Kenya Airways starts flights to Juba, S. Sudan

Report by Radio Miraya - Tuesday, 08 June 2010 14:32:

The Kenya Airways has made its first flight to Southern Sudan on Tuesday. In an official launch ceremony attended by senior officials of Southern Sudan, the Vice President Riek Machar Teny said that Kenya Airways operation in Southern Sudan will boost economy of the region. Machar said that Juba airport still lacks landing safety, security, water, and lighting on the runway.

The Southern Sudan Caretaker Minister of Roads and Transport, Anthony Lino Makana said that the coming of Kenya Airways to Juba is a landmark towards development of Southern Sudan.

Makana said Juba airport at the moment receive average of seventy planes every day. He also said there are plans to improve Juba international airport.

Kenyan donor money and firms helping build S. Sudan

Sudan: Donor Money And Firms Helping Build South
Report from Daily Nation On The Web (via AllAfrica) by Murithi Mutiga - Saturday, 5 June 2010:

(Nairobi) - Kenya is accustomed to being a recipient of aid. But in its relationship with Southern Sudan, it is playing a new and unfamiliar role: That of donor country.

The government is investing millions of shillings to set up new administrative structures in the South, underscoring the importance it attaches to its relationship with the government in Juba.

Kenya has given US$5 million (Sh400m) to boost the capacity of the South's civil service and has sent dozens of its own experienced public officials to train their counterparts across the border.

Most of this assistance is motivated by strategic calculations based on the expected outcome of a referendum on self-determination expected in Southern Sudan next year.

Opinion polls and Sunday Nation interviews with key leaders in the region indicate the referendum is overwhelmingly likely to result in the breaking up of Sudan, continent's biggest country, to establish Africa's 54th state.

Such an outcome would have a major impact on the economies of neighbours Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. The three are locked in a race to cement their influence in Southern Sudan and are working to position themselves to benefit from the likely emergence of the new state.

Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula said the government would respect the outcome of the referendum.

"Kenya has always played a neutral role. Down the years, we hosted the Sudan embassy and the offices of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). That is why we were chosen to host the peace talks. As part of the deal that ended the fighting, both parties were supposed to work to make unity attractive. The referendum is a key component of the peace agreement, and we will be happy to recognise a result that endorses unity or one that leads to separation," he said.

While Kenya has long been criticised for punching below its geopolitical weight in its approach to foreign policy in the region, it is employing an unusually muscular approach in Southern Sudan. It has spent millions of shillings and expended considerable diplomatic capital to take advantage of the opportunities opening up in the region.

According to a new report by the International Crisis Group titled Regional perspectives on the prospect of southern independence, Kenyan investment in Southern Sudan is substantial.

A Southern Sudan Liaison Office has been set up at the Office of the President in Nairobi. The unit, the report says, is "dedicated to supporting the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) and the SPLM. Led by diplomats with knowledge of the Sudan file, its mandate includes monitoring the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, advising President Kibaki and serving as the principal liaison for the majority of official interaction with Juba. It also advises Kenyan business interests and facilitates commercial links between investors and the GoSS."

The Kenya Institute of Administration, which is the traditional training centre for civil servants in Kenya, has set up a campus in Juba to contribute to training programmes in the region.

According to the ICG, Kenyan civil servants are taking part in a separate training programme run by the United Nations Development Programme.

Legal experts from Nairobi are working with the parliament in Juba to help in drafting legislation, while Southern Sudan "regularly sends senior ministry officials to Nairobi where they shadow their Kenyan counterparts".

Military ties

The report says there are also significant and growing military ties between the two partners.

"The Kenyan army trains SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) officers and provides other technical support, including several de-mining classes at the International Mine Action School in Embakasi. It also maintains a rotating battalion of peacekeepers in the South as part of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)."

Mr Wetang'ula says this deep relationship is explained by historical circumstances.

"Kenya hosted more than 100,000 Southerners during the civil war. Most leaders of the SPLM maintain their homes in Nairobi, and their children study here. The people in the South also feel a greater affinity to people in the East African region because of shared roots, perhaps more than they do with their brothers in the Arab North."

The minister said the relationship is not driven solely by Kenyan economic interests in the South as ties between the two will be "mutually beneficial".

Economists say the potential benefits for Kenya in the event the South votes for separation are staggering. "This is a potential game changer," said investment banker and analyst Aly-Khan Satchu.

"Kenya's economy rides on the coattails of its neighbours, and two events in the recent past will mean the economy will never be the same again. Uganda's expected revenue from oil is 20 times more than their current Gross Domestic Product while Southern Sudan presents massive opportunities."

Mr Satchu said the South's potential should not just be viewed through the lens of potential oil revenue, which has hovered between the US$1.5 billion (Sh120 billion) and US$ 2 billion (Sh160 billion) mark in the last five years.

