https://www.voazimbabwe.com/z/3153 The Voice of America is one of the world's most trusted sources for news and information from the United States and around the world. VOA is a multi media news organization using radio, television, and the internet to distribute content in 45 languages. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/Content/responsive/VOA/en-ZW/img/logo.png https://www.voazimbabwe.com/z/3153 en 2026 - VOA 60 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:11:02 +0200 Pangea CMS – VOA LONDON/DUBAI (REUTERS) — Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything from Coca-Cola to M&M's sweets, is increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas of war-torn Sudan, traders and industry sources say, complicating Western companies' efforts to insulate their supply chains from the conflict. Sudan produces around 80% of the world's gum arabic, a natural substance harvested from acacia trees that's widely used to mix, stabilize and thicken ingredients in mass-market products including L'Oreal lipsticks and Nestle petfood. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war since April 2023 with Sudan's national army, seized control late last year of the main gum-harvesting regions of Kordofan and Darfur in western Sudan. Since then the raw product, which can only be marketed by Sudanese traders in return for a fee to the RSF, is making its way to Sudan's neighbors without proper certification, according to conversations with eight producers and buyers who are directly involved in gum arabic trading or based in Sudan. The gum is also exported through informal border markets, two traders told Reuters. Asked for comment, a RSF representative said that the force had protected the gum arabic trade and only collected small fees, adding that talk of any lawbreaking was propaganda against the paramilitary group. Last month, the RSF signed a charter with allied groups establishing a parallel government in the parts of Sudan it controls. In recent months, traders in countries with lower-gum arabic production than Sudan, such as Chad and Senegal, or which barely exported it before the war, like Egypt and South Sudan, have begun to aggressively offer the commodity at cheap prices and without proof it is conflict-free, two buyers who have been approached by traders told Reuters. While the acacia trees that yield gum arabic grow across the Africa's arid Sahel region — known as the 'gum belt' — Sudan has become by far the world's biggest exporter due to its extensive groves. Herve Canevet, Global Marketing Specialist at Singapore-based supplier of specialty food ingredients Eco-Agri, said it was often difficult to determine where gum supplies are coming from as many traders would not say if their product has been smuggled. "Today, the gum in Sudan, I would say all of it is smuggled, because there's no real authority in the country," he said. The Association for International Promotion of Gums (AIPG), an industry lobby, said in a January 27 public statement it "does not see any evidence of links between gum [arabic] supply chain and the competing [Sudanese] forces." However, five industry sources said the opaque new trade in gum risked infiltrating the procurement system of global ingredients makers. Companies like Nexira, Alland & Robert, and Ingredion buy a refined version of the amber-colored gum, turn it into emulsifiers and sell it to big consumer goods firms. Contacted by Reuters, Ingredion said it works to ensure that all supply chain transactions are fully legitimate and has diversified sourcing since the start of the war to include other countries such as Cameroon. Nexira told Reuters the civil war prompted it to cut its imports from Sudan and take proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the conflict on its supply chain, including broadening sourcing to ten other countries. Alland & Robert, Nestle and Coca Cola did not comment. M&Ms maker Mars and L'Oreal did not return requests for comment. Cheap gum for sale Mohammed Hussein Sorge, founder of Khartoum-based Unity Arabic Gum, which served global ingredients makers before the war, said he was offered gum arabic in December by traders in Senegal and Chad. He said the Chad-based traders wanted $3,500 per ton for hashab gum, a more expensive variety of gum arabic primarily produced in Sudan, for which he would normally expect to pay more than $5,000 per ton. The sellers could not provide a Sedex certification, which ensures buyers a supplier meets sustainable and ethical standards, Sorge also told Reuters. Sorge did not buy the gum because he feared the low price and lack of documentation was an indication it had been stolen in Sudan or exported via informal RSF-affiliated networks. "Smugglers manage to smuggle gum arabic through the RSF because the RSF controls all production areas," Sorge said. Sorge, who fled to Egypt after RSF forces stole his entire gum supply in 2023, shared WhatsApp messages with Reuters showing these gum traders had reached out on five separate occasions, including as recently as Jan. 9. Since October, the RSF banned exports for 12 goods to Egypt, including gum arabic, in retaliation for what it said was Egyptian airstrikes against the militia. Asked for comment, the paramilitary said it banned what it called smuggling to Egypt because it was not benefiting Sudan. A buyer, who declined to be named for safety reasons, recounted how he also was approached by shadowy gum traders. "I have [acacia] seyal cleaned open quantities ready for shipping," read one WhatsApp message, reviewed by Reuters and offering a load of seyal gum, a cheaper gum arabic variety. In subsequent WhatsApp messages, the trader proposed to schedule shipping every two months at a negotiable price of $1,950 per metric ton, lower than the $3,000 per ton the buyer said he would expect to pay for this kind of load. In a different WhatsApp conversation with the same buyer, reviewed by Reuters, a different trader said that trucks carrying gum arabic had crossed the Sudanese border into South Sudan and Egypt. In all instances, the gum traders could not provide a Sedex certification, the buyer said, adding that he declined the offers for fear the gum came from RSF-affiliated networks. Changing routes Before the Sudanese civil war, the raw gum would be sorted in Khartoum and then trucked to Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, to be shipped via the Suez Canal around the world. Since late last year, however, RSF-affiliated gum arabic started to appear on sale at two informal markets on the border between the Sudanese province of West Kordofan and South Sudan, according to a buyer based in an RSF-controlled area, who declined to be named due to safety concerns. The buyer, a major trader in the West Kordofan area, said traders collect gum from Sudanese land owners and sell them to South Sudanese traders in these markets for U.S. dollars. All of this happens with RSF protection, which the traders pay for, the buyer added. Abdallah Mohamed, a producer who owns acacia groves in West Kordofan, also told Reuters the RSF takes a fee from the traders for protection. The paramilitary group has diversified its interests into gold, livestock, agriculture and banking. South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei, who is also the government's spokesperson, told Reuters transport of gum through South Sudan was not the government's responsibility. Calls and messages to Joseph Moum Majak, the minister of trade and industry for South Sudan, went unanswered. The RSF also takes the product to the Central African Republic through the border town of Um Dafoog, the buyer said, adding that some goes to Chad. A wholesale buyer, based outside Sudan, told Reuters the gum was now being exported through Mombasa in Kenya and South Sudan's capital Juba. Arabic gum of illicit origin has also appeared on sale online. Isam Siddig, a Sudanese gum processor who is now a refugee in Britain, told Reuters his warehouses in Khartoum had been raided by the RSF after he fled in April 2023 with three suitcases of gum in tow. A year later, his gum products appeared on sale, still in his company's branded packaging, in an online Facebook group according to a screenshot shared with Reuters.   https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/how-a-key-ingredient-in-coca-cola-m-m-s-is-smuggled-from-war-torn-sudan/7997752.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/how-a-key-ingredient-in-coca-cola-m-m-s-is-smuggled-from-war-torn-sudan/7997752.html Wed, 05 Mar 2025 00:46:01 +0200 Africa Kampala — The Ugandan army confirmed Sunday it has sent troops to another town in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo to fight local armed groups, amid fears a raging conflict could spiral into a wider war. "Our troops have entered Mahagi town, and we are in control," Uganda's defense and military affairs spokesperson Felix Kulayigye told AFP Sunday. The deployment was requested by the Congolese army following alleged massacres of civilians carried out by a militia known as the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO), he said, without providing further details. Mahagi is in Ituri province, which borders Uganda, where at least 51 people were killed on February 10 by armed men affiliated with CODECO, according to humanitarian and local sources. CODECO claims it defends the interests of the Lendu community, mainly composed of farmers, against the Hema community, who are mainly herders. Uganda already has thousands of troops in other parts of Ituri under an agreement with the Congolese government. Last month, Uganda announced its troops had "taken control" of the provincial capital, Bunia. Ituri is just north of the provinces of North and South Kivu, which at the end of January fell under the control of the anti-government M23 armed group, which the DRC says is backed by neighboring Rwanda. A claim that Kigali denies. Analysts fear that Uganda and Rwanda's growing presence in eastern DRC could lead to a repeat of the so-called Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998 to 2003, involving many African countries and resulting in millions of deaths from violence, disease and famine. