”

In September 2020, Codelt and Océan, two civil society organisations, appealed to the Council of States to invalidate the granting of nine forest concessions valued at nearly two million hectares, notably because of the violation of the 2005 moratorium on the authorisation of new forest concessions.

“We know how important the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo are in the fight against climate change. If the DRC really wants to play an important role in the fight against these scourges, what is the point of giving more than two million hectares for industrial exploitation?”

In Africa, the DRC is the leading forestry country, home to 60 percent of the Congo Basin’s dense forests, the second-largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon with 375 million hectares. The region is often referred to as the ‘right lung’ of the world, with the left being the Amazon.

The depletion of forests, often under hazy contracts, has also been cited by critics as the continual exploitation of Congo’s natural resources, something President Tshisekedi promised to end.

Mining

Last month, Kinshasa also announced a purge of mining contracts, promising to suspend those with exploitative clauses and renegotiate them.

The programme to clean the sector, Congo’s biggest source of revenue, is a result of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July. Under this arrangement, the IMF committed to a three-year credit to the tune of $1.5 billion.

But it came with conditions, which included enhancing the fight against graft and cleaning up messy lopsided mining agreements granted to foreign firms.

The arrangement is such that the DRC must revise old agreements for mining and set up policies that will prevent future deals from being one-sided.

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Turkey's Erdogan promises 'win-win' pacts with Africa

Tuesday October 19 2021

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Summary

Since taking office nearly two decades ago, first as prime minister, Erdogan has been fostering ties with Africa, presenting Turkey as a fairer player than the continent's former colonial powers and China.

By AFP

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday wound up a visit to Angola, the first leg of a three-nation African tour, where he accused the West of ignoring calls for change on the continent.

Since taking office nearly two decades ago, first as prime minister, Erdogan has been fostering ties with Africa, presenting Turkey as a fairer player than the continent's former colonial powers and China.

"We as Turkey attach great importance and value to our close cooperation with the continent of Africa," he told business leaders in Luanda on Monday evening, according to a statement from his AK party.

"We desire to advance our relations on the basis of win-win and equal partnership while observing mutual respect".

In an earlier address to the Angolan parliament posted on the Turkish presidency website, he said "the fate of the humanity cannot and should not be left to the mercy of a handful of countries that were the victors of the Second World War".

"Ignoring the demands for change is an injustice to Africa," he added, noting that Turkey bore "no stain" of imperialism or colonialism and rejected "Western-centric Orientalist approaches" to the continent.

In talks with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco, he touted Turkey's natural gas reserves and distribution network, which he said "would be pleased to share our experiences".

Erdogan's next stop is Togo, followed by Africa's economic powerhouse Nigeria.

Before travelling to Angola, Erdogan boasted 38 visits to 28 countries since he became prime minister in 2003.

Turkey has 43 embassies on the continent and its national airline is now serving more than 60 African cities, including a direct link between Istanbul and Luanda launched last week.

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