– NEWS –
Agreement at Paris Peace Conference for Libya: The four key leaders in war-torn Libya have agreed at a summit in Paris to an ambitious, and potentially unrealistic, plan to stage credible, peaceful parliamentary and legislative elections in the country on 10 December. The four men, who represent a large part of Libya’s competing factions, also agreed to accept the results of elections, and ensure appropriate funds and strong security arrangements are in place. The parties also agreed that by 16 September they would establish the constitutional basis for elections and adopt the necessary electoral laws. Emmanuel Macron, the French president and the summit’s host, hailed the agreement as a turning point in efforts to bring about reconciliation in Libya, saying it represented a new impetus to restore Libya’s sovereignty. The statement is endorsed, but not signed, by Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister of Libya’s UN-backed government in Tripoli; the military leader of the east of the country, Khalifa Haftar; the president of the house of representatives, Aguila Saleh; and the head of the council of state, Khaled al-Mishri. Macron said the agreement had not been signed because the groups needed to consult, and any case they did not recognize one another’s authority.
theguardian.com, telegraph.co.uk
Zimbabwe sets first post-Mugabe elections for July 30: Zimbabwe will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on July 30, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced, a vote he promises will be free and fair with international monitoring after the ouster of 94-year-old strongman Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa’s main challenger is 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa from the MDC, who has energized the party, drawing huge crowds at rallies in some of the ruling ZANU-PF party’s rural redoubts. Mnangagwa has invited the Commonwealth to monitor voting in Zimbabwe for the first time since 2002 when Harare was suspended from the group over accusations of rigged elections. He has applied for Zimbabwe to rejoin the Commonwealth. Missing from the July ballot for the first time in 20 years will be Zimbabwe’s foremost political gladiators, Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the longtime opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader who died of cancer in February. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said it had picked companies in southern Africa to print ballot papers and supply voting ink. The MDC wanted printing of ballots to be put to an open tender, but this was rejected by the government.
reuters.com
Migration in Africa plays growing development role: African migration could boost growth and positively transform the structure of the continent’s economy, UNCTAD’s 2018 Economic Development in Africa Report has revealed. „Population movements across borders often offer individuals a chance for a better life, with the social and economic benefits extending to both source and destination countries, as well as future generations,“ UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said. Much of the public discourse, particularly as it relates to international African migration, is rife with misconceptions that have become part of a divisive, misleading and harmful narrative. The new report, subtitled „Migration for Structural Transformation“, does much to counter this narrative. Historically and in line with established trends, the report says that most African migrants move within the continent.
unctad.org
Egypt’s Sisi wins 97 percent in election with no real opposition reuters.com
Burkina Faso: Abolition of death penalty a hard-won victory amnesty.org
Chinese yuan penetrates African markets un.org
– BACKGROUND –
Russia builds military ties with Africa: The Central African Republic, then the Democratic Republic of Congo: Russia is looking to boost its military cooperation in Africa, with an eye on other interests. Broadcaster Radio France International (RFI) reported that Kinshasa and Moscow had agreed in 1999 that Russia would equip the Congolese army. It would also train Congolese soldiers. The agreement apparently never came into force and DR Congo’s Parliament wants to discuss changing that, according to RFI. The choice of the two countries was deliberate. „The relations between those countries and the West are, let us say, tense. Maybe Russia has a window of opportunity to enter, get easy influence and maybe develop some economic activities,“ says French Africa expert Roland Marchal. Military cooperation could mark the start. Experts believe that Russia wants to strengthen its own weapons industry in the process. „For some countries in Africa it is very difficult to get Western arms. Russia does not have a lot of the same preclusions on selling weapons. It doesn’t tie them to human rights. It doesn’t tie them to various regional conflicts that states are involved in. It sees this as an area for growing the market,“ says Peter Stronski, Russia expert at US think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
dw.com
South Africa: Return to normalcy: A glance at the first 100 days in office of former state president Jacob Zuma and incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa reveals that both men experienced high levels of popularity accompanied by a sense of renewal during this time. Both men strode into broken economies. At the start of Zuma’s first term, the results of the global economic crisis were tangible, while Ramaphosa has had to deal with poor governance, policy direction and corruption – much of that corruption being blamed on Zuma and his extensive patronage networks within the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Meanwhile, Zuma is impeding a crackdown on corruption by the ANC under President Cyril Ramaphosa, the head of the communist party said. The ANC has become increasingly divided since Zuma was ousted by Ramaphosa’s faction in February.
iol.co.za, reuters.com
– NUMBER –
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected with 97.08 percent of votes, the same proportion that the former military commander secured four years ago for his first term but with a lower turnout.
reuters.com
– QUOTE –
„For an epidemic to be under control, you need a clear epidemiological picture.“
Dr. Henry Gray, the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, has warned of the hurdles that need to be overcome to halt the spread of Ebola.
nytimes.com
– AT LAST –
Upswing in Africa’s politics: The newest political trend in Sub-Saharan Africa seems to be modesty. An increasing number of heads of states have turned to more modest behavior. Immediately after assuming office, the President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, ordered his cabinet to only drive middle-class cars. Angolan President Joao Lourenco also surprised his nation: In the first months of his term, photos circulated in social networks showing him walking on the beach, without any noticable bodyguards. In South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa had photographers take pictures of him during a domestic flight in economy class. After the end of the Mugabe era, Zimbabwe is also hopeful: the president promised elections secured by election observers. The South African newspaper „Business Day“ already cheered that „the political wind in Sub-Saharan Africa has turned“. But this optimism exists within limits. Quasi-state parties are still behind the reforms in all of these countries.
welt.de