AFRICA:12 JUILLET 2011[Kwoyelo: State prefers 53 charges] -

Daily Africa News

[Former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commander, Thomas Kwoyelo, was yesterday charged and remanded to Gulu Prison on 53 charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the two-decade bloody civil war which claimed thousands of lives, caused untold suffering and loss of property in northern Uganda]

BURUNDI :

Burundi: Dialogue de sourds autour de la crise énergétique

Pana /12/07/2011

.Bujumbura, Burundi – Les représentants de la population de Bujumbura et le deuxième vice-président de la République, en charge des questions économiques et sociales, Gervais Rufyikiri, n’ont pas pu accorder leurs violons, lors d’un débat public organisé, lundi, sur les voies et moyens de résorber le problème de la crise énergétique. Après avoir annulé le mois dernier sa décision de réviser à la hausse les tarifs de l’eau et de l’électricité dans des proportions allant du simple au quadruple, acculé par des pressions venant des organisations des consommateurs qui appelaient au soulèvement populaire contre la mesure, l’Etat burundais revient à la charge, par l’intermédiaire du Parlement burundais qui a mis sur pied une commission chargée de proposer des hausses tarifaires plus raisonnables.

Dans sa tentative de convaincre une population toujours réticente du bien fondé de revoir à la hausse les tarifs de l’eau et électricité, le vice-président burundais a rappelé à l’assistance que la quantité disponible du courant électrique pour tout le pays ne dépasserait pas actuellement les 42 mégawatts pour des besoins réels de consommation de l’ordre de 270 mégawatts.

La hausse des tarifs sur l’électricité permettrait également d’investir dans de nouveaux ouvrages hydroélectriques et autres sources d’énergies renouvelables pour passer de 2% d’abonnés du moment à au moins 15% dans l’avenir, a encore argumenté le vice-président burundais qui tente un argument plus convaincant selon lequel les investisseurs étrangers demeureront réticents à venir au Burundi aussi longtemps que le pays vivra dans le noir.

Au niveau de l’eau, les représentants de la population à Bujumbura, la capitale, ont été également informés qu’il faudrait multiplier la facture du moment par au moins six pour avoir de quoi réaliser de nouveaux investissements dans le secteur et prétendre à un approvisionnement régulier en ce précieux liquide, l’Etat burundais nourrissant l’ambition de porter le taux de desserte en eau de 65% à plus de 85% d’ici 2015.

Les représentants de la population ne l’ont pas entendu de cette oreille et ont demandé plutôt à l’Etat de régler d’abord ses factures envers la Régie nationale de production et de commercialisation de l’eau et l’électricité (REGIDESO) au lieu de chercher l’argent du côté d’une population au pouvoir d’achat jugée «très faible».

La dette des tiers envers la REGIDESO avoisinerait les 5 milliards de Francs burundais (près de 5 millions de dollars US).

La REGIDESO devrait également renoncer aux avantages relatifs à la gratuité de l’eau et électricité pour son personnel et certains autres corps privilégiés de l’Etat, ont encore suggéré les intervenants au débat public.

D’un autre côté, les citoyens ont rappelé que la REGIDESO n’en était pas à sa première hausse, sans qu’il y ait toutefois un léger mieux, d’où la suggestion populaire de s’assurer d’abord que la gestion administrative et financière de l’entreprise étatique, ayant le monopole de la production de l’eau et électricité, est réellement saine.

un policier tué dans une embuscade tendue contre un chef du SNR à Gitega

Lundi 11 juillet 2011/Xinhua/www.afriquinfos.com

BUJUMBURA (Xinhua) – Un groupe d’hommes armés a tendu dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi une embuscade contre le véhicule du chef du Service National des Renseignements (SNR- Police présidentielle) tuant un de ses trois gardes du corps à quelque 200 mètres de son domicile situé à 8 mm de la ville de Gitega au centre du Burundi, selon un correspondant de la radio nationale sur place.

Selon cette source, Emile Mohamed rentrait chez lui vers 20h00 GMT quand il est tombé dans une embuscade lui tendue par un groupe d’hommes armés sur la colline Rugari-Gitamo de la commune et province de Gitega qui ont tué un des trois policiers qui assuraient sa garde et endommagé son véhicule.

Cette garde a échangé des tirs avec ces malfaiteurs pendant une trentaine de minutes avant que ces derniers ne se volatilisent dans la nature. Selon cette source, Emile Mohamed avait été informé de cette attaque trois jours avant mais il ne savait ni le jour ni le lieu où elle devrait avoir lieu.

Il y a plus d’un mois, des hommes armés avaient perpétré une autre attaque sur cette même colline de Rugari-Gitamo tuant quatre vaches appartenant à la famille du porte-parole du parti CNDD FDD au pouvoir alors qu’il y a deux mois, sur une autre colline de Kiyange de la commune de Makebuko toujours en province de Gitega, des malfaiteurs y ont éparpillé des tracts mettant en garde la police nationale et les agents du Service national des renseignements.

RWANDA :

.A genocide baby’s quest to forgive his father’s killers

www.bbc.co.uk/11 July 2011

Roger’s father was killed in Rwanda when he was nine days old

Following the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, forgiveness has become central to the courts dealing with many of the accused. Can a teenager, born amid the genocide then whisked to safety in the UK, forgive his father’s killers?

“I shouldn’t really be here – I’m only really here because of what my mum did for me,” says 16-year-old Roger Nsengiyumva.

Roger lives in Norwich, England, with his mother Illuminee, and loves playing football. He is an aspiring rapper and has starred in the film Africa United.

But his life could have been very different.

He was born in Rwanda one month into the genocide, and only survived because his mother hid him for months from the ethnic Hutu death squads who murdered his father.

Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days. Most of the dead were ethnic Tutsis – and most of those who perpetrated the violence were Hutus.

Roger’s father John, a Tutsi, was murdered by Hutu friends who had attended his wedding. Fifty members of his family were also killed.

After the genocide, Illuminee and Roger fled to England. Illuminee has since forgiven John’s killers.

“It was hurting me inside so I thought the way to get rid of it was to get it outside,” she says. “It was my healing, but I will live with this forever.”

Roger returned to Rwanda to take part in a week of special events marking the genocide, to see if he could follow his mother’s path to forgiveness.

On his first day in the country, he attended a memorial event in Kigali’s national stadium.

He listened as a woman said: “Time heals all wounds but there won’t ever become a day when I don’t miss your smiling face.”

But then a long piercing scream could be heard in the crowd, and then another.

“They are mourning,” he was told. He saw wailing women being carried from the stadium.

It was a reminder of the intense grief thousands still feel.

Roger’s father has a memorial in Norwich, but no-one knows where he was actually buried. It is thought he may be in Rwanda’s largest mass grave, along with 250,000 others.

Roger returned to see a picture of his father he had placed there seven years ago. At that time he said he could forgive his father’s killers, but things have changed.

“I understand quite a lot more,” says Roger. “It was a bit more innocent then, now it’s an anger that I would like to act upon.

