OTIENO OTIENO

AU should worry about Sudan and Ethiopia animosity

Sunday July 03 2022

A map of Sudan and Ethiopia. GRAPHIC | NMG

By The EastAfrican

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The latest skirmishes between Ethiopia and Sudan over the disputed Al-Fashaqa enclave highlights the fragile nature of security in the greater Horn of Africa and the many unresolved territorial claims in Africa. Khartoum launched volleys of artillery fire into Ethiopia, after it claimed Addis troops had killed seven of its soldiers and a civilian.

Al-Fashaqa, the bone of contention, is a fertile area in the floodplains of several rivers and is considered Sudan's breadbasket. But, as is common with Africa’s arbitrary borders, it has been settled by Ethiopian farmers.

Not completely new in view of previous clashes between the two neighbours, the latest flareup is worrisome because of its potential to feed into subterranean tensions in both countries. Sudan is still resisting popular pressure for democratic reforms while Ethiopia is dealing with deep internal fissures and a bloody conflict with two of its constituent states. Addis is also at odds with both Khartoum and Cairo over its massive Grand Renaissance Dam that is nearing completion.

Under normal circumstances, such a configuration of factors should be enough to blunt any appetite for war. That could explain the rapid de-escalation by Khartoum and Addis’ reticence in face of shelling by Khartoum. But that does not take away the problem and both parties to the dispute need to commit to a method of resolving it.

And it is not going to be easy to resolve. Ethiopia’s claim to the area is based on the existence of a dominant group of Amharic speakers on the ground.

Khartoum, which treats them as aliens and claims historical rights to the land, says it allowed the Ethiopian settlers on its land based on mutual understanding with previous Ethiopian governments.

Sudan complains that the Ethiopian settlers have exploited this to expand their farmland deeper into its territory.

With Ethiopian militias guarding land they regard as their own, the issue is a source of internal pressure on governments across the divide.

Khartoum is under pressure to provide protection for the Sudanese minority in the area while Ethiopia faces similar pressures from the settlers.

The African Union, which has so far been unsuccessful in defusing this conflict, should be concerned for obvious reasons. The real danger in any escalation is that a border war has the potential to destabilise the region beyond the immediate protagonists. Also, proxy wars could result in unconventional transitions in both countries.

As a first step, both countries should be pushed to accept re-demarcation of common border under international supervision and commit to respect the outcome. That should be followed by negotiations over the status of the settlers.

It would be setting a dangerous precedent if territorial boundaries can be redrawn by simply getting people to settle and occupy a territory of their choice.

It would equally be a dangerous precedent if one country decides that a certain acreage forms part of its territory just because of its attractive natural attributes.

Africa has enough conflicts. Flareups between neighbours undermine the broader goal of regional and continental integration and should be discouraged.

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Sudan border skirmish diverts attention from domestic woes

Saturday July 02 2022

Anti-coup protesters take cover as riot police try to disperse them with a water cannon during a demonstration against military rule in the centre of Sudan's capital Khartoum on June 30, 2022. PHOTO | AFP

By MAWAHIB ABDALLATIF

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The border skirmish between the Sudanese army and the Ethiopian military is diverting the attention of both countries from their respective internal crises, raising concern in the international community that another war front could be opening in the Horn.

This past week, both countries issued warnings to each other before promising to calm tensions. The pledges followed calls from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) to which both countries belong, which raised “concerns” after seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian were killed near the shared border. Khartoum accused the Addis military of “executing” the troops, but Ethiopia claimed a “local militia” had massacred the soldiers.

Igad executive secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said he was calling “on the two sisterly countries to actively seek diplomatic means to find a lasting and sustainable solution”.

In the wake of the killings, Sudan had vowed to “respond” and Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the junta’s Sovereignty Council said the troops had been martyred.

However, following discussions with the European Union, both countries later announced plans to de-escalate. In a meeting with the EU envoy for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, Lt-Gen Al-Burhan affirmed his country’s keenness on “normal and balanced relations with neighbouring Ethiopia”.

