Category: Key Issues

The Ethiopian government appealed Tuesday for its citizens to join the military to fight the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the embattled northern Tigray region.

The appeal from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office follows the government’s unilateral declaration of a cease-fire in June as its military retreated from Tigray or abandoned the truce altogether.

“Now is the right time for all capable Ethiopians who are of age to join the Defense Forces, Special Forces and militias to show your patriotism,” Abiy’s office said in a statement.

Representatives of Abiy, the TPLF and the Tigray emergency task force did not immediately comment.

The TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia for three decades, now controls Tigray. The TPLF-led authority administering the region says it is the Tigray Regional Government; Ethiopian federal authorities say that government was dissolved and that a Provisional Administration has the mandate in Tigray.

On Sunday, crowds rallied at Meskel Square in the capital city, Addis Ababa, to show their support for Ethiopia’s National Defense Force and to condemn the TPLF. Men on horseback joined in the gathering, chanting and singing.

One of the speakers was the city’s mayor, Adanech Abebe, who accused “international actors” of trying to restore power to the TPLF. She called upon the international community “to stand with over 100 million people of Ethiopia.”

Fighting between the national government and the TPLF broke out in November, leaving about 4 million people in Tigray, Amhara and Afar facing emergency or crisis levels of food insecurity, according to the United Nations. Both sides have been accused of atrocities.

Troops from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor to the north, and Amhara, a neighboring region to the south of Tigray, also entered the conflict in support of the Ethiopian government.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday that it and its partners regained access to the Mai Aini and Adi Harush camps for Eritrean refugees in Tigray. Violence had prevented representatives from accessing the sites since July 13.

The UNHCR said deliveries of aid for the camps’ 23,000 refugees resumed on August 5, despite access that is “limited by a complex and fluid security situation.”

Source: Voice of America

Zambia’s standing as one of Africa’s most stable democracies is being tested this week in the vote in which President Edgar Lungu is seeking re-election.

A tight race is expected, and some analysts say the presidential poll may provoke a political crisis in the southern African country.

Lungu’s detractors say he has systematically restricted democratic freedoms by closing some media outlets, detaining opposition politicians and targeting critics. His rule has taken Africa’s second-largest copper producer to “the brink of a human rights crisis,” Human Rights Watch alleged in June.

Violence flared in recent weeks, particularly between supporters of the two main parties, prompting Lungu to deploy the military. Lungu says the troops are to maintain order, but the opposition argues that the soldiers are to intimidate voters.

Lungu came to power in 2015 after winning a disputed snap election to finish the term of President Michael Sata who died in office. Lungu was then elected to a full five-year term in 2016, although his main rival again alleged fraud.

A combination of intimidation and populist policies such as payments to millions of farmers could secure a victory for Lungu, 64, analysts say.

His chief rival is 59-year-old Hakainde Hichilema, who touts his business background as proof he can attract capital and create much-needed jobs. Hichilema is well-known to voters as this is the sixth time that he has run for president and the most recent race against Lungu was very close.

In total, 16 candidates are vying for the presidency. Zambia will go for a second-round vote if none of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes cast.

More than 800 candidates from Lungu’s Patriotic Front, Hichilema’s United Party for National Development and other smaller parties and independents will battle for the elected 156 seats in the National Assembly. Mayoral and council seats are also up for election.

Zambia’s economy, which is in a tailspin, might “be the defining issue,” said Nic Cheeseman, a professor of politics at the University of Birmingham.

“The economic crisis has gone hand-in-hand with significant amounts of pain and that has caused considerable discontent,” Cheeseman told The Associated Press. “I think that creates a window of opportunity for the opposition to win, not just that the economy is bad but that people don’t have confidence in President Lungu to be able to turn it around.”

Zambia recorded economic progress for more than a decade and achieved middle-income status in 2011, but now the country is beset by high inflation, high debt and allegations of corruption.

The COVID-19 pandemic hurt the already stuttering economy even further. Lockdown measures pushed Zambia into its first recession since 1998 and the economy contracted by 1.2%, according to the World Bank.