“What I’m doing is a let-down to quite a lot of Rwandans, because me saying ‘it’s an anger I would like act upon’ is detrimental to Rwanda now. I hate to use the word revenge but that’s how I’m feeling at the moment.”

But Roger is best friends with a Hutu teenager, Yves Desenge, who lives in Rwanda and co-starred with him in Africa United.

“I don’t feel anger towards my generation of Hutus because we were babies when this happened,” says Roger.

Tension and rivalry has always existed between the Hutus, who make up 85% of the population, and the Tutsi minority, who formed the traditional elite.

In the years since the genocide, they have been encouraged to live alongside each other, like neighbours Frederick and Jacqueline do.

Jacqueline was 16 when a gang killed all 12 of her family with machetes and swords, while Frederick has served nine years for his part in a death squad that killed seven Tutsis in one day.

“Our relationship is good,” says Frederick. “Our children live happily together. If she has a long journey she can leave her children here and they’ll be taken care of here in my home.”

And when Frederick asks if Roger can forgive him, the younger man finds himself lost for words. After a long pause, Roger says he can “generally”.

“Because you’ve been so kind and you’re doing a great thing. But in terms of asking forgiveness for my father’s death, I can’t because that wasn’t your fault.”

But he cannot say the same of his father’s killers.

“I hate to say it but I’d love to see them in body bags. If you’re told to kill someone on the street and it’s because they’re a Tutsi, that’s disgusting.

“But if you know that person and you’re friends with their wife and their newborn is coming, I can’t understand that. So I can’t forgive that.”

Despite the attempts at reconciliation in Rwanda, a report on 32 schools revealed that ethnic hatred is still prevalent.

And Roger realises the path to forgiveness is not straightforward.

“It’s very complicated. It will be quite weird seeing this all again in another 10 years, seeing the difference between the me then and the me now.

“I’m young. I’m still only 16 so hopefully that anger will somehow fizzle out.”

RDC CONGO:

Elections 2011 en RDC : Langage des sourds entre la CENI et l’UDPS

11/07/2011/KongoTimes!

Le Secrétaire général de l’Udps a déclaré qu’ils ne sont pas satisfaits des réponses de la Ceni. Il a ajouté que son parti politique va prendre ses responsabilités. « Nous allons agir », a-t-il lancé. C’est le même langage qu’il a tenu en s’adressant à la foule qui attendait dehors en lui demandant de maintenir la pression. Le siège de la Ceni est en train d’être transformé en lieu de la genèse de la révolution à l’udpsienne.

Ceux qui ont la charge du maintien de l’ordre public ont-ils le contrôle de tous les éléments afin d’éviter qu’un jour, un policier, pour des motivations autres que le maintien de l’ordre, donne à l’Udps l’arme de ce combat qui n’a rien à voir avec l’organisation et la tenue des élections ?

Comme promis, une délégation de l’Udps et de la Dynamique Tshisekedi Président accompagnée d’une foule de militants de l’Udps, est allée à la rencontre du bureau de la Ceni. Dès le départ, il était clair que cette délégation n’est pas allée pour un compromis. Car, avant même d’avoir parcouru les réponses que la Ceni a réservées au mémo de son parti, le Secrétaire général de l’Udps a déclaré qu’ils ne sont pas satisfaits des réponses de la Ceni. Il a ajouté que son parti politique va prendre ses responsabilités. « Nous allons agir », a-t-il lancé. C’est le même langage qu’il a tenu en s’adressant à la foule qui attendait dehors en lui demandant de maintenir la pression. Qu’entend-on par agir ? C’est la question. Apparemment, le siège de la Ceni est en train d’être transformé en lieu de la genèse de la révolution à l’udpsienne. L’Udps est allée avec un autre cahier de charges, à savoir, la demande de la libération de ses militants à la Ceni et de poser le problème du décès d’un militant ainsi que des blessés.

Il faut pourtant ajouter à cette liste des policiers blessés ainsi que des véhicules incendiés. A ce sujet, le bureau de la Ceni a été clair. La Ceni ne gère pas la police. Même les policiers blessés à cette occasion autant que des propriétaires des voitures incendiées savent à quelle porte frapper. Qui vient à la Ceni se trompe de porte. Il en est de même des personnes arrêtées, dont beaucoup ont été prises après la manifestation, pillant et se donnant à beaucoup d’autres actes de vandalisme.

Rappelons, au sujet de cette manifestation du 4 juillet 2011, que l’Udps dit à qui veut l’entendre que son objectif était de déposer le mémo. Une façon pour ce parti politique de rejeter l’initiative de la violence sur les éléments de la police. Dans l’opinion, on se pose beaucoup de questions à ce sujet au point de se demander si pour déposer un mémo on avait besoin de faire défiler des gens à poils. De même, du côté de la police, on dit avoir arrêté entre les mains de certains manifestants des bouteilles pleines d’essence qui ont servi entre autre à incendier une voiture taxi et une jeep de la police.

Qui a fait quoi ?

Dans certains milieux de l’Udps, on argue ne pas reconnaître les personnes qui étaient armées de ces cocktails Molotov. Il s’avère que les porteurs de ces cocktails Molotov comptent parmi les personnes arrêtées par la police. En allant les réclamer à la Ceni, l’Udps ne revendique-t-il pas, par ricochet, les actes posés par ces personnes ? C’est la question que plus d’un se posent. La rencontre d’hier lundi 11 juillet 2011 entre les militants de l’Udps et le bureau de la Ceni s’est terminée en queue de poisson. L’Udps a promis de réclamer la libération de ses militants dans la rue. Dès ce mardi matin, ont-ils promis, ils seront dans la rue pour exiger la libération de leurs militants. Chantage ou vraie menace à l’ordre public ? Il y a lieu de lier les faits pour bien les comprendre et envisager les conséquences.

La finalité du mémo, c’est quoi ?

L’Udps avait déposé un mémo dans lequel ce parti politique exprimait certaines inquiétudes et posait des questions. Nous publions à la page 13 de cette édition, les inquiétudes de l’Udps et les réponses de la Ceni. Apparemment, le mémo n’apporte aucun fait appuyé par des preuves. Mais le rôle de la Ceni, c’est de répondre à toutes les inquiétudes et à toutes les questions, même celles posées de mauvaise foi. Le bureau de la Ceni s’est donc mis à rencontrer les inquiétudes de l’Udps qui, apparemment, au regard de ce qui s’est passé hier lundi, n’est pas dans la logique du dialogue.

Le dimanche 10 juillet 2011, le pasteur président s’est disponibilisé pour aller déposer cette réponse au mémo de l’Udps en mains propres. L’Udps a rejeté cette démarche du président de la Ceni. Après plus d’une démarche, étant donné que le secrétaire général de ce parti politique s’est fait injoignable en fermant son téléphone, on a joint le porte-parole de Etienne Tshisekedi qui a demandé que la réponse au mémo soit déposée au siège du parti dans la commune de Limete. Mais, lorsque le président de la Ceni est arrivé sur place, le siège de l’Udps était fermé.