Read: AU, EU urge restraint over escalating Sudan-Ethiopia tensions

The Sudanese military later rejected reports it had fired rockets in retaliation.

“Incorrect and misleading breaking news has been reported on some satellite channels and websites, attributed to the Sudanese army and military sources about troop movements and the capturing of Ethiopian soldiers in Al-Fashqa area,” the office of the spokesman for the Sudanese Armed Forces said in a press release.

Brothers

Tweeting in Arabic, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the people of both countries are “brothers”.

“Ethiopia is not and will not be a security threat to Sudan,” he wrote.

The incident came as both countries struggle to return to normalcy following months of conflict and chaos.

In Sudan, a transition has almost stalled after the October 25 coup that deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Civilian protests have been a daily affair in Sudan with activists refusing to even engage in discussions with the junta.

In Ethiopia, ethnic violence between Oromos and Amharas is now threatening peacemaking steps between the government in Addis Ababa and the Tigray Liberation Front, the rebels who have been fighting in the north since November 2020.

“Restoring peace and security in affected communities remains our key priority,” PM Abiy Ahmed said last week. A special committee headed by his deputy Demeke Mekonnen, will spearhead talks with the TPLF.

“Attacks on innocent civilians and destruction of livelihoods by illegal and irregular forces is unacceptable.

“There is zero tolerance for horrific acts claiming lives recently in both Beninshangul and Oromia regions by elements whose main objective is to terrorise communities,” the Prime Minister said referring to the militia attacks.

The area where the skirmishes took place has been a hotspot, with sporadic fire exchanges for the past five decades — the result of unfinished border demarcations between Sudan and Ethiopia in al-Fashqa and Amhara regions.

More than a border dispute

Sudanese political analyst Abd Almueam Abu-Idris told The EastAfrican that although the dispute between Sudan and Ethiopia is about the border, the violence has taken a different route when formal militaries take part.

“This has a link to the economic interests of businessmen from the Amhara,” he said.

“The complexities of the issue and the difficulty of addressing it is caused by this link between the interests of the economically powerful Amhara, who have been cultivating this land from 1995 to 2020, and their political influence, which makes the Ethiopian side intransigent in re-demarcation of the borders as stipulated in all the agreements signed between the two countries.”

Khartoum has accused Ethiopian militias of repeated attacks on the Sudanese area of Al-Fashqa, located on the border with Ethiopia, with the aim of evicting farmers. Ethiopia denies the allegations, but the attacks may mean Addis cannot guarantee security especially since it cannot control the actions of the militias.

Read: Sudan accuses Ethiopia of killing 7 soldiers, civilian

Also read: Ethiopia denies Sudan claims of execution of soldiers, civilian

The history of the border conflict with Ethiopia dates back more than 120 years, when Britain ended its occupation of Sudan and the latter began demarcating borders with its neighbours.

Al-Fashqa is isolated from the rest of Sudan, as the area is a peninsula interspersed with Baslam, Atbara and Setit rivers, and is inhabited by hundreds of Ethiopian farmers, even though it is geographically located within the territory of Sudan.

The Ethiopian Amharic people say that the lands of these border areas belong to them. The attacks are almost always in the months of June and July, and then during harvesting seasons.

Various Ethiopian armed forces are active in the Sudanese territory: One is the Ethiopian opposition affiliated with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. On the Ethiopian side is the army itself, as well as unorganised groups affiliated but not controlled by it.

In recent years, these militias have been kidnapping citizens inside the Sudanese borders for ransom, and killing some.

Sudan demands the establishment of border beacons with Ethiopia in the region based on the May 15, 1902 agreement signed in Addis Ababa between Ethiopia and Britain on behalf of Sudan.