"It is widely thought that the South is not getting its fair share of oil revenues from the North under the current agreement, so they may end up getting far higher income after the separation. But there is far more potential in the region. There are vast untapped gold deposits, and there is great potential for agriculture.

The South needs a route to sea, and Kenya will be able to offer that. The question is whether we can complete the infrastructure programmes necessary fast enough to take advantage."

The centrepiece of Kenya's efforts to take advantage of the looming independence of the South is the Lamu port, which is expected to cost about Sh1.2 trillion.

The Chinese-built facility would ease dependence on the port of Mombasa, which has been criticised as inefficient by officials in many neighbouring countries that depend on it.

A railway line from Juba through Isiolo and Lamu is also planned as is a 1,400-km pipeline from Juba to the Lamu port. Japanese firm Toyota Tsusho has expressed an interest in building the $1.5 billion (Sh120 billion) line, which would provide Southern Sudan with a more attractive export route than the existing 1,600km line to Port Sudan in the North.

These ambitious projects have been billed as having the potential to treble Kenya's export income. But a familiar challenge stands in the way.

Demands by senior government officials for large bribes before they commission many of the projects have delayed implementation, to the frustration of officials in Southern Sudan and other governments in the region.

Several western diplomatic sources and a number of government officials with knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity said Kenya has a direct interest in completing the projects, but corruption was stalling implementation.

While Uganda has nearly completed repairs of the Gulu-Juba road which is an important transport link to the region, Kenya is still in the commissioning stages for its railway projects and a feasibility study on the Lamu port is only now being undertaken.

Cohesive team

Mr Satchu says government officials must work in concert to implement these initiatives.

"We need more proactive management on a day to day basis. We don't seem to have a cohesive team on the ground working to advance Kenya's economic interests. We have major infrastructure deficits. Considering how clear the economic benefits of implementation of these projects are, we should be working far more proactively."

Like Uganda, Kenya has sent thousands of skilled workers to Southern Sudan, and it will have to work to avoid creating the impression that it is benefiting disproportionately from the economic opportunities in the South to the exclusion of locals.

The weak level of non-oil exports from Southern Sudan is partly blamed on the resource curse which diminishes productivity in other sectors in some Third World countries.

The prominent academic and blogger John A. Akec has lamented this situation.

"In the last five years, establishing a system to collect taxes has been slow. Development of other means of income has not started. We imported everything from chicken, to tomato, to razor, to toilet rolls from Uganda and Kenya; and exported nothing to them. We sent our children to Uganda and Kenya for their education, and rushed there ourselves when not feeling well to buy the medical services from these countries or travel further afield in quest for medical treatment. Seventy per cent of South Sudan income was paid out as salaries in the public sector, while getting nothing back by the of way economic output."

Kenyan officials say they are trying to help the South diversify its economy by investing heavily in manpower development and training programmes.

Mr Wetang'ula pointed out that Kenyan educational institutions do not charge a higher fee for students from the South, which is the practice for students from outside the East African Community.

The efforts to boost cultural ties, he said, were also demonstrated by the opening of a University of Nairobi campus in Lokichoggio on the Kenyan border with the South. The biggest population of students there is Southern Sudanese.

But all the bets on a major leap in economic ties may fall through, however, if the North and the South do not respect their obligations under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

So far, both sides have largely respected the deal. But some southern ministers have warned that they will demand a unilateral declaration of independence if anything happens to disrupt the referendum, something which Kenya has cautioned against.

Kenya joins Nile agreement, Egyptian Water Minister visits Khartoum

Kenya joins Nile agreement, Egyptian Water Minister visits Khartoum
From Radio Miraya - Thursday, 20 May 2010; 14:32:

Kenya joined on Wednesday the Nile water treaty, signed earlier by four countries of the Nile basin, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Eritrea. Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo are also expected to sign the treaty while Sudan and Egypt boycott it.

Speaking last week to Radio Miraya, the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Kamal Muhamed Ali, said that Sudan will not sign any agreement that will ‘negatively impact' the country's water security and ‘jeopardize' previous Nile water agreements.

The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Nasreddin Allam arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday for a two-day visit to discuss Nile cooperation with his Sudanese counterpart.

In a press release at Khartoum airport Allam said that his visit aims to continue the Sudanese-Egyptian consultations, and joint coordination on the use of the Nile waters to serve the Nile basin countries and its people.

30 million mobile phone users in Kenya soon able to keep their number when changing providers

Dutch Provide Kenya With Number Portability
From PR Newswire /APO - Monday, 10 May 2010:

DELFT, The Netherlands and NAIROBI, Kenya, May 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Within a couple of months 30 million mobile users in Kenya are able to keep their mobile phone number when changing providers. The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has chosen the Dutch company PortingXS to provide number portability to the East-African country.