Daniel Ngoy Mulunda qui a opté pour le dialogue et la concertation avec les partenaires aux élections, visiblement désabusé, a pris l’opinion tant nationale qu’internationale à témoin. C’était le dimanche 10 juillet 2011. Cela ne l’a cependant pas empêché d’accueillir hier lundi la délégation de l’Udps avec un nouveau cahier de charges, à savoir la libération de ses militants. Au regard de l’articulation de ces événements, on voit venir l’Udps. Il revient à ceux qui ont la charge d’assurer l’ordre public de se mettre en position de lire la suite des événements et d’anticiper.

Ce qu’il faut craindre

Au journal L’Avenir, nous avons souvent mauvaise langue. Lorsqu’on voyait venir le Mlc, nous avions prévenu sur la guerre en pleine ville de Kinshasa avec le cimetière de la Gombe comme théâtre important de ces événements. Nous avions dénoncé des caches d’armes dans ce cimetière et dans la résidence officielle de l’ex-vice-président de la République en charge de l’Ecofin. Le leader du Mlc nous avait intenté un procès, mais les faits se sont vérifiés sur le terrain. La ville de Kinshasa avait passé des moments de terribles angoisses en ce mois de mars 2007. Ce n’est pas par hasard que le dépôt du mémo de l’Udps a concordé avec la tenue à Kinshasa de la 37ème session parlementaire de la Francophonie. L’Udps voulait quelque chose qui pourrait avoir un réel retentissement dans les milieux parlementaires francophones. Bien que cela ait ressemblé à un pétard mouillé, l’Udps n’est pas prêt à baisser les bras jusqu’au jour où il aura gain de cause.

Il faut éviter qu’un jour, un policier, pour des motivations autres que le maintien de l’ordre, donne à l’Udps les armes dans ce combat qui n’a plus rien à voir avec l’organisation et la tenue des élections. La question que l’on se pose, c’est de savoir si l’on a le contrôle de tous les éléments envoyés sur le terrain pour maintenir l’ordre public. En ce moment où l’Udps multiplie les marches, il y a lieu de s’instruire de cette sagesse millénaire : « Tant va la cruche à l’eau, elle se casse ». On ne le dira jamais assez. Tant que Joseph Kabila sera dans le bon, tant que ce gouvernement tiendra bon en faisant tout dans le respect des lois et de l’opinion internationale, l’Udps se sentira désarmé. Son combat, c’est qu’avant les élections, Joseph Kabila se trouve dans la position où se trouvait Mobutu en 1990. A-t-on conscience de cette nasse que tisse l’Udps ? Que fait-on pour l’éviter ?

Plus de communication que du gaz lacrymogène

L’autre aspect de la question, pas de moindre, c’est la communication. Il faut que ce qui arrive soit expliqué à l’opinion tant nationale qu’internationale. Pour ce faire, on doit aller plus loin que la simple information. Le porte-parole du gouvernement se coupe en morceaux pour rétablir les faits. Il joue le rôle que le gouvernement attend de lui avec des moyens qui sont les siens. Il y a lieu de mettre plus de moyens afin de faire plus. Car, il y va de la garantie de sécurité en cette période électorale. On pourra tout faire, tout préparer, tout financer, si on ne neutralise pas – par une communication responsable – cette tendance à lier Ceni et gouvernement, Ceni et police, Ceni et adversaires politiques, si on continue à voir la tricherie partout, les élections apaisées ne seront qu’un vœu pieux. Nous voulons bien que notre mauvaise langue soit démentie cette fois. C’est faisable.

[L’Avenir]

Crash de Kisangani, sanctionné Hewa Bora

Le Phare /12/07/2011

Cela fait plus de cinq ans que tous les avions immatriculés en République Démocratique du Congo sont interdits de survoler l’espace aérien des pays membres de l’Union Européenne. Cette mesure découle du désordre qui règne dans le secteur du transport aérien dans notre pays, où tout est monnayé : licences de pilotage, certificats de navigabilité, contrôles techniques des aéronefs, création et exploitation des compagnies aériennes, assurances des aéronefs, etc.

Le drapeau national est en berne depuis le samedi 09 juillet 2011, à la suite d’un deuil national de trois jours décrété par les hautes instances du pays en mémoire des victimes du crash de Kisangani. Selon le bilan officiel livré le samedi 09 juillet par le vice-premier ministre et ministre des Postes, Téléphones et Télécommunications, Simon Bulupiy, qui était dans la délégation gouvernementale conduite personnellement à Kisangani par le Chef de l’Etat, Joseph Kabila Kabange, 73 personnes ont trouvé la mort dans le crash d’un avion de Hewa Bora vendredi à proximité de la piste de l’aéroport de cette ville. L’on a dénombré 47 blessés et 11 rescapés indemnes.

A en croire des sources indépendantes, la liste des morts ne fait que s’allonger, au point d’avoir atteint, sinon dépassé la quatre-vingtaine. Parmi les morts sont cités les trois pilotes, le mécanicien de bord, l’évêque d’Isangi, des hommes d’affaires, des familles entières comprenant pères, mères et enfants, etc.

En raison de la précarité des structures d’accueil sanitaires au chef-lieu de la Province Orientale, le Président de la République a décidé le transfert, à bord de son avion personnel, de tous les blessés dans les formations hospitalières de Kinshasa. La réaction prompte du premier d’entre les Congolais face à ce drame et son geste hautement humanitaire de disponibiliser son avion personnel en vue de donner aux blessés graves le maximum de chances de survie méritent d’être salués à leur juste valeur.

Défaillance humaine ou mécanique ?

Mais au-delà de l’intervention salutaire du Président de la République et des mesures d’urgence arrêtées par le gouvernement en faveur des survivants de cette énième catastrophe aérienne sous les cieux congolais ressurgit, sur le tapis, la problématique du « fula-fula aérien dans notre pays. Pour le cas précis de l’hécatombe de Kisangani, la controverse bat déjà son plein autour des causes, encore non précisées, du crash.

Stavros Papaioannou, le Directeur de Hewa Bora, est déjà monté au créneau pour évoquer les mauvaises conditions atmosphériques (forte tempête) ayant probablement provoqué l’accident, relevant toutefois au passage que deux aéronefs avaient atterri sur l’aéroport de Bangboka, quelques minutes plus tôt, dans les mêmes conditions. Mais, certains experts des milieux aéronautiques avancent aussi l’hypothèse d’une erreur de pilotage d’une part, et d’autre part, celle de la maintenance déficitaire des aéronefs en RDC.

L’UE en avance sur son temps

Le non respect des normes, techniques comme administratives, en rapport avec le transport aérien place notre pays en marge de l’aviation civile internationale. Il se trouve, curieusement, dans le corps des opérateurs du transport aérien basés sur le territoire congolais, certains qui passent leur temps à vilipender l’Union Européenne, accusée de traitement discriminatoire à l’égard des aéronefs immatriculés en RDC. Il y a en qui vont jusqu’à soutenir qu’il existe, sur notre sol, des avions répondant aux standards internationaux.

