In this issue:

White House Seeks To Bypass Congress on Aid to Africa

Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactor Given Boost

SADC Water Project on Drawing Board

Algerian Trade Union Charges Proposed Oil Law Was Made in USA—and Is Treason

China and Sudan Plan Sudan's Largest Oil Refinery

Sudan's Foreign Minister Speaks in Washington on 'Road to Progress'

U.S. Military Aircraft Land in Sudan, First Time in 10 Years

Kenya Seeks Damages from U.S. over Terror Alerts

African Union Sends Mission to Somalia

U.S. 'War on Terror" Puts 3,500 Somalia Orphans on Streets

Pahad Sent Back to the Middle East

UN AIDS Envoy to Public Health Students: Tell the Truth, Stop the Genocide

Opposition Members in Zimbabwe Want To Dump Their Leader

From Volume 2, Issue Number 21 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published May 27, 2003
Africa News Digest

White House Seeks To Bypass Congress on Aid to Africa

Congressmen say the Bush Administration "is trying to set up a separate foreign assistance structure," bypassing Congress and U.S. AID, and being "run directly by the White House," according to the paraphrase of allAfrica's Charles Cobb May 22. Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) made the charge in April in speaking in the Andrew Young Lecture Series of the Africa Society. "I have serious concern about the goals of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), its eligibility criteria, and the administration of the initiative," Payne said in his address, adding that MCA "will be run by a corporation made up of a CEO and and a staff of 100," chaired by the Secretary of State. "Congress is left out of this process," he added.

U.S. AID Administrator Andrew Natsios—briefing journalists in the week of May 19-25—denied that his agency is being sidelined, but went on to affirm the main charge of an executive branch takeover. Natsios said that "something more streamlined and less exposed to special interests is needed," in Cobb's paraphrase. Cobb quotes Natsios: "The problem with the current aid program is that [foreign aid] is heavily earmarked by Congress and by interest groups that influence Congress and by diplomacy, and it's not based on performance."

Secretary of State Powell was challenged on the White House takeover by Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), when he testified before the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee in March. While U.S. AID is valuable, he said, "we're looking for new ways of delivering assistance." President Bush was particularly interested in focussing on nations "that have made a firm commitment to democracy, to transparency, to the rule of law, to economic freedom, to empowering men and women.... That's the purpose of the Millennium Challenge Account," he said.

Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactor Given Boost

South Africa's plan to build an inherently safe mini-nuclear reactor has been given a new lease on life, with the U.S. Congress close to approving a $200-million package to build a test reactor in Idaho, according to the South Africa's Business Day May 18. Corbin McNeill, former chairman and CEO of the U.S. electricity company Exelon, said May 17 that top U.S. legislators were keenly interested in South Africa's pebble bed nuclear reactor. The proposed U.S. Energy Policy Act says the U.S. wants hydrogen to replace oil as a future energy source. Eskom's planned pebble bed reactor fits the bill, having the potential to produce hydrogen at commercial levels, according to Business Day.

Exelon pulled its financial support out of development of the planned reactor last year, saying that it was interested instead in buying one for operation in the United States, but did not want to be in the business of constructing the reactor. Pretoria has yet to make a final decision on the project, although Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile MlamboNgcuka said May 17 that the research and development stage would be concluded soon.

SADC Water Project on Drawing Board

Namibian President Sam Nujoma is pushing his plan to bring water from Congo Basin to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Nor is it any longer just President Nujoma's plan since, after he sold former South African President Nelson Mandela on the idea, it has been adopted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The plan involves taking water from the Kasai River, a tributary of the Congo (also known as the Zaire), to the Zambezi, whence it will be diverted to the Okavango Swamp in northern Botswana. The Swamp becomes the central distribution point from which canals will be built to Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa's Northern Cape Province. Some natural rivers will also be used.