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AU, EU urge restraint over escalating Sudan-Ethiopia tensions

Wednesday June 29 2022

African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. PHOTO | FILE

By MAWAHIB ABDALLATIF

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By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE

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Sudan has pledged to deescalate tensions with Addis Ababa over the killing of its seven soldiers and a civilian in Ethiopia whose military it had accused of committing the atrocity.

Two days earlier, Khartoum had vowed to provide an adequate “response”. Reports indicate that Sudan shelled an area near the disputed border region since Monday.

On Tuesday night, the head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan made a promise to calm the situation hours after the reported escalation in which its military is said to have fired heavy artillery into Ethiopia.

The European Union has cautioned the two sides not to go to war. In a meeting between the EU's envoy for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, Lt-Gen Al-Burhan affirmed his country's keenness on “normal and balanced relations with neighbouring Ethiopia.”

The Sudanese Sovereignty Council said in a statement: “The meeting dealt with the unfortunate incident in the Al-Fashqa area, in which the Ethiopian army killed seven prisoners [who were] Sudanese soldiers, and a civilian, who were kidnapped from inside Sudanese territory.”

Read: Sudan accuses Ethiopia of killing 7 soldiers, civilian

Voice concern

On Wednesday, the African Union also voiced concern over "escalating military tension" between Ethiopia and Sudan, calling for restraint and dialogue.

The AU Commission chairman Musa Faki Mahamat, in a statement Wednesday, appealed for a “complete refrain from any military action whatever its origin and calls for dialogue between the two brotherly countries to solve any dispute.”

Sudan accused Ethiopia of capturing its soldiers and a civilian on June 22 in the disputed Al-Fashqa, which lies within its international boundaries but has been settled by Ethiopian farmers for decades.

Khartoum recalled its ambassador to Addis Ababa on Monday and vowed to lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council and regional organisations.

Addis Ababa said Tuesday that Sudanese forces had crossed into Ethiopian territory and the casualties resulted from a skirmish with a local militia, denying its soldiers were in the area at the time. Ethiopian officials also said Sudan’s armed forces fired heavy artillery into its territory.

Sudan was able to capture Jabal Kala al-Laban, an area near the contested border, on Tuesday following an artillery barrage and an air raid, according to an anonymous Sudanese military source speaking to Reuters news agency.

However, the Sudanese Armed Forces spokesman said in a press release that “incorrect and misleading breaking news has been reported on some satellite channels and websites, attributed to the Sudanese army and military sources about troop movements and the capturing of Ethiopian soldiers in Al-Fashqa area.”

“The Sudanese Armed Forces confirm that it will not issue any speech or statements to these channels or other websites in any matter related to the situation on our eastern borders.”

Speaking to AFP in Khartoum, the army spokesman Nabil Abdalla said: "We have not attacked anyone and we will not and we are not planning that. But we will not allow any armed force from another country that wants to cross our international border. It's our right legally to deal with it."

Read: Ethiopia denies Sudan claims of execution of soldiers, civilian

Skirmishes have occurred between the two neighbouring countries in the past years over the disputed fertile border area of Al-Fashqa. The two sides are yet to formally draw a borderline on the area.

Al-Fashqa has long been cultivated by Ethiopian farmers but claimed by Sudan, and the dispute has sparked sporadic clashes between the Sudanese and Ethiopian sides, some fatal.

- Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters.

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Tuesday June 28 2022

Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen. FILE PHOTO | REUTERS

By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE

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Ethiopia says it regrets the loss of life near its border with Sudan but denied claims that its soldiers were involved, blaming a local militia instead.

The government on Monday said the deadly incident followed skirmishes between Sudanese soldiers and a local militia on Ethiopian territory.

Sudan had accused the Ethiopian army of capturing seven of its soldiers and a civilian and later executing them.

Read: Sudan accuses Ethiopia of killing 7 soldiers, civilian

But Ethiopia claims a Sudanese unit, supported by Tigray rebels, had staged an incursion into its territory, resulting in the skirmishes.