Il est vrai que les catastrophes aériennes ne constituent pas une exclusivité congolaise. Cependant, la fréquence avec laquelle des vies humaines sont sacrifiées sur des vols domestiques, sans compter les dommages matériels directs et collatéraux, tend à corroborer les réserves de l’Union Européenne à lever l’embargo contre les avions immatriculés au Congo démocratique.

Sans vouloir s’acharner sur Hewa Bora, l’on est bien obligé de noter qu’en l’espace de trois ans, cette compagnie aérienne privée vient d’enregistrer deux «crashes» extrêmement meurtriers, lesquels sont de nature à exhumer le débat sur la fiabilité de sa flotte et l’expertise de ses équipages. En avril 2008 à Goma, c’est un décollage manqué qui avait endeuillé la République, avec près d’une cinquante de morts, dont près de la moitié de victimes se trouvaient dans un marché public. A Kisangani, les statistiques macabres tournent autour de 80 décès.

Les « incidents aériens » ne se comptent plus au palmarès de Hewa Bora : atterrissages sur le ventre, sorties de pistes, défaillance du système de pressurisation, etc. Mais, la flotte et les équipes de Hewa Bora ne sont pas les seuls à donner des insomnies aux usagers du transport aérien dans notre pays. La plupart des sociétés aériennes privées pèchent par l’exploitation plus ou moins désordonnée de leur flotte.

Cela a pour conséquence la présence quasi permanente, dans l’espace aérien congolais, de ce que le commun de mortels et même les officiels ont pris coutume d’appeler « cercueils volants ». En termes d’humour bien de chez nous, l’on parle du « fula-fula » aérien, dans le but d’insister sur l’insécurité des vols aériens, dont l’illustration la plus imaginée est à chercher dans l’avalanche des crashs de tristement célèbres « Antonov ». En 2004 et 2005, lorsque cette famille d’avions de fabrication soviétiques avait aligné plus d’une vingtaine de catastrophes aériennes, tout le monde avait cru que c’était là l’unique défaut de la cuirasse. Par la suite, avec la survenance d’accidents aériens enregistrés avec d’autres types d’appareils, l’on a compris que le mal était général et profond. D’où, quelque part, l’Union Européenne a eu raison de mettre momentanément une croix sur nos aéronefs.

Quelles leçons après Kisangani ?

Les leçons à tirer après le crash de Kisangani sont multiples. Il y a, naturellement, nécessité de faire respecter la législation en vigueur en matière de création des sociétés aériennes privées, d’octroi des documents administratifs et techniques, de respect des délais de check des avions, de contrôle de l’expertise des équipages, d’observation des standards internationaux liés à l’aviation civile. Un effort sans faille doit être fourni pour moderniser les pistes et installations aéroportuaires.

En octobre 2007, lorsqu’un Antonov était tombé à Kingasani/Terminus, dans la banlieue Est de Kinshasa, c’est le ministre Kuseyo des Transports, qui avait fait les frais d’une situation anarchique pourtant provoquée par un autre membre du gouvernement. Tout dernièrement, une longue série noire d’accidents de baleinières a coûté son poste à la ministre des Transports et Voies de Communication, Laure Marie Kavuanda pour ne pas la citer.

La question que l’on peut se poser est de savoir si, au terme des limogeages de ces membres du gouvernement, le « potopoto » qui règne dans le secteur des transports a trouvé solution.

S’agissant particulièrement du transport aérien, des voix n’ont cessé de s’élever pour réclamer la résurrection de la compagnie nationale, les Lignes Aériennes Congolaises, « cliniquement morte » depuis 19977.

La semaine dernière, lors des manifestations commémoratives du cinquantenaire de cette société commerciale publique, il nous été rappelé que les LAC affichent zéro crash depuis leur création en juin 1961.

Cet élogieux palmarès signifie que la compagnie aérienne nationale abait un travail de « pro » dans le domaine du transport aérien domestique comme international. Jusqu’au moment où nous couchons ces lignes, l’expertise humaine et technique des Lignes Aériennes Congolaises est en veilleuse. Les pilotes et les techniciens formés dans les meilleurs centres aéronautiques occidentaux, bien qu’accusant déjà le poids de l’âge pour quelques uns, n’attendent qu’un signal pour se rendre utiles à la patrie.

Qui ignore que Les Lignes Aériennes Congolaises possèdent encore, à ce jour, un atelier technique de réputation internationale ? La libéralisation sauvage du transport aérien en RDC, couplée à la mise à mort planifiée de la compagnie aérienne nationale, a été un coup fatal pour la sécurité des vols dans notre pays. Il est grand temps que la volonté politique s’exprime pour relancer les LAC et arrêter la série noire qui ne cesse d’endeuiller la République. Les cahiers des charges pour la remise du « Léopard volant » dans les airs moisissent dans les tiroirs de plusieurs décideurs politiques. Que les morts de Kisangani servent au moins à réveiller les consciences pour la cause de cet instrument de souveraineté nationale.

[Kimp/Le Phare]

RDC : Un média d’opposition interdit de diffusion

afrikarabia2.blogs.courrierinternational.com/ 2011/07/11

Une chaîne de télévision congolaise proche de l’opposition vient d’être interdite de diffusion par le gouvernement de République démocratique du Congo( RDC). Pour Kinshasa, RLTV (Radio Lisanga Télévision) “contribuerait à troubler l’ordre public”.

Selon Radio Okapi, le ministre de la Communication et des médias de RD Congo, Lambert Mende, vient d’interdire la chaîne de télévision d’opposition RLTV d’émettre sur l’ensemble du territoire congolais. Toujours selon la radio onusienne, le gouvernement “reproche à ce média de diffuser des programmes qui, selon lui, font l’apologie de la violence et contribuent à perturber l’ordre public”. Pour l’heure, le directeur général de la chaîne, Basile Olongo Pongo, affirme “qu’aucune notification de cette décision n’a été transmise à la RLTV”.

UGANDA :

Kwoyelo: State prefers 53 charges

By James Eriku & Moses Akena /www.monitor.co.ug/Posted Tuesday, July 12 2011

Gulu

Former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commander, Thomas Kwoyelo, was yesterday charged and remanded to Gulu Prison on 53 charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the two-decade bloody civil war which claimed thousands of lives, caused untold suffering and loss of property in northern Uganda.

First tried rebel

He becomes the first former rebel to face trial before the new International Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda, a division which has its origins in the inconclusive Juba Peace Process of 2006 which, nevertheless, led to the end of the LRA insurgency in northern Uganda.

With handcuffs locking his forearms and chains on his legs, Mr Kwoyelo, who was driven to the fully parked courtroom amidst tight security, appeared before a panel of judges led by Justice Dan Akiiki Kiiza who read the charges. Other judges are Elizabeth Ibanda Nahamya and Alphonse Chigamoi Owiny Dollo.

Mr Kwoyelo, formerly holding the rebel rank of a colonel, is facing charges of murder, willful killing, kidnap with intent to kill and destruction of property in the war of attrition which along the way threatened to destroy an entire culture in especially Acholi sub-region. He denied the charges during the maiden court session.