Until now, changing providers in Africa without losing your mobile phone number was only possible in Morocco, Egypt and South-Africa. Kenya is one of the leading African countries when it comes to mobile technology, even allowing its 38 million inhabitants to make financial transactions through their mobile phones, but it lacked the service of number portability.

To offer mobile users more freedom of choice and enhance competition and consumer convenience, Kenya started a tender for number portability in October last year. Of the six firms that made a bid – some African, some European – PortingXS came out as best. According to CEO Ronald Vlasman, PortingXS not only due to economical reasons, but also because his company will provide services from a local office in Nairobi and will train local students to employ them.

Kenya has 30 million mobile users. The main providers are Safaricom (78 percent), Zain Kenya (17 percent), Orange (4 percent) and Yu (1 percent). Changing providers is difficult for clients, because they lose their number in the process.

PortingXS will start number portability services in a few months, depending on the consultations with national providers and the CCK. “It’s our first giant step into the African continent, but definitely not our last,” CEO Ronald Vlasman states. “There are talks with surrounding and other African countries to implement number portability as we speak and we hope we can provide our services there as well.”

In the Netherlands, PortingXS provides services to two third of the operators. Two years ago the company stepped into the international market and it handles number portability on the isles of Guernsey, Jersey and The Isle of Man.

New plot to block ICC's Ocampo

New plot to block ICC's Ocampo to "give Kenya breathing space"

New plot to block Ocampo
From The Standard (Kenya)
By Juma Kwayera
Saturday, 08 May 2010

As International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo arrives in Kenya, a group of African States plans to petition the United Nations Security Council to defer the investigations until after the next General Election.

The 60 African lobbyists — who include academics, politicians and lawyers — plan a parallel meeting to an ICC Review Meeting scheduled for May 31 to June 11 in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

The push to stop Moreno-Ocampo from pursuing post-election violence suspects has been met with stinging criticism from local human rights groups, who read desperate attempts by forces culpable in the violence that consumed the country in the aftermath of the highly disputed 2007 presidential elections.

African Union that has in the past two years been critical of Moreno-Ocampo since he slapped a warrant of arrest on Sudanese President Omar Hassan el Bashir, are pushing for a revision of Article 15 of the Rome Statute that bestows unlimited powers on the chief prosecutor to pursue leaders accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The anti-Moreno Ocampo campaign is being spearheaded by Sudan, which has rallied support from among others Kenya, Libya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Uganda, South Africa, DR Congo, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Liberia Mozambique and Chad.

In Europe, former USSR and Czechoslovakia satellite states are rallying behind the lobby group.

Apart from the African World Media (AWM), a leading British lobby group, and American-based Witness Africa, are some of the organisations lining up to tell Ocampo to "give Kenya breathing space".

Further, the group has drafted a petition it hopes to present to the UN Security Council on Wednesday to press for the deferment of the ICC investigations pending the conclusion of Agenda Item IV of the National Peace Accord signed under international pressure by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga that ended post-election chaos in 2008.

Moreno-Ocampo arrives at a time when the referendum debate has elicited strong reactions from the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps, stoking fears of ethnic and political polarisation reminiscent of post-2007 General Election.

The leader of the group that convenes under the aegis AWM, Dr David Nyekorach-Matsanga, says ICC investigations of crimes against humanity carries with it a disruptive effect and has the potential to polarise the country further.

"We are wary of deadline politics in Africa. Crimes were committed in Kenya but this is not the time to engage in investigations that can rekindle the ethnic hostilities the resulted in post-election chaos. It is also important that the investigations be deferred pending the conclusion of constitutional, judicial, police and civil service reforms, which are on course," Dr Matsanga told The Standard on Saturday.

However, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Vice-Chairman Hassan Omar says the push to scuttle the ICC activities in Kenya would be resisted.

"There is obviously panic in Government because it is dominated by key suspects. ICC operations will move in any direction, including the Executive. The attempt to criticise the ICC or reduce the mandate of chief prosecutor is myopic as it cannot deflate the wheels of justice as they are catching up with people who planned and committed the crimes," Omar, who will participate in ICC General Assembly meeting in Uganda, says.

This is not the first time that Matsanga wants Moreno-Ocampo tamed in the hunt for post-election suspects.

Perceived impunity

In February, a 12-page application was filed at the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II seeking the nullification of the international court’s effort to rein in perceived impunity in Kenya.

More significantly, the application filed soon after that of two Americans — Prof Max Hilaire and William A Cohn — failed to convince the international court to scupper investigations.