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/ugandan-army-deploys-to-town-in-northeast-dr-congo/7994487.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/ugandan-army-deploys-to-town-in-northeast-dr-congo/7994487.html Sun, 02 Mar 2025 23:49:34 +0200 Africa By Mqondisi Dube GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Southern Africa energy experts and political leaders pledged to improve access to energy at a summit in Botswana this week. The commitments come as most countries in the region still rely on coal, a major contributor to global warming. More than 500 participants from 16 Southern African Development Community, or SADC, member states, as well as other African countries, participated in the energy gathering. Moses Ntlamelle, a senior SADC programs officer, said pursuing a more inclusive transition to cleaner energy was one of the resolutions that regional representatives adopted at the summit. “The region is recommended to expedite just energy transition and explore the development of a regional renewable energy market,” he said. “This is to ensure that nobody is left behind. ... Inasmuch as we are going for cleaner energy, we must ensure that this energy transition is just to everybody.” Botswanan President Duma Boko spoke about the need to end energy poverty. “Countries across the SADC region face challenges related to energy poverty,” Boko said. “This constrains our economies, leaving millions of people, especially in rural areas, without access to critical services like health, education, communication, among others. A clarion call for an energy-secure region is, therefore, urgent in order to drive industrialization and integration of our economies.” Most Southern Africa countries rely on coal for energy. Boko called on the region to cut its dependence on fossil fuels and speed up the transition to green energy. “We should incentivize renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects and initiatives, enforce environmental protections and establish clear roadmaps for a just and equitable energy transition, which is relevant to the realities of our countries and region,” he said. “As a region, let us set tangible targets not only to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels but also to increase the use of renewables.” Yunus Alokore, a technical expert at the intergovernmental organization East Africa Center for Renewable Energy and Efficiency, told VOA that if Africa wants to accelerate its transition to sustainable energy, several key elements are needed. “There has to be policies in place and regulatory framework,” Alokore said. “What this does is that it creates transparent, long-term, consistent target, which is something that investors and development partners need.” Alokore said access to finance is also key. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/southern-africa-pushes-for-better-energy-access/7992739.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/southern-africa-pushes-for-better-energy-access/7992739.html Fri, 28 Feb 2025 20:06:14 +0200 Africa BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO — At least 11 people were killed and scores injured Thursday when explosions in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu struck a rally held by leaders of the M23 rebel group, which took control of the city earlier this month. Rebel leaders blamed the bombing on the Democratic Republic of Congo's government and said attackers were among those killed in the blasts, with conflicting reports among rebels and local officials about the number of attackers and victims. Congo’s president blamed the attack on unspecified “foreign” forces. “The attack caused 11 deaths and verifications are underway. The author of the attack is among the victims,” said Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, or AFC, which includes the M23. “There are 65 injured, six of whom are seriously injured and are currently being treated in the operating room.” He told reporters that “following today’s unfortunate incident, we are obliged to react.” Leaders of the M23 rebel group, including Nangaa, were meeting residents when the explosions occurred in the central part of Bukavu. Video and photos shared on social media showed a crowd fleeing the mass rally in Bukavu and bloodied bodies on the ground. M23 accused the Congolese authorities of orchestrating the attack. “We are accusing and condemning vigorously the criminal regime of Kinshasa, which … just implemented its plan of exterminating civilian populations,” AFC said in a statement. “This attack caused several deaths, including a few terrorists from Kinshasa and some injured. Two of them were immediately apprehended by our services. “This cowardly and barbaric act will not be without consequences,” it said. ‘Change and development’ President Felix Tshisekedi called the attack “a heinous terrorist act that was perpetrated by a foreign army illegally present on Congolese soil.” The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,600 kilometers away. Jean Samy, deputy president of the civil society Forces Vives of South Kivu, told The Associated Press that the attack was “a sabotage.” “Until now, we do not know where these grenades came from," he said by phone. “We have already recorded more than 13 deaths and serious injuries who will have to have their hands and legs amputated. The perpetrators of this act are still unknown.” Nangaa was among leaders leaving the podium when two blasts rocked the scene, according to a journalist present at the rally. Nangaa had earlier told the rally that M23 was bringing “change and development” to their city. Three-week offensive Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have swept through the region seizing key cities and killing some 3,000 people in the most significant escalation of conflict in over a decade. In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city, Goma, and seized the second-largest city, Bukavu. The region is rich in gold and coltan, a key mineral for the production of capacitors used in most consumer electronics such as laptops and smartphones. Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. M23 says it is fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one. Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwanda’s involvement. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/at-least-11-dead-in-drc-after-blasts-at-m23-rally-rebels-say/7990756.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/at-least-11-dead-in-drc-after-blasts-at-m23-rally-rebels-say/7990756.html Thu, 27 Feb 2025 23:45:51 +0200 Africa Mqondisi Dube GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Botswana authorities say at least nine people were confirmed dead Monday, as rare flooding hit the semi-arid country. More than 5,000 people have been affected by the floods as record rainfall fell over the last week. Addressing Parliament on Monday, Moeti Mohwasa, the minister for state president, said the nine people who died had all drowned. Of the deceased, six were minors. "While the risk level has generally reduced ... I regret to inform this house that we have lost one more person yesterday evening, bringing to nine the total number of fatalities to date. … So far, the number of people evacuated has increased to 1,806 from 1,749 reported yesterday," Mohwasa said. The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said at least 600,000 schoolchildren were experiencing disruptions due to the floods. Schools have been closed since last week, but Mohwasa said most are expected to reopen Tuesday. "After a thorough assessment of the situation, I am happy to announce that schools will reopen tomorrow, February 25, 2025,” he said. “Another positive note is that our critical infrastructure remain[s] stable, with both electricity and water supply fully restored. Our 24-hour clinics, primary hospitals, and referral hospitals are operational and accessible to all, although there may be occasional interruptions in service provision." While the situation is improving with rain subsiding, more than 600 people remained at evacuation centers Monday. Calvin Moalosi, a Gaborone resident who was at one of the centers, said he lost his belongings due to the floods. "I have never seen so much water in my life. The house became a pool of water, and it is really sad that some people were swept away in the floods,” Moalosi said. “The government has done its best to evacuate people and take them to safe areas." Most parts of the country recorded heavy rains from 150 mm (6 inches) to 200 mm (8 inches) in a 24-hour period several times last week. Kutlwano Mukokomani, chief executive at the local Red Cross Society, said the organization is continuing to provide relief at evacuation centers across the country. "The Botswana Red Cross Society provided relief items to evacuation centers. We continue to provide these relief items to ensure that our communities are kept safe. We provided food items, blankets, mattresses and also hygiene packs. We are also doing assessments so that they can further guide our response," Mukokomani said. Botswana, like most southern African countries, has been recovering from the devastating El Nino-induced drought. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/deadly-floods-in-botswana-kill-9-nearly-2-000-people-evacuated/7987978.