Trial rejection

Represented by advocates, Mr Caleb Alaka and Mr John Francis Onyango, Mr Kwoyelo also objected to the trial arguing that he had already applied for amnesty before the country’s Amnesty Commission, which has never been granted.

Mr Alaka invited the court to appreciate the view that the refusal by the State to grant amnesty to his client contravenes Article 21 of the Constitution which provides for equal treatment of all accused persons under the law.

“The accused, while in prison, renounced and abandoned involvement in war/rebellion against the government of the Republic of Uganda pursuant to section 3 of the Amnesty Act Cap 294. We need to first sort out the amnesty issue because other senior LRA commanders benefited from the same initiative,” argued Mr Alaka, promising to write a formal request that will be sent to Director of Public Prosecutions to respond to the queries concerning Mr Kwoyelo’s trial.

Citing the examples of Brigadiers Kenneth Banya and Sam Kolo, Mr Alaka’s arguments prompted the court to adjourn the case to July 25 this year for hearing of the preliminary objections. Justice Kiiza asked the parties to resolve the technicalities to allow the case to be heard, starting August 15.

The State, led by Senior Principal State Attorney, Ms Joan Kagezi, objected to the issues raised by the defence team. Ms Kagezi, assisted by Senior Principal Attorneys George William Byensi and Lino Anguzu, also submitted an amended charge sheet saying the cases were not originally preferred under aegis of the Geneva Convention Act Cap 363, which Uganda was not originally signatory too.

Amnesty denial

According to Mr Alaka, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions refused to grant his client’s request for amnesty despite receiving a formal notification for a certification of Mr Kwoyelo’s amnesty request from the Principal Legal Officer of the Amnesty Commission.

The allegations

Prosecution alleges that Mr Kwoyelo committed 53 charges of abduction with intent to murder, causing serious injuries and destruction of property between 1987 and 2005 in his native Pabbo and Lamogi locality.

The State alleges that Mr Kwoyelo’s action, as a commander of others still at large, contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. The convention is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions which form the bedrock of the law of armed conflict. Convention four was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone, and outlaws the practice of unrestrained warfare.

In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted a report from the Secretary-General and a Commission of Experts which concluded that the Geneva Conventions had passed into the body of customary international law, thus making them binding on non-signatories to the Conventions, like the LRA, whenever they engage in armed conflicts.

Mr Kwoyelo looked composed during three-hour session. His mother, Ms Rojolina Oyela, two brothers and a sister appeared in court. Ms Oyela said she was optimistic that her son would be released from prison because he is not guilty. “I am leaving everything in the hands of God because I know my son was forced to join the rebellion,” she said in an interview.

When the LRA shifted operations from northern Uganda and southern Sudan to the jungles of eastern Congo, Mr Kwoyelo was captured after he was injured in a firefight with UPDF troops in March 2009.

Uganda mourns July 11 bomb victims

Monday, 11th July, 2011 /By Vision Reporter

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has asked the international community to take decisive action to end the Somalia crisis.

The President made the impassioned call on Sunday in his remembrance statement on the eve of the anniversary of the July 11 al-Shabaab twin bombings in Kampala that left 76 people dead and hundreds of others injured.

“As we remember our citizens who lost their lives at the hands of terrorists, I send my deepest condolences to their families. I want their families to know that we will never forget this tragic day. We will always mourn the youth and vigour destroyed by these senseless terrorists.

“At the same time, I want to appeal to our Somali brothers and sisters to help us so that we help them. We do not have any other interest in Somalia, except ideological reasons of Pan-Africanism. We want Africa to be free of all foreign interference; including these idiots called extremists. Those who died here in Kampala, where there was no war frontline, paid the ultimate price for our country’s commitment to Pan-Africanism,” Museveni said.

The President said the situation in Somalia had evolved into a real problem for the whole of Eastern Africa and the world.

“Somalia is the exporter of terrorism in the area. Pirates have made shipping to this region very expensive since ships must make huge diversions to avoid them. Somalia is a threat to the economies of Eastern Africa,” he said.

Regarding the situation of the African Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Museveni said AMISOM operations were going on well although there is need for international support in areas of air and maritime operations, especially helicopters for transport and for combat operations.

“I do not believe in conserving problems. The Somali problem appears to be a conservation project because of the one dimensional involvement, the land forces. Why can’t we increase the dimension? Why don’t we use the air? What is the air for? Such a serious problem and we just go on playing with it?” he wondered.

“On July 11, the al-shabaab killed 76 of our people who were watching football. They have been trying to plant bombs all over East Africa. Why does the international community preserve this? We are ready to solve this problem decisively,” Museveni said.

AMISOM, which comprises 9,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops, has been deployed in Mogadishu since 2007 to support the fragile Transitional Federal Government of Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

Joint prayers were yesterday held at Kyandondo Rugby Grounds, one of the July 11 bomb sites to mark the first anniversary of the al-shabaab twin bombings in Kampala.

A new cycle for South Sudan, Uganda love-hate relationship

Posted Tuesday, July 12 2011 /www.monitor.co.ug/By David Sseppuuya

Uganda is the toast of Juba at the moment, or ought to be, as South Sudan takes the first tentative steps into a life of independence. Like a marriage, we are bonded to Sudan, for better or for worse. This cycle looks like those moments ‘for better’.

As South Sudan takes off Uganda is poised – if we take the opportunity – to be its biggest trading partner (with strong competition from Kenya), having been a great ideological support in helping the SPLA tilt the secessionist war into southern favour.

The Uganda shilling has served as a very convertible currency in the south; we shared 256, our international telephone code; our low end manufactures are dominant on shop shelves; and our service sector is extending its hand in banking, health, media, education, and transport. Plus, of course, the abode we extended to thousands of refugees. And, as a small regional power, we remain a go-to brother in a complex geopolitical region.

It was not always thus. The first Sudanese I ever heard of was a fellow called Marella – Brigadier Hussein Marella. I was a kid, but I would hear his name being whispered in perfect dread. He was the commandant of the Uganda Army’s Military Police at the time when Ugandans were being slaughtered in their hundreds at that barracks in Makindye in Idi Amin’s Uganda. Col. Bernard Rwehururu refers in his autobiography Cross to the Gun to a failure to stop state murders “because those who ordered the killings were people like Brig. Marella, who were highly placed.

One Ugandan blog describes him as ‘an evil man’. Though Marella was a Sudanese whose home was 100 miles from Yei, a town in southern Sudan, he was trusted by Amin who appointed him Chief of Staff. It was evident that Amin could not restrain him.”

Two others were Farouk Minawa, a native Bari, in southern Sudan, who commanded the dreaded State Research Bureau in Nakasero, and Ali Towelli, at the Public Safety Unit in Naguru. In State of Blood, Henry Kyemba discusses Amin’s shock of “the extent of opposition (in the army) to the Southern Sudanese” in firing Marella after he crushed a coup attempt in 1974. The adults around whom I was always whispered darkly but quietly about ‘Sudanese’ bossing our country around, but whisper is all you could in those dark days.

