Africa

Elizabeth Ohene reminisces about meeting the late South African anti-apartheid hero Ahmed Kathrada.

The constitutional court rejects a government attempt to keep a ban in place on domestic trade.

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Can President Jacob Zuma survive the latest challenge in his political career, asks the BBC's Milton Nkosi.

Joel Kioko has gone from growing up in a slum in Kenya's capital to being trained in a US ballet school.

Solving the water crisis for South Sudanese refugees.

April 1, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government Saturday said it doesn't rule out to open an Airbridge to deliver food assistance to South Sudan during the rainy season revealing a proposal to open a third road corridor to transport aid to the needy population in the war-torn nation.

Famine was recently declared in Mayendit, a village in South Sudan's Unity state, the latest crisis in the country's three-year civil war. About 100 000 people are said to be at risk, and aid groups are pleading for access. At least 5 million people or more than 40% of the nation's population need urgent assistance, aid agencies say.

In July 2014, Juba and Khartoum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver food assistance to vulnerable South Sudanese through the River Nile or by road. Last January, the agreement was extended for a six month period.

On 26 March, Sudan announced it would open a second humanitarian corridor to deliver food assistance to the affected in South Sudan.

Humanitarian aid commissioner in North Kordofan state Ahmed Babiker al-Hassan disclosed a proposal to open a third route from North Kordofan capital, El-Obeid to Aweil town in South Sudan via Al-Muglad to deliver aid to people in need.

He told the official news agency SUNA that 27,000 metric tonnes of humanitarian assistance are at the disposal of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and ready to be delivered, adding that additional 1000 metric tonnes are in the locality of Al-Dibaibat, South Kordofan state.

Al-Hassan expected that the total assistance would reach 57,000 metric tonnes by the end of April.

It is noteworthy that heavy rains impede vehicles movement in most of the western states of Sudan and those bordering South Sudan for long periods during the fall.
On Thursday, WFP announced it has begun providing food assistance to war-torn South Sudan using the new corridor announced by the Sudanese government last week.

WFP said the new route enables transport of food items overland from El-Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan's Unity state.

(ST)

April 1, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Nuba Mountains Liberation Council (NMLC), which leads a rift in the SPLM-N, Saturday said the group decided in their recent meetings to freeze negotiations for peace in Sudan until the settlement of internal divisions.

The announcement comes in less than 24 hours after a communiqué by the SPLM-N leadership announcing the end of five-day meetings in the Nuba Mountains to settle an internal rift following the resignation of the SPLM-N Deputy Chairman Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.

In a statement signed by the NMLC Deputy Chairman Najla Abdel-Wahid, the South Kordofan body called its decisions of 25 March to dissolve the SPLM-N general secretariat and to sack Arman from his position as the chief negotiator of the group.

It further pointed to the two extraordinary meetings held with the "delegation of the SPLM-N Chairman" who was accompanied by "Lt Gen Yasir Arman" and two members of the National leadership Council joined by the "SPLA-N Chief of Staff" and his the "Deputy Chief of Staff Izat Koko Angelo".

Abdel Wahid said the parties agreed that the presence of Abdel Aziz al-Hilu is needed to settle the problem.

The participant agreed to freeze the negotiations until the end of the ongoing process to reorganise the structures of the Movement through an Extraordinary National Conference. Therefore, we are not concerned about any negotiation or agreement signed before the conference, the statement concluded.

On Friday the SPLM-N leadership issued a statement saying the internal feuding has been overcome.

"The meetings emphasised its commitment to the SPLM-N unity, reiterated its adherence to its political line, its alliances with the opposition forces and their negotiating positions and institutions, including its negotiating delegation and its vision of the New Sudan".

Observers agree that the main armed opposition group is on the brink of a split that no one can determine its dimension within the group or its impact on the ongoing efforts to end the war in Sudan.

They underline that Abdel Wahid in her statement didn't mention the name of the SPLM-N chairman Malik Agar but just his position, the same for the chief of staff Jacob Mekouar, while it referred to Arman only by his military rank.