An easing of the lockdown measures in the latter part of 2020 and the global rise in copper prices resulted in some recovery, although inflation reached a high of 22% in February, according to the World Bank.

Many Zambians have little trust in the politicians promising to fix the country’s problems. Only 23% said they would vote for Lungu’s Patriotic Front party while just 25% would consider voting for Hichilema’s United Party for National Development, according to a poll by Afrobarometer in December last year.

“This means that voter apathy and a low turnout will likely prevail on election day,” said Ringisai Chikohomere, a researcher at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.

“The economy is the number one electoral issue, and yet in the past Zambians have voted along regional lines rather than on the strength of real grievances,” said Chikohomere, who said ethnic identity issues may be as important as the policies promoted by the candidates and parties.

Disputes over the outcome are likely, Cheeseman said.

“It’s going to be a very contested election. It’s going to be highly controversial. Whichever candidate loses will reject the results. It means we will have a political crisis here after the polls,” he said. “It’s really a question of how big that crisis is and how credible the elections look.”

Source: Voice of America

Supporters of the Nigerian separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), began a weekly stay-at-home protest Monday in the country’s southeast, calling for their leader to be released.

IPOB’s southeast lockdown protest took effect from 6 a.m. local time Monday and lasted 12 hours. Residents across many states in the region complied with the order to stay at home, despite a warning from authorities prohibiting it.

The separatist group says the protest is to press for the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing trial for treason in Nigeria after he was rearrested in June.

Enugu resident Daniel Ede said he received a memo from his office asking him to stay away from work Monday.

“There’s a sense of hostility in the air,” Ede said. “There’s very minimal vehicular movement, very minimal movement, in general. Everybody is just keeping to himself and trying to observe and see how everything pans out.”

Enugu state in southeastern Nigeria is a strong base for the separatist movement.

The separatist group says the stay-at-home protest will continue every Monday until Kanu is freed.

In May, IPOB gave a similar order to honor fighters who died facing the Nigerian state during the civil war in the late 1960s.

Imo state resident Justin Ohanu said travelers from Lagos passing through the state Monday were hindered by local militias enforcing the lockdown.

“This morning, some buses were burned along the road there,” he said. “The buses were coming from Lagos. I think they got the passengers out of the vehicles, they were transport buses. About three of them got burned.”

Government offices in the region opened Monday, even though many workers could not make it to work, due to movement restrictions.

In January, IPOB launched an armed unit called the Eastern Security Network. The government’s crackdown on the unit escalated security tensions in the region and led to 115 extrajudicial executions, according to Amnesty International.

Source: Voice of America

The mining industry has long been one of South Africa’s largest sectors, but women are still a minority in its workforce. Now, a group called Women in Mining South Africa is trying to change that through a mentorship program to help young women enter the field.

Baile Sebetlele is a geologist for Harmony Gold Mining. Mining seemed a natural career choice for the 29-year-old with interests in science and exploration.

But with women making up less than 15% of the country’s mining workforce, fitting in did not come as easily. She recalls the first day without her male supervisor by her side.

“I had to go underground on my own, do the actual work,” Sebetlele said. “… I got this other man telling me that, ‘No, no, Baile, we’re not going to listen to you. You’re young enough to be my daughter or my granddaughter, so I’m not going to listen to you.’”

Building trust takes time

Six years into her career, Sebetlele said she has built trust with her male colleagues, but the path could have been easier with more support.

That’s why the nonprofit Women in Mining South Africa launched a mentorship program for 42 young women, including Sebetlele, this year.

Raksha Naidoo is the deputy chairperson.

“I think that it can become a very lonely journey, when you’re in these very, very male-dominated industries,” Naidoo said. “And without having some sort of support or guidance, it can force you to leave the industry a lot quicker than you should. So, there was definitely a need for mentorship.”

Mining has long been a male-dominated industry in South Africa. Women could not legally work underground until 1996.

Barriers for women found

An employer organization called Minerals Council South Africa took a survey about work conditions in the industry. Thuthula Balfour, head of health at the council, said the survey revealed barriers facing women.

“Although it was generally positive, there were still comments around issues of inadequate physical infrastructure, things like those unisex toilets and again, the PPE (personal protective equipment) which is suited for women,” Balfour said.