Of course there are many more pleasant Sudanese than there are nasty ones. My first personal acquaintance with a Sudanese was to leave a curious but lasting impression on me. Abdeldafi el Khatib is a journalist from Khartoum, a gentle soul whom I met in Tokyo in 1999. He had been to Kampala, and remembered the “rrrred aaearrrth”, as he pronounced “red earth” in that Arabic accent that rolls the Rs. It had never occurred to me that our soil is red, but since that encounter in Japan, I have taken to the strange habit of scrutinising the soil in different countries and, yes, Ugandan soil is relatively red.

Those Sudanese, foul and pleasant, do, in a sense, encapsulate Uganda’s relationship with our northern neighbours. It is a love-hate relationship that, with Juba now independent, should grow given Uganda’s strategic location. We shall embrace South Sudan in the East African Community; we should support (I am prophesying) their entry into the Commonwealth, where they have some historical links.

That history is, again, tied to Uganda. Our first national army, the Uganda Rifles, established in 1895, had at its core Sudanese troops, remnants from a combined force of Capt. Fredrick Lugard’s soldiers and Emin Pasha’s army as the Ugandan state came into being under British colonial rule. It was not until that army mutinied in 1897 that Baganda recruits and Indian troops were added, according to Jan Jelmert Jorgensen’s Uganda: A Modern History.

As Uganda fought Kony and discreetly helped the SPLA against Khartoum in the 1990s, Ugandans in Yumbe suffered periodic retaliatory aerial bombing. These are the same people who had fled as refugees to Sudan when the Uganda National Liberation Front overthrew Amin in 1979. It is a cycle.

Hopefully, the cycle will hold at the feel-good point where it is now, so that shared heritage like names (Wani, Akol, Kenyi, Arop) and the untapped tourist potential at the 19th century Dufile Fort, built by Madi people of NW Uganda and SW Sudan, and so well-documented by the still living archaeologist Merrick Posnansky, can be enjoyed. By the way, some counts reckon that there are more Acholi in South Sudan than there are in Uganda.

Caution: we hear that Luganda is a dominant language in trade in South Sudan’s cities and towns. But we also hear of specific discomforts that many Ugandans experience. That is not strange wherever foreign merchant classes dominate – ask the Lebanese in West Africa or the Chinese in Malaysia. What the Ugandans must do is to blend in well, adapt, guard against ostentation, and avoid standing out needlessly. That is how long-lasting relationships are sustained.

dsseppuuya@ug.nationmedia.com

Government stops extra UTODA charges

Monday, 11th July, 2011 /By Vision Reporters /www.newvision.co.ug

THE Government has suspended all un-receipted dues paid by taxi drivers to the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA), which manages the taxi parks in the city.

As a result, the drivers also agreed to call off the strike that paralysed passenger transport in Kampala city yesterday.

The official receipted charges include sh4,500 paid by each taxi daily and sh20,000 paid monthly for Kampala City Council stickers.

In addition to these charges, taxi drivers also pay ‘loading fees’, which are equivalent to the fare of three passengers.

The fee is paid each time a vehicle loads passengers from the taxi parks or city stages. Taxi drivers argue that no receipts are issued for these fees.

Drivers are also required to pay welfare fees. According to the drivers, the fees amount to sh5,000 per day, but the amount varies depending on the stage.

These un-receipted charges are at the centre of a dispute between the leaders of the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) and the taxi drivers, who recently formed an organisation called Drivers and Conductors Central Association (DACCA).

UTODA insists that the welfare fees were introduced by the drivers to help them when they have financial problems. They argue that the money is in custody of stage committees.

The Government yesterday said it had instituted investigations into the collection and utilisation of all the un-receipted funds for the next three weeks.

After a two-hour closed meeting between the Vice-President, Edward Ssekandi, and the two warring parties at the Cabinet library yesterday, drivers and conductors agreed to resume work immediately.

The DACCA leader, Mustapha Mayambala, told journalists last evening that he briefed President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday about the extra charges and the harassment subjected to the drivers by UTODA personnel.

The meeting with Ssekandi followed another one between DACCA leaders and information minister Mary Karooro Okurut at Fairway Hotel that ended at about 2:00am yesterday.

In the meeting with Ssekandi, the parties also agreed to institute a committee to investigate the allegations of misappropriation of the funds that have been the basis of suspicion between the two drivers’ groups resulting into the strike.

Ssekandi, however, warned that those who refrain from paying the receipted dues must be denied entry into the taxi parks.

Security state minister Muruli Mukasa, who also attended the meeting, said there is dissatisfaction in the way money is collected and shared among UTODA members.

He asked UTODA officials to abide by the Government’s decision and called upon the two rival taxi associations to work together as they execute their business.

UTODA chairman Hajji Musa Katongole, who turned up with his executive, declined to comment on the matter, and was locked in a crisis meeting by press time.

DACCA was represented by Mayambala and his team. Later, Mayambala addressed a press conference at the Uganda Journalists Association offices at Maria galleria, reaffirming their decision to call off the strike.

Last month, a section of drivers petitioned the Kampala Capital City Authority, protesting the welfare fees and alleged harassment by UTODA agents collecting the money.

After meeting the drivers, the Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, summoned UTODA officials over several complaints, but they failed to turn up.

The Kampala executive director, Jennifer Musisi, stopped the meeting saying it was ill-advised.

Addressing journalists yesterday, Lukwago said the authority had called a special council meeting on Wednesday to address issues relating to the public transport system.

He argued that if his meeting with UTODA had taken place, the situation would not have degenerated into a crisis.

Compiled by Taddeo Bwambale, Juliet Waiswa, Pascal Kwesiga and Henry Ssekanjako

West African leaders urged to sign and ratify Kampala Convention

By: Pasco Gerald Temple – Nigeria/ www.sierraexpressmedia.com/on July 11, 2011.

West African leaders have been urged by Sierra Leone’s Deputy Attorney General and Justice Minister Hon. John Arrow Bockarie through their representatives at the first Ministerial Conference on “Humanitarian Assistance and Internal Displacement in West Africa” held in Abuja, Nigeria to be truly committed in promoting the rights of internally displaced people, sign and ratify the October 2009 Kampala convention, and show commitment to implement it through the approved plan of action.

Hon. John Arrow Bockarie made this call on Thursday July 7 at the Economic Community of West African states Commission (ECOWAS) Conference Centre in his capacity as chairman of the one day session of the first Ministerial Conference on Humanitarian Assistance and Internal Displacement in West Africa, after a marathon deliberation on a Thirty Four (34) point resolution adopted by representatives of ECOWAS Countries.

His call came after series of pronouncements made in the same direction by different Representatives of Governments and organizations including Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry, Dr. Martin I. Uhomoibhi Finland Government, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) African Union(AU), UN Refugee Agency,(UNHCR) OCHA etc.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Martin I. Uhomoibhi who read President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s speech described the theme “Humanitarian Assistance and Internal Displacement in West Africa” “Thoughtful” as they are relevant, not least because humanitarian assistance and the challenge of internal displacement have become global phenomena.