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/deadly-floods-in-botswana-kill-9-nearly-2-000-people-evacuated/7987978.html Tue, 25 Feb 2025 23:58:42 +0200 Africa Crowds of Congolese police officers who switched to the M23 rebel group sang and clapped in occupied Bukavu city on Saturday, preparing for retraining under the authority of the rebels who are intent on showing they plan to stick around and govern. The M23 rebels advanced a week ago into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's second-largest city, which was rocked by looting and unrest as Congolese forces withdrew without a fight. The M23's capture of swaths of eastern Congo and valuable mineral deposits has fanned fears of a wider war and led the United Nations Security Council to demand unanimously Friday that it cease hostilities and withdraw. In Bukavu, there was no sign this call would be heeded. The assembled police, wearing brand new uniforms and black berets, were told they would leave for a few days of training and come back to support the M23 rebels. "May you come back to us in good shape so that together we can continue to liberate our country," said Police Commander Jackson Kamba. Around 1,800 police officers have surrendered and were going for retraining with 500 more due to do so, said Lawrence Kanyuka, a spokesperson for the AFC rebel alliance that includes the M23 group. The Congolese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ongoing crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to escalate, with tensions involving the Congolese government, and the M23 rebel group. The DRC government has officially designated the M23 rebel group as a terrorist organization, while the United Nations and the United States classify it as an armed rebel group. Several locals expressed skepticism. The M23's arrival in Bukavu "has paralyzed the entire life of the whole area, even if some activities are resuming in different ways," said resident Josue Kayeye. "We cannot applaud anything done by force." Congolese troops are under pressure on multiple fronts. The town of Minembwe in the mountains of South Kivu and its airfield were captured Friday by a Tutsi militia allegedly allied with the M23, a local official, a military source and a U.N. source said. A few days earlier, its leader, Colonel Makanika, was killed by a Congolese military drone. East African defense chiefs met in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday to discuss the crisis. An internal report on the meeting, seen by Reuters, showed that the group noted that there was "no clear picture of the situation on the ground" amid the escalation and M23's occupation of major cities and airports. The group emphasized the need for direct engagement between all parties to the conflict, according to the report. Congo has repeatedly refused to hold talks with M23. The ethnic Tutsi-led M23 is the latest in a string of groups to take up arms in the name of Tutsis in Congo. The M23 and neighboring Rwanda reject allegations from Congo that it is a Rwandan proxy bent on looting the east's reserves of gold and coltan. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/hundreds-of-congolese-police-join-rebels-in-occupied-city/7986531.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/hundreds-of-congolese-police-join-rebels-in-occupied-city/7986531.html Mon, 24 Feb 2025 23:39:21 +0200 Africa By Kate Bartlett Johannesburg —  South Africa will host a meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 group of major economies later this week, but the chief diplomat for the world’s largest economy, the U.S., is skipping it. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X earlier this month that he would not attend the meeting, taking place Thursday and Friday in Johannesburg, because he objected to the meeting’s agenda, which he described as anti-American. He said South Africa was “using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI and climate change. My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.” DEI is short for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and in President Donald Trump’s first week in the White House, he signed an executive order to end DEI policies and hiring practices in the federal workforce. “I think the whole topic of the G20 gathering is one that I don’t think we should be focused on, talking about global inclusion, equity, and these sorts of things,” Rubio later told the press. He continued by saying the forum should be focused on issues “like terrorism and energy security and the real threats to the national security of multiple countries.” The G20 is a group of the world’s 19 major individual economies as well as the EU and African Union. This year marks the first time an African country is in the rotating presidency position of the G20. While Rubio will not attend, the South African government has confirmed the U.S. will still have a presence at the meeting, likely at a lower level. South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation responded to Rubio in a statement saying: “Our G20 Presidency, is not confined to just climate change but also equitable treatment for nations of the Global South, ensuring an equal global system for all.” Ronald Lamola, minister of international relations and cooperation, told local TV that the meeting’s agenda had been adopted by all members of the G20 and carries on the themes from previous summits, such as the one in Brazil last year. Deteriorating relations Even before the announcement that Rubio would not be taking part in the foreign ministers’ meeting, there had been a swift deterioration in U.S.-South Africa relations under the new administration in Washington. President Trump accused South Africa’s government of engaging in land grabs and mistreating white minority Afrikaners. He cut U.S. financial assistance to the country. While the South African government did pass a controversial land reform law earlier this year, no land has been seized. The white minority is still one of the country’s most privileged communities and owns the majority of private farmland. SEE ALSO: White South Africans gather in support of Trump, his claims they are victims of racism Response from other G20 members Several other nations were quick to affirm their attendance at the meeting after Rubio said he will not attend. Those included EU members Germany, Italy and France, whose ambassadors to South Africa posted a joint video on X saying they were “united in diversity” and shared the South African government’s democratic values. Russia also confirmed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend. “The priorities stated by the South African presidency are designed to encourage economic growth, reduce inequality and imbalances, and ensure equitable access to financing for countries in the Global South.,” said Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. China likewise confirmed its commitment to the meeting, with ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng meeting foreign minister Lamola just after Rubio’s announcement and posting on X: “I also expressed China's readiness to support South Africa's G20 Presidency.” Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, said in a press briefing, “China stands ready to work with all parties to make this meeting a productive one, and send a strong message of supporting multilateralism, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, and jointly responding to global challenges,” he said. Analysts weigh in Political analysts said Rubio’s absence could provide space for countries hostile to the U.S. to advance their agendas. “Will we see the increase of countries like Russia and China pushing their lines, their issues, their perspectives in the absence of the US? That’s entirely possible,” Steven Gruzd, from the South African Institute of International Affairs, told VOA. Brooks Spector, a retired U.S. diplomat, said Rubio’s boycott of the meeting was “a serious misstep.” “You get to make your points at a meeting, boycotting it simply means your voice is not heard,” he said. “Calling the meeting “anti-American” is a misunderstanding of the nature of bilateral, international and multi-lateral discussions.” However, he said he expected Trump would likely still attend the major G20 summit in South Africa in November. In December, the U.S. will take on the presidency of the G20.   https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/rubio-snubs-south-africa-s-g20-meeting-amid-diplomatic-tensions/7979767.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/rubio-snubs-south-africa-s-g20-meeting-amid-diplomatic-tensions/7979767.html Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:20:17 +0200 Africa ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - African leaders chose Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf to chair the African Union commission on Saturday at a summit dominated by fears of the Congo war widening into a regional conflict, the country's finance minister said. In a post on the X platform Djibouti's economy and finance minister, Ilyas Dawaleh, said Youssouf had "won" the election. Youssouf has been foreign minister since 2005. He was previously Djibouti's ambassador to Egypt and has served as foreign minister in the governments of three presidents. (Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; editing by David Evans) https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/djibouti-s-foreign-minister-elected-to-top-african-union-post/7977381.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/djibouti-s-foreign-minister-elected-to-top-african-union-post/7977381.html Mon, 17 Feb 2025 02:16:10 +0200 Africa A New Jersey man whose wife was killed in a horrific hippopotamus attack last year during a safari in Africa is suing the U.S. company that arranged the trip, alleging it failed to ensure their safety and did not adequately screen and supervise the tour guides. Craig and Lisa Manders were on a guided walk in Zambia in June when a hippo charged out of the water, grabbed Lisa Manders by its mouth and crushed her head and body with its bite, according to the lawsuit filed against African Portfolio, a safari tour company based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The company denies the lawsuit's allegations. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 5 in Stamford, Connecticut, alleges that as a horrified Craig Manders watched the attack, the tour guides — including at least one armed with a rifle — walked away without helping the couple. Lisa Manders, 70, suffered catastrophic injuries and died shortly after, the lawsuit says. "We're doing this because this should never have happened," said Paul Slager, an attorney who is representing Craig Manders with his law partner, Nicole Coates. "There are basic safety standards that businesses are expected to follow, and that includes people in the safari tour industry. And those were not followed, and the consequences here were absolutely devastating." Slager said the lawsuit seeks monetary damages that have not yet been determined, as well as accountability for Lisa Manders' death and keeping others safe in the future. He said Craig Manders was not giving interviews. The Manderses, of Cranford, New Jersey, were on a special anniversary trip and it was their first time in Africa, Slager said. Lisa Manders had worked in the financial industry for over 40 years and loved cooking, traveling and visiting New York City, where she was born in Queens in 1953, according to her obituary. The couple had three children and a granddaughter. The company's lawyer, Rodney Gould, said it was not negligent or reckless in connection with Lisa Manders' death. He said African Portfolio only arranged the couple's lodging and the owners of the lodging, Chiawa Safaris in Zambia, provided the tour guides. "It's a horrible tragedy when somebody goes on one of these trips and is injured or killed. It's awful," Gould said. "I think it's important to understand what African Portfolio's role in this is. It's a tour operator. It arranges trips. It puts together the pieces." He added, "My client didn't conduct the safari. It arranged it. It booked all the components." Gould also said the company was not negligent in vetting Chiawa, because it has an excellent reputation. He said African Portfolio will either ask a judge to dismiss the lawsuit or request that the matter go to arbitration, which was a condition of an agreement the Manderses signed for the trip. In a statement, African Portfolio did not directly address the lawsuit. It said Chiawa arranged the walking safari and guests were accompanied by an experienced and highly trained guide, a ranger and an armed National Park scout. It said Chiawa told authorities that safety measures were implemented before the attack and "repeated warnings" were issued to guests to return to the safety of the vehicle "during the incident." Asked whether the guests were warned about the hippo before the attack, African Portfolio said in an email only that "the statement is an accurate reflection of the events as we understand them." Gould declined to comment. The company also said its founder flew to Zambia immediately after the attack and joined Chiawa's owner in ensuring that "everything possible was being done to support the family and all those involved. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family, and everyone else involved in this tragic incident." The lawsuit, which does not mention Chiawa, says African safaris are "inherently dangerous activities" because of the unpredictability and sometime aggressive nature of wild animals, and they require careful planning and execution to be completed safely. It says African Portfolio vetted and oversaw the tour guides and vouched that they were competent, qualified and trained to keep people safe. The suit alleges that African Portfolio "encouraged and/or permitted" the Manderses to be exposed to an "avoidable and highly dangerous encounter with a dangerous hippopotamus in the Zambian wilderness." It also accuses the company of failing to provide safe conditions during the wilderness walk and failing to ensure that the tour guides were adequately selected, screened, supervised and trained to provide a safe experience. African Portfolio also failed to take adequate steps to protect the Manderses before and during the attack, the suit alleges. Hippos are the world's second-largest land mammals after elephants, measuring about 3.5 meters long and about 1.5 meters tall, according to International Fund for Animal Welfare. The average male hippo weighs about 3,200 kilograms. Hippos are known to be territorial and aggressive at times. A year before Lisa Manders died, seven people were killed in the southern African nation of Malawi when a hippo charged into a canoe and capsized it on a river. Estimates of how many people are killed by hippos each year vary, with lower figures beginning at around 500. Lisa Manders suffered "significant premorbid fear and emotional pain, suffering and mental anguish" before her death, the suit says. Craig Manders suffered severe and debilitating emotional and psychological injuries that have made it difficult for him to cope with daily routines, it says. The lawsuit is seeking damages on allegations of negligence and recklessness. "He's suing both for the loss of his wife and the impact that has on him and his life," Slager said. "And he also has a claim for having witnessed what happened to her, having seen the attack, which is unthinkable. It's unimaginable." https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/us-man-sues-travel-company-after-hippo-kills-wife-on-zambia-trip/7977119.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/us-man-sues-travel-company-after-hippo-kills-wife-on-zambia-trip/7977119.html Sun, 16 Feb 2025 23:29:03 +0200 Africa voadigital@voanews.com (Associated Press) BUKAVU, DRC — Rebels have “occupied” a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo, the government said Sunday, as M23 rebels positioned themselves at the governor's office in Bukavu and pledged to clean up after the “old regime.” Associated Press journalists witnessed scores of residents cheering on the rebels after they entered Bukavu following a dayslong march from Goma, a city of 2 million people they seized last month. The rebels saw little resistance from government forces against the unprecedented expansion of their reach after their years of fighting. Congo's government vowed to restore order in Bukavu, a city of 1.3 million people, but there was no sign of soldiers. Many were seen fleeing on Saturday alongside thousands of civilians. The M23 are the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that's critical for much of the world's technology. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to United Nations experts. The fighting has displaced more than 6 million people in the region, creating the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Rebels vow to ‘clean up’ disorder Bernard Maheshe Byamungu, one of the M23 leaders who has been sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council for rights abuses, stood in front of the South Kivu governor’s office in Bukavu and told residents they have been living in a “jungle." “We are going to clean up the disorder left over from the old regime,” Byamungu said, as some in the small crowd of young men cheered the rebels on to “go all the way to Kinshasa," Congo's capital, nearly 1,609 kilometers away. The M23 did not announce any seizure of Bukavu, unlike its announcement when taking Goma, which had brought swift international condemnation. Spokesmen for the M23 didn't respond to questions Sunday. Congo's communications ministry in a statement on social media acknowledged for the first time that Bukavu had been “occupied” and said the national government was “doing everything possible to restore order and territorial integrity” in the region. One Bukavu resident, Blaise Byamungu, said the rebels marched into the city that had been “abandoned by all the authorities and without any loyalist force." “Is the government waiting for them to take over other towns to take action? It’s cowardice,” Byamungu added. Fears of regional escalation Unlike in 2012, when the M23 briefly seized Goma and withdrew after international pressure, analysts have said the rebels this time are eyeing political power. The fighting in Congo has connections with a decadeslong ethnic conflict. The M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others in Rwanda. Many Hutus fled to Congo after the genocide and founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia group. Rwanda says the militia group is “fully integrated” into the Congolese military, which denies it. But the new face of the M23 in the region — Corneille Nangaa — is not Tutsi, giving the group “a new, more diverse, Congolese face, as M23 has always been seen as a Rwanda-backed armed group defending Tutsi minorities,” according to Christian Moleka, a political scientist at the Congolese research group Dypol. Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, whose government on Saturday asserted that Bukavu remained under its control, has warned of the risk of a regional expansion of the conflict. Congo's forces were being supported in Goma by troops from South Africa and in Bukavu by troops from Burundi. But Burundi's president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, appeared to suggest on social media his country would not retaliate in the fighting. The conflict was high on the African Union summit's agenda in Ethiopia over the weekend, with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warning it risked spiraling into a regional conflagration. Still, African leaders and the international community have been reluctant to take decisive action against M23 or Rwanda, which has one of Africa's most powerful militaries. Most continue to call for a ceasefire and a dialogue between Congo and the rebels. The Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups that includes the M23, has said it was committed to “defending" the people of Bukavu. “We call on the population to remain in control of their city and not give in to panic,” alliance spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said in a statement Saturday. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/dr-congo-says-rebels-occupy-2nd-major-city-in-its-mineral-rich-east/7977105.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/dr-congo-says-rebels-occupy-2nd-major-city-in-its-mineral-rich-east/7977105.html Sun, 16 Feb 2025 23:00:56 +0200 Africa voadigital@voanews.com (Associated Press) PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Some white South Africans showed support for President Donald Trump on Saturday and gathered at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria to claim they are victims of racism by their own government. Hundreds of protesters held placards that read “Thank God for President Trump” and displayed other messages criticizing what they see as racist laws instituted by the South African government that discriminate against the white minority. Many were from the Afrikaner community that Trump focused on in an executive order a week ago that cut aid and assistance to the Black-led South African government. In the order, Trump said South Africa's Afrikaners, who are descendants of mainly Dutch colonial settlers, were being targeted by a new law that allows the government to expropriate private land. The South African government has denied its new law is tied to race and says Trump's claims over the country and the law have been full of misinformation and distortions. Trump said land was being expropriated from Afrikaners — which the order referred to as "racially disfavored landowners" — when no land has been taken under the law. Trump also announced a plan to offer Afrikaners refugee status in the U.S. They are only one part of South Africa's white minority. In a speech to Parliament this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the forced removal of any people from their land will never be allowed in South Africa again after millions of Blacks were dispossessed of property under the apartheid system of white minority rule and hundreds of years of colonialism before that. “The people of this country know the pain of forced removals," Ramaphosa said. He said the land law does not allow any arbitrary taking of land and only refers to land that can be redistributed for the public good. The Trump administration's criticism and punishment of South Africa has elevated a long-standing dilemma in the country over moves to address the wrongs of centuries of white minority rule that oppressed the Black majority. According to the government, the land law aims to fairly address the inequality that the majority of farmland in South Africa is owned by whites, even though they make up just 7% of the country's population. White protesters on Saturday held banners referencing the expropriation law but also other affirmative action policies put in place by the government since the end of apartheid in 1994 to advance opportunities for Blacks. Those laws, known as Black Economic Empowerment, have been a source of frustration for some white people. Influential Trump adviser Elon Musk — who was raised in South Africa — has also criticized South Africa’s government and claimed it is anti-white for years, although some have questioned his motivations. He has recently failed to get a license for his Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa because it doesn’t meet the country’s affirmative action criteria. While race has long framed South African politics, the country has been largely successful in reconciling its racially diverse people in the years after apartheid. The current government is made up of a coalition of 10 Black-led and white-led political parties that are working together. ___ Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/white-south-africans-gather-in-support-of-trump-and-his-claims-that-they-are-victims-of-racism/7976398.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/white-south-africans-gather-in-support-of-trump-and-his-claims-that-they-are-victims-of-racism/7976398.html Sat, 15 Feb 2025 21:16:52 +0200 Africa voadigital@voanews.com (Associated Press) GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO —  Panic swept through eastern Congo’s second-largest city on Saturday as residents fled by the thousands, scrambling to escape the looming advance of Rwanda-backed rebels. Amid chaos and looting, Bukavu braced for what comes next. A day after M23 fighters entered the outskirts of Bukavu — a city of about 1.3 million people that lies 101 kilometers south of rebel-held Goma — some streets were flooded by residents attempting to leave and looters filling flour sacks with what they could find. Most people waited in their home, shocked by what filled the vacuum left by Congolese soldiers who abandoned their posts. “They set fire to the ammunition they were unable to take with them,” said Alain Iragi, among the residents who fled in search of safety on Saturday. Reports and social media videos showed the region's factories pillaged and prisons emptied while electricity remained on and communication lines open. “It’s a disgrace. Some citizens have fallen victim to stray bullets. Even some soldiers still present in the city are involved en masse in these cases of looting,” a 25-year-old resident of a neighborhood being looted told The Associated Press. The Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups that includes M23, blamed Congolese troops and their allies from local militia and neighboring Burundi for the disorder in Bukavu. “We call on the population to remain in control of their city and not give in to panic,” Lawrence Kanyuka, the alliance's spokesperson, said in a statement on Saturday. Rebels push south M23, a militia backed by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east. The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, a claim that Rwanda denies. Kigali, in turn, alleges that Kinshasa collaborates with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or the FDLR, a Hutu armed group with ties to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an allegation the DRC rejects. While the United Nations and United States consider M23 a rebel group, DRC considers it a terrorist organization. Military operations in the region remain fluid, with clashes leading to significant displacement and humanitarian concerns. Analysts warn that continued instability risks deepening the regional conflict, and several peacekeepers from the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, already have been killed since the recent rebel offensive. Congolese authorities and international observers have accused it of sexual violence, forced conscription and summary executions. M23's southward expansion encompasses more territory than rebels had previously seized and poses an unprecedented challenge to the central government in Kinshasa. The rebellion underway has killed at least 2,000 people in eastern Congo and stranded hundreds of thousands of displaced. At least 350,000 internally displaced people are without shelter, the U.N. and Congolese authorities have said. The rebels on Friday also claimed to have seized a second airport in the region, in the town of Kavumu outside Bukavu. The AP could not confirm who was in control of the strategically important airport, which Congolese forces have used to resupply troops and humanitarian groups to import aid. The Congo River Alliance claimed on Saturday that M23 had taken control of the airport to prevent Congolese forces from launch airstrikes against civilians. Government officials and local civil society leaders did not immediately comment, although Congo's Communications Ministry said the rebels had violated ceasefire agreements and attacked Congolese troops working to avoid urban warfare and violence in Bukavu. The reports of looting and disorder come a day after residents told AP that soldiers in Kavumu — the airport town north of Bukavu — had abandoned their positions to head toward the city. The chain of events mirror what transpired last month in the lead-up to the M23's capture of Goma. Congo’s military, despite its size and funding, has long been hindered by shortcomings in training and coordination and recurring reports of corruption. Fears of spreading conflict International leaders are expected to discuss the conflict at the African Union summit in Ethiopia this weekend as DRC President Felix Tshisekedi continues to plead with the international community to intervene to contain the rebels from advancing. However, little progress has been made since the government dismissed a ceasefire that M23 declared last week unilaterally as false. “Regional escalation must be avoided at all costs,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Addis Ababa. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Congo] must be respected.” https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/chaos-looting-break-out-as-rebels-push-toward-major-drc-city/7976394.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/chaos-looting-break-out-as-rebels-push-toward-major-drc-city/7976394.html Sat, 15 Feb 2025 21:05:46 +0200 Africa By Mohammed Yusuf Nairobi, Kenya — A new report says the emergence of cheap artificial intelligence tools is leading to a wave of biometric fraud in Africa. The report says fraudsters are using AI to create fake documents, voices, and images that facilitate identity theft and financial crimes. In July 2024, Japhet Ndubi, a Kenyan journalist, lost his phone and could not trace it. He replaced the SIM card, bought a new phone, and went on with his life. Four days later, while on a lunch break, he received a text alerting him that he had sent money to a certain number. "Now I am using a new phone. When I saw money was sent to a certain number, I was surprised because I have my phone here. I called Safaricom to inquire, ‘How come some money is sent to a certain number without my authorization?’ It's when they told me, ‘Are you sure you are not the one who has withdrawn? Because we see a transaction has been carried out and sent to this number, and we can see you have used your fingerprints to withdraw the money,’" he said. The fraudsters even took out a loan that took him months to pay off. Authorities never made an arrest even though his phone was recovered. Nudbi was a victim of biometric fraud — a type of criminal activity where someone copies another person's unique characteristics, like their voice or fingerprints, to impersonate them and gain access to their devices or financial accounts. Smile ID is a U.S.-based company with offices in Kenya that develops software to protect people’s privacy. A report it released late last month says cases of document forgery and deepfakes are on the rise across Africa, as are simpler phishing attempts — all in an effort to steal money from innocent victims. The Smile ID researchers found that fraudsters especially targeted vulnerable people in low-literacy regions through phishing, data breaches, and making purchases through illicit sources. Stolen data is then exploited to create fraudulent bank accounts to be used for money laundering operations. Joshua Kumah, a Ghanaian, received a fake text claiming that money had been transferred to his mobile banking account. The text led to him losing control of his account and SIM card. "The person told me to follow a short code that the money would be transferred back to him, so I did that without paying attention to the details. So, by the time I realized it was already too late, I had already given him access to my sim card, so I had to report to cancel that sim card. So, I lost the money I had on that sim. I had to start all over again," he said. Ndubi is still in shock at how his fingerprints were used to access money through his mobile phone. He says that has changed how he uses the device. "I was very surprised that they were able to use fingerprints, and I kept asking the telecom provider how they were able to access it but they were not able to tell me. So, I even lost faith in the Mpesa mobile banking application; actually, I have never used it," he said. To prevent fraud, authorities and businesses now sometimes insist that people present themselves physically and produce valid identification cards to prove their identities. As for average Kenyans, many are trying to avoid using mobile apps on their phones, and are checking with banks and telecom operators about any transactions made in and out of their accounts. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/ai-driven-biometric-fraud-surges-in-africa-fueling-financial-crimes/7975680.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/ai-driven-biometric-fraud-surges-in-africa-fueling-financial-crimes/7975680.html Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:47:16 +0200 Africa Cairo —  Libyan authorities have uncovered nearly 50 bodies from two mass graves in the country’s southeastern desert, officials said Sunday, in the latest tragedy involving people seeking to reach Europe through the chaos-stricken North African country. The first mass grave with 19 bodies was found Friday in a farm in the southeastern city of Kufra, the security directorate said in a statement, adding that authorities took them for autopsy. Authorities posted images on its Facebook page showing police officers and medics digging in the sand and recovering dead bodies that were wrapped in blankets. The al-Abreen charity, which helps migrants in eastern and southern Libya, said that some were apparently shot and killed before being buried. A separate mass grave, with at least 30 bodies, was also found in Kufra after raiding a human trafficking center, according to Mohamed al-Fadeil, head of the security chamber in Kufra. Survivors said nearly 70 people were buried in the grave, he added. Authorities were still searching the area. Later Sunday, authorities said they freed 76 migrants from the trafficking center and arrested three people — a Libyan and two foreigners — on suspicion of detaining and torturing migrants. Prosecutors ordered the suspects to remain in detention pending investigation. Migrants’ mass graves are not uncommon in Libya. Last year, authorities unearthed the bodies of at least 65 migrants in the Shuayrif region, 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of the capital, Tripoli. Libya is the dominant transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to make it to Europe. The country was plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. Oil-rich Libya has been ruled for most of the past decade by rival governments in eastern and western Libya, each backed by an array of militias and foreign governments. Human traffickers have benefited from more than a decade of instability, smuggling migrants across the country’s borders with six nations, including Chad, Niger, Sudan Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. Once at the coast, traffickers pack desperate migrants seeking a better life in Europe into ill-equipped rubber boats and other vessels for risky voyages on the perilous Central Mediterranean Sea route. Rights groups and U.N. agencies have for years documented systematic abuse of migrants in Libya including forced labor, beatings, rapes and torture. The abuse often accompanies efforts to extort money from families before migrants are allowed to leave Libya on traffickers’ boats. Those who have been intercepted and returned to Libya — including women and children — are held in government-run detention centers where they also suffer from abuse, including torture, rape and extortion, according to rights groups and U.N. experts. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/migrant-bodies-found-in-2-mass-graves-in-southeastern-libya/7969848.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/migrant-bodies-found-in-2-mass-graves-in-southeastern-libya/7969848.html Mon, 10 Feb 2025 22:26:43 +0200 Africa WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA —Sam Nujoma, the fiery, white-bearded freedom fighter who led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years, and became known as the father of his nation, has died. He was 95. Nujoma's death was announced Sunday by current Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, who said Nujoma died on Saturday night after being hospitalized in the capital, Windhoek. "The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken," Mbumba said in a statement. "Over the past three weeks, the Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and Founding Father of the Namibian Nation was hospitalized for medical treatment and medical observation due to ill health." "Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness," Mbumba added. Mbumba said Nujoma "marshalled the Namibian people during the darkest hours of our liberation struggle." Nujoma was revered in his arid, sparsely populated homeland in southwestern Africa as a charismatic father figure who steered it to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa. He spent nearly 30 years in exile as the leader of its independence movement before returning for parliamentary elections in late 1989, the first democratic vote in the country. He was elected president by lawmakers months later in 1990 as Namibia's independence was confirmed. Nujoma was the last of a generation of African leaders who brought their countries out of colonial or white minority rule that included South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Zambia's Kenneth Kaunda, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere and Mozambique's Samora Machel. Many Namibians credited Nujoma's leadership for the process of national healing and reconciliation after the deep divisions caused by the independence war and South Africa's policies of dividing the country into ethnically based regional governments, with separate education and health care for each race. Even his political opponents praised Nujoma — who was branded a Marxist and accused of ruthless suppression of dissent while in exile — for establishing a democratic Constitution and involving white businessmen and politicians in government after independence. Despite his pragmatism and nation-building at home, Nujoma often hit foreign headlines for his fierce anti-Western rhetoric. At a United Nations conference in Geneva in 2000, Nujoma stunned delegates when he claimed AIDS was a man-made biological weapon. He also occasionally waged a verbal war on homosexuality, calling gays "idiots" and branding homosexuality a "foreign and corrupt ideology." He once banned all foreign television programs, declaring they had corrupted the youth of Namibia. Nujoma built ties with North Korea, Cuba, Russia and China, some of which had supported Namibia's liberation movement by providing arms and training. But he balanced that with outreach to the West, and Nujoma was the first African leader to be hosted at the White House by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993. Clinton called Nujoma "the George Washington of his country" and "a genuine hero of the world’s movement toward democracy." Nujoma also advocated for the advancement of women in a largely patriarchal region, saying "there is no shortage of competent and experienced African women to lead the way forward." Namibia elected its first female president last year and President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's term is due to start next month. Nujoma grew up in a rural, impoverished family, the eldest of 11 children. His early life revolved around looking after his parents' cattle and the cultivation of land. He attended a mission school before moving to Windhoek and working for South African Railways. He was arrested following a political protest in 1959 and fled the territory shortly after his release to go into exile in Tanzania. In exile, he helped establish the South West African People’s Organization and was named its president in 1960. SWAPO has been Namibia's ruling party since 1990, and Nujoma ultimately led it for 47 years until stepping down in 2007. When South Africa refused to heed a 1966 U.N. resolution ending the mandate it had been given over the German colony of South West Africa after World War I, Nujoma launched SWAPO’s guerrilla campaign. "We started the armed struggle with only two sub-machine guns and two pistols," Nujoma once said. "I got them from Algeria, plus some rounds of ammunition." SWAPO never achieved military victory in an independence war that lasted more than 20 years, but Nujoma won wide political support during his exile, leading to the U.N. declaring SWAPO the sole representative of the Namibian people and South Africa ultimately withdrawing from the country. As he mixed with world leaders, Nujoma was aware of his lack of education. He left school early to work and later attended night school, largely to improve his English. He said he instead dedicated his life to his country's liberation. "Others got their education while I led the struggle," he said. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/sam-nujoma-namibia-s-first-president-dies-at-95/7968596.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/sam-nujoma-namibia-s-first-president-dies-at-95/7968596.html Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:15:43 +0200 Africa voadigital@voanews.com (Associated Press) By Vicky Stark CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is interested in developing the mining sector in Africa. On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order focusing on minerals, mineral extraction, and mineral processing. "Mainly in the United States but if you read closely there are also multiple references in that executive order to international partnerships and you know, cooperating with partner nations," said Scott Woodard, the acting deputy assistant secretary of state for energy transformation at the U.S. State Department. Woodard spoke at a recent African mining conference — also known as an indaba — in Cape Town, South Africa. Moderator Zainab Usman, director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, asked Woodard whether the U.S. understands that in addition to mineral extraction, Africans want projects that add value to the raw material in order to boost the continent's industrialization. Woodard replied that the Trump administration is still putting together its policies. In recent years, America's investment in the African minerals needed for cleaner energy has been driven by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In 2022, the U.S. entered into agreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to establish a supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, underscoring its interest in both countries' copper, lithium and cobalt resources. The U.S. also has funded the rebuilding of the Lobito Rail Corridor, which will transport minerals from Congo, Zambia and Angola on the west coast. Speaking in the exhibition hall during the indaba, Zambia's minister of transport and logistics, Frank Tayali, thanked the U.S. for its leadership. "We have something like a $350 billion gap in terms of infrastructure gap financing that the continent needs," said Tayali. "Now this focus on infrastructure development is really key in helping the African economies to be able to improve so that they are able to look after their people more effectively." China, meanwhile, is invested in rehabilitating the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority — known as TAZARA — to bolster rail and sea transport in East Africa. And in South Africa, the conference's host country, transport and logistics problems at the state-owned Transnet railway system are being considered. "The CEO of Transnet is very open about the state of the rail network," said Allan Seccombe, head of communications at the Minerals Council of South Africa. " ... it needs a lot of work." How will they raise the money? "They are going out on public tenders to try and get that investment in," said Allan Seccombe, head of communications at the Minerals Council of South Africa. "Also, significantly they're speaking to their customers who are by and large, large mining companies to maybe through tariffs they can invest in the rail network, improve it, then have private trains they can operate on the network." https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/us-declares-interest-in-developing-african-mining-sector/7968100.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/us-declares-interest-in-developing-african-mining-sector/7968100.html Sun, 09 Feb 2025 00:42:19 +0200 Africa CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Groups representing some of South Africa's white minority responded Saturday to a plan by President Donald Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks. The plan was detailed in an executive order Trump signed Friday that stopped all aid and financial assistance to South Africa as punishment for what the Trump administration said were “rights violations” by the government against some of its white citizens. The Trump administration accused the South African government of allowing violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers and introducing a land expropriation law that enables it to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation.” SEE ALSO: Trump orders freeze of aid to South Africa, cites country's land expropriation law The South African government has denied there are any concerted attacks on white farmers and has said that Trump's description of the new land law is full of misinformation and distortions. On Saturday, two of the most prominent groups representing Afrikaners said they would not be taking up Trump's offer of resettlement in the U.S. “Our members work here, and want to stay here, and they are going to stay here," said Dirk Hermann, chief executive of the Afrikaner trade union Solidarity, which says it represents about 2 million people. “We are committed to build a future here. We are not going anywhere.” At the same news conference, Kallie Kriel, the CEO of the Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, said: "We have to state categorically: We don’t want to move elsewhere." Trump's move to sanction South Africa, a key U.S. trading partner in Africa, came after he and his South African-born adviser Elon Musk accused its Black leadership of having an anti-white stance. But the portrayal of Afrikaners as a downtrodden group that needed to be saved would surprise most South Africans. “It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the U.S. for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged," South Africa's Foreign Ministry said. There was "a campaign of misinformation and propaganda" aimed at South Africa, the ministry said. Whites in South Africa still generally have a much better standard of living than Blacks more than 30 years after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994. Despite being a small minority, whites still own about 70% of South Africa's private farmland. A study in 2021 by the South Africa Human Rights Commission said 1% of whites were living in poverty compared with 64% of Blacks. Trump's action against South Africa has given international attention to a sentiment among some white South Africans that they are being discriminated against as a form of payback for apartheid. The leaders of the apartheid government were Afrikaners. Solidarity, AfriForum and others are strongly opposed to the new land expropriation law, saying it will target land owned by whites who have worked to develop that land for years. They also say an equally contentious language law that's recently been passed seeks to remove or limit their Afrikaans language in schools, while they have often criticized South Africa's affirmative action policies in business that promote the interests of Blacks as racist laws. “This government is allowing a certain section of the population to be targeted,” said AfriForum's Kriel, who thanked Trump for raising the case of Afrikaners. The South African government says the laws that have been criticized are aimed at the incredibly difficult task of redressing the wrongs of colonialism and then nearly a half-century of apartheid, when Blacks were stripped of their land and almost all their rights. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/afrikaner-groups-in-south-africa-decline-trump-s-resettlement-plan/7968096.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/afrikaner-groups-in-south-africa-decline-trump-s-resettlement-plan/7968096.html Sun, 09 Feb 2025 00:21:32 +0200 Africa voadigital@voanews.com (Associated Press) By Mariama Diallo NAIROBI, KENYA —  African governments are gearing up for what is to come following the 90-day pause on most U.S.-funded foreign aid as they worry about the potential effects. In Kenya, for instance, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said Wednesday in Nairobi that as her country navigates complex challenges, ensuring continuation of essential health services, especially with programs related to HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, is essential. “For more than 40 years, we’ve been able to depend on partners. PEPFAR has done a great job in ensuring that HIV patients, TB patients are receiving health services,” she said, referring to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program that works with partners in 55 countries worldwide. “With more than 3.7 million being on HIV medication [in Kenya] … I believe it’s critical for us to think of sustainable solutions ... [and] alternative forms of funding,” Barasa said. While the freeze has been modified to allow waivers for “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” including “core life-saving medicine,” which may apply to health programs such as PEPFAR, many countries are working to assess the implications of what may amount to an end of U.S. foreign aid. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver is clear: "If it saves lives, if it’s emergency lifesaving aid — food, medicine, whatever — they have a waiver. I don’t know how much clearer we can be." South Africa, with 7.8 million people with HIV, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the PEPFAR program the past two decades. Its health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, told reporters last week in Johannesburg that the country was taken by surprise by the pause in aid and that officials are still trying to decipher the full meaning. This week, Motsoaledi met with U.S. Embassy officials to discuss bilateral health cooperation and the new U.S. policies on assistance. The two sides promised to keep the communications channels open as they discuss lifesaving health partnerships, according to a joint statement after the meeting. Asanda Ngoasheng, a South African political analyst, said countries will be affected one way or the other because many public health systems exist only because of the PEPFAR program. “Even in the case PEPFAR is not funding 100% of the programs, any money that is removed means that countries simply would not be able to afford programs that they were able to afford with the money that was being supplemented by PEPFAR before,” Ngoasheng said. SEE ALSO: US says life-saving HIV treatment can continue during aid pause Programs not related to health are also affected. In Senegal, for example, an infrastructure and development project financed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an initiative that was started by Republican U.S. President George W. Bush, could lose funding. The $550 million power project being implemented by Millennium Challenge Account Senegal was designed to improve the country’s transmission network and increase electricity access in rural areas and to those on the outskirts of cities in the south and central regions. Mamadou Thior, a journalist and chair of the media watchdog CORED, told VOA: “The financing coming from the U.S. for this second phase will impact about 12 million people.” Thior referred to a recent speech by Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko that emphasized the need for countries to work on being self-sufficient. "It’s high time for Africans and other people to depend on themselves and not from Western aid because this is what can be the drawbacks,” Thior said. “They will have to depend on national resources to go ahead with the rest of the [electricity] project because there’s no way to go backwards,” he said. In Nigeria, a country that received about $1 billion in U.S. foreign aid last year, officials this week launched a committee with members from finance, health and environmental ministries to develop an alternative for some U.S.-funded programs. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/african-nations-prepare-for-what-s-to-come-after-pause-on-us-aid/7967287.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/african-nations-prepare-for-what-s-to-come-after-pause-on-us-aid/7967287.html Sat, 08 Feb 2025 01:12:32 +0200 Africa By Margaret Besheer UNITED NATIONS — A senior U.N. official in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday that nearly 3,000 people have been killed in a fighting between M23 militants and the national army over control of a key eastern city. Vivian van de Perre, the deputy head of the United Nations mission in the DRC, told reporters in a video call from Goma that U.N. teams are “actively helping” the M23 to collect the dead from the city’s streets. She said that, so far, 2,000 bodies have been retrieved and 900 others are in hospital morgues. “We expect this number to go up,” she said. “There are still many decomposing bodies in many areas. The World Health Organization is really worried about what kind of epidemic outbreaks that can contribute to.” In early January, the M23 broke a ceasefire agreement, launching a large-scale offensive in the mineral-rich east with the support of the Rwandan army. On Jan. 27, the M23 said it had captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and a city of more than a million people, thousands of whom have been displaced from other conflict areas. The cities of Goma and Bukavu sit across DRC's eastern border with Rwanda. The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group, a claim that Rwanda denies. Kigali, in turn, alleges that Kinshasa collaborates with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or the FDLR, an armed Hutu group with ties to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an allegation the DRC rejects. M23 holds Goma Van de Perre said Goma is “firmly under control at the moment of M23.” The Congolese government has officially designated the M23 as a terrorist organization, while the United Nations and the United States classify it as an armed rebel group. “All exit routes from Goma are under their control, and the airport, also under M23 control, is closed until further notice,” she told reporters. “The escalating violence has led to immense human suffering, displacement and a growing humanitarian crisis.” She said nearly 2,000 civilians are sheltering at U.N. peacekeeping bases in Goma and that “our bases are full, full, full.” She said they cannot handle any more people, and they are concerned that the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions could lead to disease outbreaks at the bases. Water and electricity had been cut off to the city during the intense fighting but have been partially restored. Markets are also reopening, but van de Perre said prices have skyrocketed. She said peacekeepers with the U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, are operating under limited movements imposed by the M23. They are not patrolling the city, but they are able to resupply their bases. “Any movement we have to announce 48 hours in advance,” she said. Asked about reports that M23 rebels have suspended some aid work and are interfering with the work of journalists, she said that there are indications of harassment, but that she did not know the extent of it. On the move The M23 is reported to be progressing toward the South Kivu capital of Bukavu. Van de Perre said heavy fighting has been reported along the main route between Kinyezire and Nyabibwe. “In Bukavu, tensions are rising as the M23 moves closer, just 50 kilometers north of the city,” she said. MONUSCO has been in the process of drawing down its peacekeepers at the request of the Congolese government. In June, it left South Kivu province entirely. “While the 4 February unilateral ceasefire announced by the M23 offers assurances that Bukavu will not be taken, we are gravely concerned for Kavumu airport, which is critical for ongoing civilian and humanitarian use,” she said of South Kivu’s airport. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/un-deaths-near-3-000-in-fighting-for-drc-s-goma/7966095.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/un-deaths-near-3-000-in-fighting-for-drc-s-goma/7966095.html Fri, 07 Feb 2025 02:05:25 +0200 Africa * Rand falls 2% on Trump comments before paring losses * Cost of insuring debt at highest level since August By Tannur Anders JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand, stocks and government bonds slumped on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would suspend aid to the country. Trump said, without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and "certain classes of people" were being treated "very badly" on Sunday, adding that he would cut off funding until the matter was investigated. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recently signed into law legislation allowing land to be expropriated under specific conditions, said his government had not confiscated any and he would talk to Trump to foster a better understanding. At 1502 GMT, the rand traded at 18.8675 against the U.S. dollar ZAR=D3, 0.9% weaker than its closing level on Friday. Earlier in the day it was down almost 2%. On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index closed about 0.4% .JTOPI lower, while the benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= price slid and the cost of insuring South African debt against default rose to its highest since early August. U.S. funding to South Africa mainly involves supporting its HIV/AIDS program, but Trump's comments caused investor unease about the potential for a broad review of diplomatic and economic ties. Casey Sprake, an investment analyst at Anchor Capital, said the autos and agriculture sectors were especially vulnerable as South Africa currently enjoys duty-free access to the U.S. market under a Clinton-era trade initiative. Annabel Bishop, an Investec economist, said the rand was also under pressure due to Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, which lifted the dollar to multi-year highs against many global peers. South African manufacturers, meanwhile, posted a determination in business conditions for a third month in a row. (Additional reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg and Libby George in London; Editing by Alexander Winning, Alexander Smith and Christina Fincher) https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/south-african-markets-slump-after-trump-suspends-us-aid/7961176.html https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/south-african-markets-slump-after-trump-suspends-us-aid/7961176.html Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:47:27 +0200 Africa