Sebetlele said it’s also difficult to find work boots small enough to wear.

The minerals council said companies are adapting equipment and the environment to ensure women’s safety and comfort on the job.

Naidoo said Women in Mining is also trying to boost the number of women in the industry by providing career booklets to schools about the many diverse jobs that do not require work underground.

“Young girls, as early as probably grade eight to nine, will start seeing what these different faces look like in these different careers so that they’re able to understand the subjects that they need to take at school,” Naidoo said. ” … People are starting to see that it’s not just about putting on a hardhat and overalls.”

For Sebetlele, having a female mentor to talk through the daily challenges at work has made a difference.

Results are encouraging

As she sets her ambitions higher, Sebetlele said seeing other women advance in the sector is encouraging.

“In our corporate office, now with the new appointments, you are seeing women, you’re starting to see women occupying those strategic positions,” Sebetlele said. “You’re starting to see young women taking up space … So, I think any young woman can do it with the right guidance and with the right mindset as well.”

Positive feedback from this year’s proteges has Women in Mining planning to expand its program. The organization is looking at establishing a mentorship program for mid-career women who want to climb the corporate ladder.

Source: Voice of America

Mozambican forces backed by Rwandan troops on Sunday said they had driven out jihadists occupying the key port town of Mocimboa da Praia in the gas-rich north of the country.

Mozambique’s defense ministry confirmed an earlier tweet by Rwanda’s army that the joint force had wrested control of the town on Sunday morning.

They now control government buildings, the port, airport, hospital, and other key installations, Colonel Omar Saranga, a ministry spokesman, told a press conference in the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

The port town, from where the first Islamist attacks were staged in October 2017, has since last year become the de facto headquarters of the Islamic State-linked extremists, locally referred to as al-Shabab.

Mocimboa da Praia “was the last stronghold of the insurgents” and its recapture marks “the end of the first phase of counter-insurgency operations,” Colonel Ronald Rwivanga, a spokesman for the joint military force, said in a text message.

Mozambican forces have been struggling to regain control over the northern Cabo Delgado province, site of one of Africa’s biggest liquefied natural gas project, a $20 billion site operated by French energy major Total.

Rwanda sent 1,000 troops last month to shore up the Mozambican military.

Last week they claimed their first success since deploying, saying they had helped the Mozambican army regain control of Awasse, a small but also strategic settlement near Mocimboa da Praia.

At least 800,000 people have been uprooted from their homes by the violence ravaging the region, with more than 3,100 killed, half of them civilians, according to conflict tracking organization ACLED

“We will continue with security operations to completely pacify those areas and allow Mozambican and Rwandan forces to conduct stabilization operations” to enable people to return home and businesses to open, Rwivanga said.

After initially resisting outside help, Rwandan troops deployed on July 9 following an April visit to Kigali by Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi.

They were followed weeks later by forces from neighboring countries, which are deploying under the aegis of the 16-member regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Botswana, whose President Mokgweetsi Masisi, has been outspoken on the urgent need for regional stability, became the first SADC country to send in troops on July 26.

Regional powerhouse and immediate neighbor South Africa announced on July 28 it would deploy 1,495 soldiers.

A day later, Zimbabwe unveiled plans to dispatch 304 non-combat soldiers to train Mozambique’s infantry battalions.

Angola then deployed 20 specialized military air force personnel while Namibia will contribute N$5.8 million (about $400,000) toward the anti-insurgency offensive.

Masisi and Nyusi will on Monday formally launch the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province.

The European Union on July 12 formally established a military mission for Mozambique to help train its armed forces battling the jihadists.

Former colonial ruler Portugal is providing training for Mozambican troops, with Lisbon’s military instructors expected to make up half of the new EU mission.

Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, which borders Tanzania, has been troubled by the jihadist insurgency since 2017.

Last year the militants had grown bolder, escalating attacks as part of a campaign to establish an Islamist caliphate.

In March this year, they attacked n the coastal town of Palma, killing dozens of people and triggering an exodus that included employees from the Total project, forcing the company to halt work.

Source: Voice of America