He said the issue of humanitarian assistance which has become a widely accepted intervention strategy is embedded in the African Culture. “We in Africa believe in each other’s keeper. “Whether the challenge is in the form of drought, flooding, desertification or from armed conflict, African countries have a long standing tradition to provide relief and support to displaced populations.

Within the context of the sub-region, Dr. Martin I. Uhomoibhi said both terms have come to assume greater significance with respect to States obligations and responsibilities toward internally displaced persons, most especially women and children.

“Convinced of the need to address the effects of armed conflict, natural disasters, and inter–communal clashes, our leaders ratified in 1969, and the convention governing the specific aspect of refugee problems in Africa to provide a legal framework in responding to the challenges of internal displacement.

In the case of Nigeria, such institutions include the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees and the Civil Defence Corps. Others include the Nigerian Red Cross Society and Women Societies.

“It is also reassuring to know that the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs also has similar structures on the ground in member states. “The work of the international Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other international legal instruments specifically created to protect internally displaced persons continue to be pivotal to addressing the challenges of internally displaced persons(IDP’S) and humanitarian intervention not only in West Africa but globally.

“At sub regional level, ECOWAS Member States have set up its own relief and Support architecture. The task we face therefore is to strengthen existing mechanisms and institutions to facilitate a robust response capability among states in the sub-region.

“In this regard, I wish to call on states that are yet to ratify the Kampala convention to do so , and for all states to speed up the domestication of this important treaty in order to strengthen our collective capability in addressing the challenges of the IDP’S and Humanitarian intervention in our region.

Sierra Leone’s Deputy Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs Minister Hon. Rosaline Oya Sankoh clearly explained the meaning of inter-relationship, Internal Displacement, Refugees, Humanitarian assistance and aids. She also took time to explain their respective distinctions.

According to an updated available African Union data, thirty two (32) African Countries including Sierra Leone have so far signed the Kampala declaration. Sierra Leone is amid the first five, among the twelve African Countries that have so far ratified the Kampala convention. Fifty three African Countries are to sign and ratify the Kampala declaration.

Pasco Gerald Temple, Information Attaché, Sierra Leone High Commission, Abuja, Nigeria

West African leaders urged to sign and ratify Kampala Convention

By: Pasco Gerald Temple – Nigeria/ www.sierraexpressmedia.com/on July 11, 2011.

Pasco Gerald Temple, Information Attaché, Sierra Leone High Commission, Abuja, Nigeria

SOUTH AFRICA:

South Sudanese celebrate independence in S. Africa

English.news.cn / Xinhuanet/ 2011-07-12

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhuanet) — South African President Jacob Zuma has described the independence of the Republic of South Sudan as the dawn of a new era in Africa. President Zuma – who led a South African delegation to South Sudan’s inaugural celebrations – has pledged his country’s continued support towards working for peace and stability in the world’s newest state.

Meanwhile, members of the South Sudan community in South Africa have described their country’s independence as a great day for themselves and future generations. CCTV correspondent René Del Carme reports from Pretoria.

It’s a sunny winter’s day as the flag of the new Republic of South Sudan is hoisted in the South African capital, Pretoria, for the very first time. A long-awaited, historic moment… say these South Sudanese citizens living in South Africa. A moment they will never forget.

A South Sudanese said, “This is what we’ve been waiting for, for so long. Independence for the Republic of South Sudan.”

A South Sudanese said, “Oh it means a lot, really. It’s the most happy day in my life and also the lives of the South Sudanese people.”

A South Sudanese said, “It’s such an excitement for me to see the people of South Sudan gain their freedom today. And I’m happy as seeing them as the newest nation in Africa. I’m also wishing and hoping that the people of Libya and other African nations to gain their freedom from the oppression of Westerners and the oppression of greedy leaders.”

A South Sudanese said, “So we can say we are free at last. We are free. Economic Freedom. Political freedom.”

Members of the South Sudanese government and other professionals studying in South Africa, gathered with friends and family to watch their country’s independence celebrations on television. It’s a moment many thought they’d never see. Let alone get to share with their children.

South Sudanese Student Peter Anibati Abia said, “As I can see on the TV how, my people are celebrating. I wish I could be there. So it will be a great moment for me to enjoy my country as a free citizen. As somebody who’s not marginalised in his own country. And i’ll be very much excited to be back home.”

Jago Arop Ayik, Government of South Sudan, said, “It’s very crucial that the people of South Sudan realise what they fought for. And it was a long struggle.And it was a long fight. So they want to see the things which they we deprived of. They want to see that these things are real.”

Peter said, “I would like to see democracy prevail in my country. I would like to see freedom to everybody. People should be respected and access should be given to everybody for education, health facilities… all these things, I would like to see it done in the new Republic of South Sudan.”

René Del Carme said, “A proud day of joy and celebration. But also a moment to remember the Sudanese men and women who sacrificed their lives – over many decades – to realize this dream of a democratic Republic of South Sudan.”

And as they learn the words of their new nation’s brand new national anthem… they know that there’s much hard work to be done to build a strong, viable state of South Sudan… And that’s precisely why many of these pilots, air-traffic-controllers, and other students, hope to someday take the skills they’ve acquired – here in South Africa – back home to their country.

Government of South Sudan Jago Arop Ayik said, “Some of them even want to go to the South to see the nation-building. To witness it. To be part of it.”

(Source:cntv.cn)

Editor: Chen Zhi

South Africa’s Borrowing Costs Rise to Highest in Four Months at Auction

By Robert Brand – /www.bloomberg.com/ Jul 12, 2011

South Africa’s borrowing costs rose to the highest in four months at an auction of government debt on concern Europe’s debt crisis will worsen.

The Pretoria-based Reserve Bank sold 1.5 billion rand ($217.2 million) of 7.25 percent notes maturing in 2020 at an average yield of 8.43 percent, the highest since the March 22 sale. Investors bid for 1.8 times the amount on offer, according to central bank data on Bloomberg. It also sold 600 million rand of 7 percent bonds due 2031 at a yield of 8.95 percent, the highest since March 8, with investors bidding for 1.5 the securities on offer.

The dollar rose to a four-month high against the euro and U.S. Treasuries surged, pushing yields to seven-month lows, as investors turned to safe-haven assets on concern Europe’s debt crisis will spread to economies too big to rescue. The extra yield investors demand to buy South African 10-year debt over U.S. Treasuries widened 12 basis points to 5.58 percentage points, the most since March 17.

“Simply put, this was a very poor auction outcome,” Leon Myburgh and Coura Fall, analysts at Citibank NA in Johannesburg, said in an e-mailed comment. “Few people wanted these bonds, and those that did bid in small clips at high yield levels. The risk-off sentiment on increased European concerns was probably the main factor keeping buyers at bay.”

The secondary market yield on the 2020 bonds rose six basis points today to 8.42 percent as of 11:43 a.m. in Johannesburg, the highest on a closing basis since May 18.

South African Steel Companies Improve Wage Offer to End Strike, Numsa Says

By Brian Latham – /www.bloomberg.com/ Jul 12, 2011

South African steel and engineering companies boosted a pay offer to workers in a bid to end a strike that started on July 4, said the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, or Numsa.