Unconfirmed reports say Agar and Mekouar backed Arman's continuation in his positions as secretary-general and chief negotiator until the extraordinary general conference but the NMLC refused their demand.

The SPLM-N leadership, on Friday, pledged to issue a detailed statement on the outcome of its meetings in the Nuba Mountains.

In Khartoum, Sudanese officials say the rift within the armed group would impact negatively on the negotiating process and would delay it.

Also, they point to Juba saying the ruling SPLM is supporting calls for self-determination among the Nuba. But sources close to the NMLC minimise the importance of this demand saying it is only a negotiating position to get self-rule for the region.

(ST)

April 1, April 2017 (WAU) - The mayor of Wau municipal council, Mel Aleu has directed all humanitarian agencies operating in Wau town to suspend the distribution of food except water and medical facilities to displaced persons at the Episcopal Church compound.

IDPs shelter near the UNMISS base in Wau (IOM/Gonzalez 2016)

Aleu was speaking at a meeting of representatives of all aid agencies said food distribution be temporarily halted until the repatriation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to the new proposed site is accomplished.

During the meeting, the mayor also formed a repatriation committee comprising of security, state head of U.N agencies as well as the South Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC).

“Yes I said they will be no longer distribution in that placed starting from today. Anybody or any organization who wants to give assistance should wait for three days or later,” said Aleu.

“From Monday, the police, the security organs will be there in that proposed area to protect those who are going to implement their projects in the area,” he added.

Mel said the relocation of the IDPs to the new area from Episcopal Church compound was a decision taken by the state government to allow the several displaced persons to have space for cultivation.

The mayor requested aid agencies to present their nominees to the repatriation committee, but many asked to make prior consultations.

Currently, the Episcopal Church compound is accommodating more than 4, 000 displaced persons who fled their homes last month after clashes between the cattle keepers and farmers in Jur River county.

(ST)

April 1, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan rebel leader, Riek Machar met the head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, Festus Mogae in Pretoria, South Africa, where the two discussed President Salva Kiir's calls for a unilateral ceasefire and a national dialogue.

Botswana's former president Festus Mogae (Photo File AFP)

The meeting held on 31 March, officials said, mainly focused on ways of finding meaningful solutions to the conflict in war-hit South Sudan.

Machar's press secretary, Lam Kuei Lam confirmed the Pretoria meeting, saying it was part of finding a solution to South Sudan's war.

“On item one, the chairman did inform President Mogae that indeed SPLM/SPLA-IO is not a war mongering but act on self-defense. On the second and three, the chairman called for initiation of a political forum for the parties to engage on the peaceful settlement of the conflict, resuscitate and review the ARCISS [Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan],” said Lam.

He added, “On ceasefire, once the forum is initiated a cessation of hostilities would be negotiated by the parties”.

Machar, Lam said, criticized the chairman of South Sudan's peace monitoring body for failing to implement the peace as agreed upon.

Among the other issues cited as “failures” of the peace monitoring body is the continued displacement of thousands of South Sudanese to neighbouring nations and the famine that has hit the country.

This is the first meeting Mogae initiated with the South Sudanese rebel leader when the latter fled after the July 2016 clashes in the capital, Juba.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

April 1, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir is scheduled to pay a working visit to neighboring Ethiopia next week, officials at the Ethiopian foreign affairs ministry disclosed on Saturday.

Sudan's bashir speaks at the opening session of the third Arab Conference for Agriculture Investment in Khartoum on 27 February 2017 (ST Photo)

The ministry's spokesperson, Tewolde Mulgeta, told Sudan Tribune that Bashir will on Tuesday arrive in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he will hold meetings with Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn and other government officials.

The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of bilateral issues of common interest, mainly focused on evaluating the implementations of previously signed agreements and Memorandum of Understandings will be center of discussions between the two sides.

