Africa News Digest
Chirac Proposes To Rescue Niger River Basin Population
"Can one still save the 110 million people living in the river basin of the Niger, the third-largest river in Africa?" asked Le Figaro, about a mini-summit on April 26, which French President Jacques Chirac organized in Paris? The summit, with seven African heads of state and two international organizations, addressed the urgent question of how to stop the Niger River Basin from going dry, due to severe dry seasons and to silt buildup. Among the leaders present, all of them members of the Authority of the Niger Basin (ABN), were Presidents Mamadou Tandja of Niger, Mathieu Kerekou of Benin and Amadou Toumani Toure of Mali.
All have signed the Declaration of Paris, establishing the principles of "good governance for the durable and shared development" of the basin. "The Niger is an essential store of wealth," Chirac told the current head of ABN, Mamadou Tandja. "One must treat it with prudence, wisdom, and respect."
The challenge is great: In the next 15 years, the population will almost double, to 200 million. The situation has massively deteriorated over the past 30 years, which is causing profound social tensions. "Water, unequally distributed, and inevitably desired, generates conflicts and antagonism," stated Chirac. "Today, only 20% of that land can be irrigated, but usable surface area could double, thanks to new water infrastructure."
The model for this project is the Nile or Senegal management authority. Several projects are currently being studied, mainly dams, such as those of Taoussa in Mali or Kandaji in Niger, which cost approximately $200 million each. The World Bank, African Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank are interested in the projects, with all the problems that these institutions bring. For the time being, no major financing has been found. Even the Quai d'Orsay (Foreign Ministry) has let it be known that while "participation was excellent," it is still at the level of good intentions.
France confirmed its participation in the project with 10 million euros, and EU Commission President Romano Prodi, who attended the summit, pledged on behalf of the Commission a contribution of up to $500 million.
Harbingers of a New Rwanda-Backed War in DR Congo
"Signs of the launching of a third war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are visible in South Kivu Province" is the headline of an April 21 article on Digitalcongo.net. It reports that the head of the Rwandan Army, Gen. James Kabarebe, recently issued an ultimatum to the UN military mission in Congo (MONUC), demanding that the UN deploy its forces to secure Rwandan frontiers against armed bands from Congo, or else his army would exercise "the right of pursuit." He then said on radio that his forces were going back into Congo because MONUC has shown its inability to secure Rwanda's borders. The complaint, EIR notes, is like Hitler's "border incidents" excuse for invading Poland in 1939.
The story cites a Kinshasa NGO, the Observatory of Conflicts for Peace in Africa of the Great Lakes (OCPAGL), according to which, Digitalcongo writes, "The decision of the chief of staff of the Congolese army to put Kalehe Territory back under the command of the 10th Military Region provoked a massive influx of Rwandan soldiers."
Citing OCPAGL, the story reports a March 26 meeting in Mukwija (near Bukavu) of Congolese leaders allied to Rwanda "for the purpose of drawing up the options for launching the third war." At the meeting, according to OCPAGL, it was claimed that 15,000 Rwandan soldiers have infiltrated and settled in Rutsuru, and another 7,000 in Idjwi in Kalehe Territory.
OCPAGL also claims there is a commando in Bukavu to assassinate Gen. Mbuza Mabe as a pretext for sparking a massacre of the civilian population, and that Bukavu and all of South Kivu province is a volcano requiring steps to "disarm the bomb."
There were planning meetings similar to that of March 26, on April 9 and 10 in Gisenyi and Kitshanga, according to a Digitalcongo story of April 23. From the former, chaired by North Kivu Governor Eugene Serufuli, Digitalcongo has a document saying in part, "[President] Joseph Kabila must leave power.... you of TPD [All for Development (!)] and RCD-Goma [Rally for Congolese Democracy-Goma], rest assured, you will achieve power in DR Congo.... Remain calm; we have three cards to play...."
World Leaders Celebrate South Africa's Freedom Anniversary
Re-elected South African President Thabo Mbeki was inaugurated before at least 38 heads of state and a crowd of 60,000 people in April 27, as South Africa marked its first decade of freedom and democracy. Those attending included the presidents of Nigeria, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. From Europe and the U.S. came 14 heads of state, and 27 ministerial delegations. The U.S. delegation was headed by Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Britain sent Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Brazil's President Lula da Silva; the Vice Presidents from India, China, and Iran; and a special envoy from the Vatican were also present.
Nelson Mandela was greeted by wild cheering, ululation, and singing, in celebration of 10 years of freedom from the bestial apartheid system, overthrown in 1994. F.W. De Klerk, the last white President of South Africa, also attended.
Mbeki Dumps Buthelezi, Retains Anti-Growth Finance Minister
South African President Thabo Mbeki announced extensive changes in his cabinet April 28, one day after his inauguration. He replaced the Zulu nationalist Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who has endangered the unity of the country, as Home Affairs Minister. Mbeki's African National Congress (ANC) won a plurality in Buthelezi's home province of KwaZulu-Natal for the first time, in the general elections that returned Mbeki to power.
But Mbeki did not replace Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, characterized (in a gross understatement) by the Washington Post April 29, as associated with "restrained fiscal policies and market-based management of the economy." Manuel is keeping interest rates unnecessarily high, on the pretext of fighting inflation, thereby intensifying poverty by restraining constructive activity.
The ANC alliance with the largely white New Nationalist Party was confirmed through the appointment of its head, Martinus van Schalkwyk, as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
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