Farmers and pastoralists often clash in the fertile porous border region of al-Fashqa, claimed by the two neighbouring countries.

Addis Ababa said Sudan misrepresented the facts and “unjustly put the blame on Ethiopia,” the Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement it issued Monday afternoon.

Ethiopia says it will investigate the incident.

Khartoum is reported to have filed a formal complaint with the UN Security Council.

Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visited the area and said its “response would be felt on the ground” and that “no new movements or trespasses into Sudanese land would be allowed.”

Ethiopia said it “hopes that the Sudanese Government would restrain itself from any escalation of the incident and would take measures that could de-escalate the situation.”

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Sudan accuses Ethiopia army of killing 7 soldiers, civilian

Monday June 27 2022

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country's de facto leader since the 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir. PHOTO | AFP

By MAWAHIB ABDALLATIF

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Sudan claims seven of its soldiers and a civilian were “executed” by the Ethiopian military after holding them captive.

In a statement on Monday, Sudan’s army said it was riled by the decision to parade the bodies in public and vowed to respond.

“This treacherous action will not go unanswered, and [we] will respond to this cowardly behaviour,” the statement reads.

The Sudanese army said the act “contravenes all laws and customs of war and international humanitarian law.” Brig-Gen Nabil Abdullah, the Sudanese army spokesperson, said the Ethiopian army acted “with all contempt.”

Ethiopia is yet to comment.

Border dispute

Sudan’s junta leader Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, visited the border Al-Asira area in southeast Gedaref state, where the soldiers and a civilian are said to have been taken captive. Some military leaders accompanied him.

The soldiers are said to have been guarding the area during the planting season. Farmers and pastoralists often clash in the fertile porous border area claimed by the two neighbouring countries.

Read: Rockets fired as Ethiopia, Sudan clash again in border row

Tensions have risen in recent years, souring relations and heightened by war, which erupted in November 2020 in the northern Ethiopia region of Tigray, forcing an influx of refugees into Sudan.

Khartoum and Addis Ababa have since been locked in a tense war of words, trading accusations of violence and territorial violations.

The border dispute feeds into wider tensions in the region, including over Ethiopia’s controversial Blue Nile dam.

Read: Why Sudan is wary of third filling of Ethiopia Nile dam

Sudan and Egypt, both downstream countries, have been opposed to the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and are pushing for an agreement over the filling of the reservoir and the operation of the dam.

- Additional reporting by AFP

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Tax disputes, trade wars headache for new EABC board

Sunday July 03 2022

EAC partners are squabbling over trade rules. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK

By LUKE ANAMI

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The East African Business Council (EABC), which last week elected a new executive committee, says it will expedite the formation of a trade remedy committee to deal with disputes and cut disruptions in the East African Community (EAC) Common Market.

The team, elected on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, comes at a crucial time when the EAC partners are squabbling over trade rules, and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all but closed borders to trade over security concerns in the face of violence blamed on the resurgence of the M23 rebel group.

Executive committee

The new team for the private sector lobby, led by Tanzanian Angelina Ngalula, is expected to decisively deal with tariff and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that hinder regional trade.

The executive committee was scheduled to meet Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on June 30, amid threats by Kampala to withdraw duty remission in retaliation to a trade war with Kenya involving agricultural products, and blamed on Nairobi’s persistent introduction of tax measures on Uganda’s exports.

Read: Looming trade war over Kenya tax on Uganda eggs

“We are having so many challenges in accessing markets for Ugandan goods in Kenya.

‘‘In fact, Uganda is trying to pull out of the duty remission scheme but we are working on keeping them there,” said Simon Kaheru, chairperson of the EABC Ugandan Chapter, who was retained as the vice-chair to the council.

“Uganda has surplus industrial sugar but there’s nowhere to sell it. The same with milk and other commodities,” he added.

If Ugandan manufacturers pull out of the duty remission scheme, this would have far-reaching consequences on intra-EAC trade as no country would have mandate to collect import revenues.