The companies raised the offer from 7 percent, Karl Cloete, deputy general secretary of the labor union, said by phone, declining to give details of the new wage package. Numsa’s governing committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the union’s response, he said.

“The strike will continue while we continue to negotiate,” Cloete said. “Wages, the use of labor brokers and the duration of the agreement are the three remaining sticking points.”

Numsa is demanding a 13 percent pay increase, compared with the current inflation rate of 4.6 percent. The differences between the two parties “is substantial and it appears unlikely that an early resolution to the strike is possible,” David Carson, the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa’s executive director, said in an e-mailed statement from Johannesburg today.

Other trade unions, including the 70,000-strong Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing and Allied Workers’ Union have also began strike action this month.

Numsa said it has about 320,000 workers on strike.

UPDATE 1-S.Africa’s Massmart wants 100 pct of The Fruitspot

Tue Jul 12, 2011 / Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, July 12 (Reuters) – South African discount chain store Massmart (MSMJ.J: Quote), majority controlled by U.S. giant retailer Wal-Mart (WMT.N: Quote), is looking to take over fruit and vegetable supplier The Fruitspot, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

“We have submitted an application to the Competition Commission in relation to a 100 percent acquisition of The Fruitspot,” Massmart’s spokesman Brian Leroni told Reuters.

“The acquisition is consistent with our strategy to grow Massmart’s fresh fruit and vegetables proposition to customers.”

If the transaction is approved, The Fruitspot will be housed under Massmart’s Masswarehouse division, Leroni said, but declined to put a value on the deal.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, finalised a $2.4 billion purchase of 51 percent of discount retailer Massmart in June, after winning approval with minimal conditions from South Africa’s competition authorities. [ID:nLDE75J1EP]

Under the conditions, Massmart must not cut jobs for two years, honour existing labour agreements and work to develop local suppliers. Unions had demanded strict targets on using local manufacturers.

Leroni said the bid had nothing to do with the conditions set out by the Competition Tribunal.

Johannesburg-based The Fruitspot supplies other retailers, including listed chain Spar (SPPJ.J: Quote), whose shares are down nearly 1 percent at 91.00 rand.

Massmart’s shares are also weaker, having shed 0.6 percent at 0853 GMT, after earlier sinking as low as 2.3 percent. (Writing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)

Unions set to march in Durban, Johannesburg

Sapa / 12 juillet, 2011

Two unions involved in key sector strikes countrywide will step up their action, with mass marches planned for Durban and Johannesburg.

Congress of SA Trade Unions General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is expected to lead a National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) march in Durban from 9AM.

Thousands of workers in the engineering sector were expected to gather at the King Dinizulu statue, opposite Durban Christian Centre at 9AM.

Workers would then hand over a memorandum to Seifsa at the Durban City Hall.

More than 120,000 engineering workers are demanding pay rises ranging from 10 to 13 percent, and a ban on labour brokers.

The strike in the engineering industry — which began last week — is being led by Numsa, the Metal and Electrical Workers’ Union (Mewusa), and the SA Equity Workers’ Association (Saewa).

About 70,000 fuel and other workers joined them on Monday, pushing for a minimum salary of R6,000 per month and a 40-hour work week.

This strike could see supplies of medicine and petrol interrupted.

Those involved in the second strike are expected to gather at 10AM in Johannesburg to march to the Chamber of Mines in the city centre.

Unions involved in the Johannesburg march included the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu), the General Industries Workers’ Union of SA (Giwusa) and the South African Chemical Workers’ Union (Sacwu).

Metro police said traffic would be diverted in the CBD. The march was expected to start at the Workers’ Library in Newtown and proceed down Miriam Makeba, Market, Simmonds and Marshall and Holland streets.

Last week, violence during the strike resulted in one death and six injuries.

Prince Albert and Charlene slept in separate hotels during honeymoon in South Africa

From: NewsCore /www.news.com.au/July 12, 2011

PRINCE Albert of Monaco and his new bride slept apart on their honeymoon to South Africa in different hotels some 16km away from each other, according to media reports.

Albert and his wife Charlene Wittstock, a South African swimming champion, were expected to be staying last week in a US$3,600-a-night suite at the luxurious Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, near Durban.

However, citing a hotel spokesperson, the City Press newspaper said Charlene in fact stayed alone in a cheaper suite at the hotel, while Albert travelled 16km to sleep at the Hilton Hotel.

During the holiday, the newlyweds hosted a wedding reception in Durban for South African friends and dignatories who could not make their glittering marriage ceremony in Monaco on July 2.

The City Press said that when the couple met President Jacob Zuma “they arrived in the same car but left in two separate vehicles.” They also posed for a very “awkward” kiss, the paper said.

The revelations come amid continued speculation about the health of the highly-scrutinised marriage.

Albert, 53, and his 33-year-old bride reportedly had to return home early from their South Africa holiday so he could have a DNA test as part of paternity claim from another woman.

There have also been numerous reports that Charlene tried to leave Monaco several times before the wedding amid rumours of Albert’s apparent love child.

Title: Zuma welcomes heads of mission to SA

Date: 12 Jul 2011/7thspace.com/ Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System

Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma has welcomed eight new Heads of Mission, who will represent their countries in South Africa.

Zuma received letters of credence from ambassadors and high commissioners representing the Republic of Korea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jamaica, Myanmar, Grenada, Brazil and Belgium, on Tuesday.

Korea’s ambassador to South Africa, Y Lee, said his country had particular fondness for South Africa and Durban.

“To the people of Korea, South Africa and the City of Durban is a land of hope, promise and blessing because Durban was the place for Pyeongchang’s Olympic dreams to come true.”

Just last week, the Korean city of Pyeongchang was named as the host city for the 2018 Winters Olympics at the 123rd International Olympic Committee Session held in Durban.

Zuma in turn congratulated Korea on winning the bid saying the bid was “absolutely wonderful”.

Both the President and Lee also acknowledged the cordial relations that exist between the countries since diplomatic relations were established almost 20 years ago.

Zuma said he was very happy to deepen relations with Korea.

Belgium’s ambassador to South Africa, J Maricou, noted that his country and South Africa enjoyed excellent bilateral relations.

“We share like-minded views on a number of regional and international matters,” he said.

While Zuma agreed that relations between Belgium and South Africa were very good, he said more could be done to enhance them further.

South Africa would also look to increase its trade with Belgium, the President said.

Grenada’s High Commissioner to South Africa, RE Rouse, said she would look to build on the strong bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries.

She also congratulated Zuma and the country on the great strides that South Africa has made both economically and politically over the years.

Zuma noted that the support the country received from Grenada during the struggle against apartheid, saying many cadres used Grenadian passports during that time.

The President also received letters of credence from ambassadors Dr YM Kassa of Ethiopia, Dr H Al-Alawi of Iraq, M Naung of Myanmar, PL Carneiro de Mendonca of Brazil and Jamaica’s High Commissioner to South Africa N Taylor-Roberts.

EN BREF, CE 12 Juillet 2011 … AGNEWS/DAM,NY, 12/07/2011