In an interview Nujoma gave to The Namibian May 19, he emphasized, "'It can be done.... In Europe they have connected all the rivers.... Other people plan and work. We Africans just like to sit down and demand,' he said, giving a derisive laugh."

Algerian Trade Union Charges Proposed Oil Law Was Made in USA—and Is Treason

The official in charge of economic affairs at the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), Mohamed-Lakhdar Badreddine, May 18 accused Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of submitting the law for the liberalization of Algerian oil under U.S. pressure, according to Le Matin (Algiers) May 19. Badreddine promised the permanent mobilization of Algerian society to ward off this "treason." This is reportedly the first time that the UGTA has dared to officially say that "the approach adopted by the country's authorities in order to put foreign multinational companies in charge of the management of the oil and gas sector, is dictated exclusively from abroad."

"Unlike the other Arab countries," he charged, "Algeria has been pressurized into adopting a bill.... What the Americans failed to push through by force, they want to achieve through the force of the law." The trade unionists at the third session of the Executive Council of the Arab Federation of Petroleum, Chemical, and Mine Workers (FATPCM) did not hesitate to describe the attempt to sell the country's oil resources as an act of "high treason against the nation."

Badreddine recalled the "overwhelming workers' support" in a general strike on Feb. 25-26 which, according to him, forced the Algerian government officials to "freeze this bill." The U.S. is trying to get it unfrozen. "Today, we are asking for the permanent withdrawal of this bill." However, the U.S. has attempted to put pressure on the Energy Minister to proceed with it, he charged. FATPCM said that in the face of what it called the U.S. intention to take over world oil, there is a "pressing need to adopt a common trade union strategy in order to defend the interests of the Arab countries better."

China and Sudan Plan Sudan's Largest Oil Refinery

China and Sudan plan to invest $1 billion to create Sudan's largest oil refinery. The deal, expected to be signed within the coming months, will use $300 million to expand the Khartoum Refinery from 50,000 barrels per day to 90,000, the China Daily reported, citing Sudan's ambassador to China, Mirghani Mohamed Salih. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Sudan first established the 50-50 joint venture in 1997.

The rest of the cash investment is earmarked for a 465-mile pipeline linking block six in southern Sudan's Kordofan oilfield with the refinery and Port Sudan. CNPC has invested more in Sudan than in any other country.

Also early this month, China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corp (CNODC), a unit of CPNC, secured a $350-million oil refinery deal in Algeria.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Speaks in Washington on 'Road to Progress'

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail spoke in Washington last week on the "road to progress," and optimistically suggested the potentiality of a major development in the peace process at the end of June. Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson International Center on May 20, Dr. Ismail outlined the progress made in the peace process over the last year and a half between the government of Sudan (GOS) and the Southern People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). He stressed the significance of the success of the Nuba Mountain Cease Fire Agreement signed in January 2002, and the cessation of hostilities between the GOS and SPLM/A since October 2002.

The peace proposal is almost identical to the one proposed by the GOS in 1997-98. There would be a six-year interim period during which southern autonomy would be maintained by a "Southern government" in addition to the Federal government, and state governments. After six years, Sudanese living in the South could decide by referendum whether to remain part of the Federal government, or secede.

Responding to a question from the audience, Dr. Ismail listed four areas that still need to be resolved in order to conclude a full peace agreement between the GOS and the SPLM/A by the end of June. They are: 1) how to distribute the wealth from the oil revenues between the Federal government, state governments, and the government of the South. Foolishly they have invited the IMF and World Bank to assist them; 2) distribution of political power between the South and the Federal government; 3) the extent of the veto power that will be given to the Vice President; and 4) security arrangements between the national army and the SPLA.

The Bush Administration received praise from the speaker for its assistance in the peace process, and the audience of so-called African experts usually hostile to Sudan were complimentary of the Sudanese government.