“Some of our products, despite high value and low pricing, do not have access to the regional market. Some of our neighbours are contravening our Customs Union and Common Market principles,” complained Tony Gadhoke, CEO of Mukwano Industries, when EABC chief executive John Bosco Kalisa visited the company in Kampala on June 29.

“We call for the elimination of NTBs stay of applications, revision of EAC rules of origin on edible oil, and the electronic gazettement of a region-wide duty remission scheme,” Mr Gadhoke said.

Breaking rules

Mr Kalisa, who also met with Ugandan manufacturers, raised concerns over the manner in which the trade disputes between Kenya and Uganda were being handled.

“We are currently in Uganda and there are complaints that the Kenyan authorities are always imposing tax measures on Ugandan imports without any major consultations,” he said.

Kenya has imposed new tax on poultry, eggs, milk, sugar and other Ugandan products in contravention of EAC regulations.

“Ugandan fresh produce should access the Kenyan market without any constraints.

‘‘But they impose tax measures without consulting them, and that is not good for bilateral trade or even internal trade,” said Mr Kalisa.

Read: Private sector calls for tax uniformity across EAC

The stake of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family in the dairy sector in Kenya is viewed as one of the major factors causing the trade dispute that has lasted three years.

But no evidence has been adduced to the president’s interference in the trade.

Businessmen display eggs for sale. Trade wars continue to rock the EAC bloc. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Kenya is now taxing Ugandan eggs at a rate of Ksh72 ($0.6) per tray, bringing back a levy that had been suspended last December following bilateral talks.

The move has angered Ugandan traders and Kenyan consumers as the price of eggs in Kenya has gone up, courtesy of the imposed 25 percent excise duty.

A tray of eggs in Kenya now costs Ksh450 ($3.82) up from Ksh360 ($3.05) two weeks ago as traders cite shortage.

In retaliation to Kenya’s fresh tax measures, Uganda has also declined to admit Kenyan juice into its market.

Since November 2017, Kenya complained that Del Monte pineapple juice, for instance, is still charged a 13 percent excise duty in Uganda.

Read: Unharmonised taxes blamed for unfair trade in EA

Pineapple juice row

Uganda argued it is difficult to differentiate between pineapple juice manufactured using local concentrate versus juice manufactured using concentrate imported under duty remission for exports.

Under the EAC, duty is exempted if the core ingredients are locally produced.

Uganda argued it could not accord preferential treatment to Del Monte pineapple juice and requested for amendment on this NTB since Kenya also charges excise duty on Ugandan juices.

On June 14, the EAC Secretariat reported that Uganda wanted the issue forwarded to the Sectoral Council on Trade and Finance for resolution.

Uganda has also imposed excise duty on Kenyan manufactured goods, including pharmaceutical products.

As the Kenya-Uganda trade war threatens to escalate, another is simmering between Rwanda and Tanzania.

Also read: Tanzania reaps spoils of Uganda’s trade fights

Rwanda has since 2018 complained that milk exported to Tanzania attracts numerous charges collected by different institutions such as the Tanzania Bureau of Standards, Tanzania Foods and Drugs Authority and the Tanzania Dairy Board.

To import a kilogramme of milk into Tanzania, the government now requires Tsh2,000 ($0.86) from Tsh150 ($0.064).

This is a 1,233 percent increase, under the Animal Diseases and Animal Products Movement Control Regulations published on August 31, 2018 (Government Notice No 476) and which entered into force on October 1, 2018.

Rwanda says this is commensurate to a total ban since imported milk cannot compete with the local one.

The dispute is yet to be resolved.

All eyes will be on the EABC especially because a key player in these disputes sits on the executive committee.

Tanzania trade war

A trade dispute is also bubbling between Uganda and Tanzania. Uganda does not recognise the calibration certificate issued by the Weight and Measures Agent (WMA) for oil tanks from Tanzania. As a result, Tanzanian traders are forced to undergo recalibration by the Uganda Bureau of Standards at a cost of $230. This increases the cost of doing business.