During the high level meeting, both Bashir and the Ethiopian Prime Minister will reportedly assess challenges and obstacles hindering to a speedy implementation of signed accords and will consult on ways how to fast track the joint projects in a clear time frame.

On Tuesday after noon, however, Hailemariam and Bashir are expected to sign bilateral agreements, which according to government officials would further elevate economic ties and deepen the historic bond of relations between the two neighbours.

Bashir is also expected to visit some of the industrial parks which Ethiopia is building as part of its efforts to transform its economy.

The two countries have lots of cooperation agreements, including on power, security, infrastructure, among other sectors.

(ST)

April 1, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - More than 60,000 South Sudanese have entered Sudan in the first three months of 2017, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday, fleeing famine and war in the world's youngest nation.

South Sudanese refugees perform a traditional dance as President Omer Hassan al-Bashir addresses a crowd a rally held in Ed Daein, East Darfur, April 5, 2016. April 5, 2016. (Photo Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

South Sudan, formed after splitting from the north in 2011, has declared a famine in its parts, where 100,000 people are said to be facing starvation.

The U.N refugee agency was initially expecting 60,000 South Sudanese refugees to arrive in Sudan in the whole of 2017, but that figure has already been exceeded in the first three months.

"The number of new arrivals has surpassed expectations, signalling a likely worsening situation in South Sudan," it said in a statement.

UNHCR anticipates a continuous influx of South Sudanese refugees throughout this year, but is concerned about a drop in funding to meet their needs.

Aid groups have denounced a "man-made" famine caused by bloodshed in South Sudan where civil war has forced people to flee, disrupted agriculture, sent prices soaring and cut off aid agencies from some of the worst-hit areas.

South Sudan has been engulfed by war since 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his rival and ex-deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

More than 365,000 South Sudanese refugees, most of them women and children, have arrived in Sudan since December 2013.

(ST)

April 1, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The government negotiating team on the conflict in the Two Areas Saturday said the differences within the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) will delay the next round of talks.

Last month, SPLM-N deputy chairman Abel Aziz al-Hilu resigned from his position saying the secretary-general Yasir Arman disregarded his demand to include the self-determination in the agenda of peace negotiations.

On 25 March, the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council, an SPLM-N political body in the South Kordofan announced its support of al-Hilu's demand for self-determination and relieved Arman from his position as secretary-general and chief negotiator.

In an attempt to contain the growing differences, SPLM-N chairman Malik Agar and Arman arrived in the rebel controlled areas in South Kordofan on Sunday 26 March and engaged in five-day meetings with the political and military leadership.

On Friday, SPLM-N leadership issued a short statement reiterating the unity of rebel group and commitment to its political line and strategy towards peace process in Sudan but didn't elaborate on the details of the moves reached to contain the rift.

Member of the government negotiating team on the conflict in the Two Areas Hussein Karshoom told Sudan Tribune that the fate of the coming round of talks is unclear, pointing the SPLM-N is speaking about changing its negotiating team and rearranging the negotiation issues.

“I believe the differences within the Movement won't impede the negotiations but will delay the next round of talks,” he said.

He expected the SPLM-N to reconcile its situation and return to the negotiating table, but didn't rule out that the Movement could split and form two negotiating teams, saying “all possibilities exist”.

Karshoom expressed his government readiness to engage in talks with each delegation separately if the Movement split into two factions.

“When we look at the past experiences, we see that all possibilities exist. The Movement could split and form two delegations, one representing the Blue Nile and the other representing South Kordofan as it happened in 2003,” he said.

He pointed that Al-Hilu in 2003 led a separate delegation on South Kordofan track and signed a ceasefire agreement with the government; ruling out the African Union chief mediator Thabo Mbeki will announce a new date to resume the talks during his visit to Khartoum on Thursday.

South Kordofan and the neighbouring Blue Nile state, also known as the Two Areas have been the scene of violent conflict between the SPLM-N and Sudanese army since 2011.

Talks between the two sides for a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are stalled since last August.

(ST)