U.S. Military Aircraft Land in Sudan, First Time in 10 Years

U.S. military aircraft landed in Sudan for the first time in 10 years, according to the U.S. anti-terror task force operating in the Horn of Africa, the UN IRIN reported May 21. The task force said the C130 Hercules plane, on a logistics support mission, landed in Khartoum on May 17. It was met by Sudanese military officers and a U.S. defense liaison officer in Khartoum, Col. Dennis Giddens. Giddens is quoted as saying: "Landing here today is symbolic because what pushed our two countries apart 10 years ago is now pulling us together, and that is the war against terrorism."

Kenya Seeks Damages from U.S. over Terror Alerts

Kenya has asked the U.S. government to compensate that country for losses suffered from recent terrorism alerts. Trade and Industry Minister Mukhisa Kituyi, while in the U.S., told Assistant Secretary of State Walter Kansteiner that since Kenya was being threatened with attacks only because of its friendship with the U.S., there should be some remuneration, Kenya's The Nation newspaper reported May 24. "We are not going to abandon our friendship with America. But we do need financial help to ameliorate the impact on the threat on our tourism sector."

A huge fight has been raging in Kenya over the fact that Kenya's Internal Security Minister, Christopher Murungaru, made public that a leading al-Qaeda suspect from earlier terrorist attacks, identified as Fasul Abdallah Mohamed, might be at large there. This is information he apparently was given by Western security agencies. Kenya's allies—Britain, the U.S., and Israel—then put in place travel advisories and British Airways, followed by the Israeli airline El Al, cancelled flights to Kenya.

Then on May 20, visiting American General John F., Sattler arrived in Kenya and hailed Murungaru as a hero for acknowledging the terrorist threat; the two men were photographed together smiling. Wrote columnist Dominic Odipo in The East African Standard: "Among most progressive students of American government policy in Africa it is taken almost as a rule of thumb that whenever an African leader is publicly praised by top American leaders, it is time to switch on the red light." He added that by aligning itself so tightly with the U.S., Kenyans have "put ourselves in the terrorists' firing line. We have, in a word, crossed the Rubicon."

Columnist Macharia Gaitho noted in The Nation May 20: "The fact of the matter is that Kenya becomes a target because it is seen as a bastion of Western strategic and commercial interests," but "instead of offering us all the support required, they proceed to take actions that can only turn us into a pariah."

African Union Sends Mission to Somalia

The African Union (AU) has sent a security fact-finding mission to Somalia to prepare the ground for AU military observers. The purpose of the mission is "to collect and verify information on the general security situation, aimed at planning the demobilization of militias and weapons collection," according to UN IRIN, citing the mission's leader, Maj.-Gen. Joseph Musomba of Kenya. The 21-member mission, which arrived May 22, is cosponsored by the AU and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and includes observers from the European Union, the Arab League, and Somali delegates. The Bush Administration has made much of the presence (or alleged presence) of al-Qaeda terrorists in Somalia.

U.S. 'War on Terror" Puts 3,500 Somalia Orphans on Streets

The U.S. insists Saudi-supported orphanages in Somalia are linked to terrorism, so now 3,500 children are homeless, according to reports . The Saudi Arabia-based Al-Haramayn aid agency first came to Somalia in 1992, at the height of the famine. The agency that closed its doors in Somalia May 17 ran a total of eight orphanages—five of them in Mogadishu—housing about 3,500 children throughout the country. The other orphanages were in Merka in southern Somalia, and Burao and Hargaysa in the now self-declared republic of Somaliland.

A Somali employee of Al-Haramayn, Nur Alasow, told UN IRIN May 21 that closing down the orphanages was "even worse than the closure of Al-Barakaat," the money transfer company closed in 2001, after it was accused of links with terror organizations. Alasow asked: "Will those responsible for the closure of Al-Haramayn take care of these children, or is it that the lives of 3,000 Somalian children are of no consequence?"

An official of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi told IRIN: "This is a fairly new situation and we are looking into it."