There are also disputes between Tanzania and the rest of the EAC partner states over work permits.

Dodoma demands a business visa fee of $250 for EAC business persons entering Tanzania, charged as Certificate of Temporary Assignment at all borders, contrary to the EAC Common Market Protocol of free movement of people across the region.

The fee is charged on persons visiting Tanzania on temporary assignments (economic activities and professional services) such as consultancy.

Tanzania has been urged to scrap the fee for East African citizens as per Regulation 5 of the EAC Common Market Protocol.

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Sunday July 03 2022

Brookside Dairy chairman Muhoho Kenyatta was picked as an executive member of the EABC board. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By LUKE ANAMI

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The entry of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s brother to the regional lobby East African Business Council (EABC) is raising both hopes and fears that the persistent trade disputes among East African Community partner states could end or increase.

Muhoho Kenyatta – an elder brother of the president – runs Brookside Dairy, the near-dominant milk processor in Kenya, with interests across the region, and owned by the family.

Read: Homegrown multinationals gain firm foothold in EA

On the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting last week in Kigali, he was chosen to be one of the executive members of the EABC board.

At the council’s Annual General Meeting, Tanzania’s Angelina Ngalula was chosen chairperson, replacing Kenya’s Nicholas Nesbitt, who has served since 2018.

Ms Ngalula is the chairperson of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation and the Tanzania Truck Owners Association.

Four members from each EAC state were chosen to the executive committee for the period 2022/2024.

Other members

Mr Kenyatta will sit on the EABC board together with Kenyans Jas Bedi (Kenya Private Sector Alliance), Emily Waita (Coca-Cola Central, East and West Africa) and Mucai Kunyiha (Kenya Association of Manufacturers).

Other members are Rwandans Dennis Karera (Kigali Heights), John Bosco Rusagara (Intraspeed Ltd), Emmanuel Nkusi (Bank of Kigali) and Linda Kalimba (Trinity Lawyers) and Tanzanians Paul Makanza (Tanzania Cigarette Public Ltd), Jacqueline Mkindi (Taha Fresh) and Ali Suleiman Amour (Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture).

The Ugandans are Simon Kaheru (Uganda Manufacturers Association), Stuart Mwesigwa (Roofings Group), Businge Wilson Rwabwogo, (Mukwano Industries) and Pheona Nabaasa Wall (Uganda Law Society) while Burundi is represned by Muzanena Antoine (Burundi Traders Association), Juvénal Sakubu ( EIS-EKA Group), Delphin Kaze ( KAGE) and Amelie Ninganza (KHS Company Ltd).

All eyes are on the role Mr Kenyatta will play in ending persistent disputes on milk, eggs and sugar often pitting Kenya against Tanzania and Uganda.

Milk war

Tanzania and Kenya have for the past five years engaged in an on-and-off war over trade in dairy products, including confectionery, with Brookside at times finding itself at the centre of the disputes. Now, Uganda accuses Kenya of erecting barriers in the trade of its milk and efforts are ongoing to end the stalemate.

Read: Uganda-Kenya milk war boils over

Also read: Kenya shields dairy farmers with import levy

John Bosco Kalisa, EABC chief executive, said the president’s brother is not special in the council as all proposals by members will be included in the annual policy advocacy agenda.

That agenda, he said, will be submitted to the EAC Council of Ministers for consideration and adoption. But he told The EastAfrican that Mr Kenyatta’s nomination is expected to expedite resolution of trade disputes and not derail them.

Read: Uhuru Kenyatta's scorecard at the helm of EAC

“The EABC board is a very committed board with a strong political engagement, so one of their mandates is to resolve the outstanding trade disputes,” said Mr Kalisa.

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Sunday July 03 2022

A map of Sudan and Ethiopia. GRAPHIC | NMG