Pahad Sent Back to the Middle East

Mbeki's pointman for the mideast Aziz Pahad left for May 24 to visit Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait City, South African news service SAPA reported May 24. Ronnie Mamoepa, a spokesman for the deputy minister of foreign affairs said Pahad will address issues such as the consequences of a post-Saddam Iraq for the region, the "Road-Map" for peace in the Middle East and South Africa's bilateral relations with each of those countries. He is expected to discuss the recent outbreaks of suicide bombings and the dire consequences for security of the region. Pahad will then go to Cuba for meetings June 3 and 4. According to spokesman Mamoepa, "The revitalization of the Non-Aligned Movement will also feature high on the agenda, as South Africa and Cuba are, together with the current chair Malaysia, members of the NAM troika."

UN AIDS Envoy to Public Health Students: Tell the Truth, Stop the Genocide

Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, challenged public health students to "use the incredible privilege" of carrying the "imprimatur of public health" to develop a public voice to stop genocide. Lewis issued this challenge in his comments upon receiving the Dean's Distinguished Service Award from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, on May 21. While his remarks were not reported in the U.S. press, the entire text was posted by allAfrica.com May 21.

Discussing AIDS in Africa, Lewis was blunt: "To put it succinctly, the Western powers have betrayed Africa for 20 years, the entire life of the pandemic. And they're doing it again," he said, referring to the fact that they are allowing the Global Aids Fund, which pays for retrovirals, to go bankrupt.

He made clear President Bush's hypocrisy in his $15 billion AIDS initiative over the next five years ($10 billion of which is new money). He noted that for the money to be given, other G-8 nations have to make an equivalent gesture, and that there is no guarantee the Global Aids Fund will get much if any of it. "At the moment, only 10% of the new money—$200 million—is annually guaranteed. Anything above this requires matching. If I may be so bold, this seems to me an odd concept. Surely a country contributes the funds because they are desperately needed. Conditionality doesn't sit comfortably when matters of survival are at stake."

With respect to AIDS in Africa and who is most vulnerable, he called it a "twisted variant of Darwinian selection" that "had decided to mount a demonic assault on one sex"—women. Children are next: "I truly wonder about these kids. Their mothers, more often than not, end their days on the fetid mud floor of a ramshackle hut, largely unattended, writhing in pain, not a shred of dignity in death, and the children stand and watch them die. How does the child ever recover?"

Opposition Members in Zimbabwe Want To Dump Their Leader

Key members of the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDS) in Zimbabwe want to dump their leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, and replace him with Strive Masiyiwa, who heads Econet Wireless, a mobile phone network, and is the "Bill Gates" of Southern Africa. Masiyiwa "has also been linked to several quasi-political, religious organizations, such as the Habbakuk Trust, through which he is alleged to be mobilizing support among clergymen across the country," according to the Sunday Mirror (Harare) May 17.

The weekly recalls that in January, Masiyiwa was getting support from Baroness Lynda Chalker and her organization, Africa Matters, to form a new party in Zimbabwe—a plan that seems to have evolved into the current idea of replacing Tsvangirai as head of the MDC. Chalker, Masiyiwa, some unidentified MDC leaders, and Ugandan President Museveni were all reportedly present at a secret meeting at an Oppenheimer Game Ranch in Botswana the week of May 5-9.

The Sunday Mirror claims that it "has it on credible authority that a group of MDC national executive committee members first made overtures to former finance minister Simba Makoni.... 'I can confirm that several key opposition party members tried to approach Makoni with an offer to make him president of their party, but he flatly denied them an audience,' an authoritative source told the Sunday Mirror. 'Apparently, they are now trying to sell the same offer to Strive Masiyiwa,' added the source."

An MDC insider told the Sunday Mirror that there are members of the MDC national executive "who are strongly opposed to Tsvangirai's leadership ... but the consensus in the party is that replacing him now would sound the death-knell for the MDC."

The Sunday Mirror, which opposes Anglo-American attempts to control Zimbabwe, is not controlled by the government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

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