In the application, Matsanga argued: "Flawed application of Article 15 of the Rome Statute of 1998 is likely to lead to flawed justice for both the victims and the alleged key perpetrators of the post-election violence of 2007-2008 as well as lead to a cataclysmic politico-socio falling out across the country, with a dire consequences for Kenya."

Moreno-Ocampo’s five-day visit to Kenya has apparently rekindled fears that the hunt for bearers of the greatest responsibility for alleged crimes against humanity would rope in the Executive, which a local commission of inquiry has blamed for occasioning post-election violence.

International Centre for Transitional Justice senior researcher and lawyer, Njonjo Mue, agrees the search for justice for post-election violence faces threats of being messed by politics.

But he says: "The victims of post-election violence have waited too long. The rules of procedure are such that the process cannot stall until the investigations are through. Ocampo is aware of this. The indictments can be open or sealed, so there should be no fear that investigations will affect constitutional reforms as ICC is not a political court," says Mue.

University of Nairobi political science lecturer, Adams Oloo, shares the sentiments. But he cautioned: "Although the timelines of the referendum and ICC investigations are far apart, key suspects could use them as an excuse to mess up the democratic process. Ideally Moreno-Ocampo’s investigations could influence the 2012 elections."

An ICC statement early in the week that Moreno-Ocampo’s investigations would, when necessary, be taken to the highest office on the land has intensified panic that had been on a lull since his departure in November.

The planned meeting is part of the pressure that is piling again from within and outside Kenya against ICC to frustrate the investigations pending the determination of Africa’s demand for the reduction of the chief prosecutor’s powers.

Agenda IV, an outcome of national reconciliation and peace talks, envisages constitutional, electoral and judicial reforms whose deadlines are defined by the timeframe provided in the National Accord.

Moreno-Ocampo touched off panic in the high echelons of the Government when he declared early in the week that his imminent investigations would not spare anybody irrespective of position in the Government.

Kenya: President Pushes for More Chinese Investment

Kenya: President Pushes for More Chinese Investment
From Daily Nation via AllAfrica, Sunday, 02 May 2010:

Shanghai — Kenyans can expect more involvement through funding and investment in development projects by China, with President Kibaki's visit to the country, where he invited the Chinese business people to invest in the country.

President Kibaki held talks with officials of China-Africa Development (CAD) Fund who paid him a courtesy call, on Sunday, during which the team, led by the chief executive officer, Mr Chi Jian Xin, informed him on its willingness to partner with private and public companies.

This would be in supporting projects that can be funded through the official bilateral framework between Kenya and China. Among the projects pointed out for consideration, High-grand Falls and Coal-powered electricity generation projects. Later, the President met with Pan Jilu, President of Hydro-China Guiyang Corporation.

The company, a Hydropower and wind power generation, transmission and distribution Company, has been involved in Nandi Multi-purpose Hydro Power project along the Yala River, Bubisa wind power generation project in Marsabit and Ewaso Nyiro South Multipurpose project.

President Kibaki also met and held discussions with Mr Zhang Ren Jun, Senior Vice President of ZTE Corporation. ZTE is a global Telecommunications, Equipment and Networks provider which has been engaged in Western Kenya and North Rift Fibre Optical Cabling extending to the Southern Sudan border.

President Kibaki encouraged the Chinesese business community to invest in Kenya, assuring them that the government is doing everything possible to guarantee a friendly environment. He directed the ministries of Finance, Regional Development and Energy to organise consultative meetings with companies interested in Kenya's development needs and work out modalities of implementing identified projects.

President Kibaki also opened the Kenya Stand in the African Pavilion and attended the official opening of the Expo 2010 Shanghai, China. He also held bilateral talks with the host, President Hu Jintao, during which agreements on funding of Vision 2030 flagship projects were reached.

Among the projects the two leaders agreed upon is the construction of the Lamu Port as well as new areas of development cooperation including health and education where more scholarships will be given for Kenyans to study in China. During the bilateral talks, President Hu Jintao announced the extension of a Sh1.2 billion grant towards Kenya's development projects.

Child soldiers & Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)

Children who become soldiers
From the SID Forum
By Saskia Baas*
April 27, 2010:

Over the past few years, the use of children as soldiers in armed conflict has become a source of immense moral outrage among rights activists as well as the general public. In 2005, the UN Security Council officially condemned the use of child-soldiers by parties to armed conflict and organisations such as Unicef and Save the Children have launched big campaigns to raise awareness on the tragic fate of children who become soldiers during civil wars in Africa, Asia and South America. Horrendous stories have surfaced of children who were abducted, drugged and turned into killing machines during the bloody civil wars in Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast. These stories form a legitimate ground for wide condemnation, indeed.

However, although the “child-soldier” is often depicted as a helpless victim of the evildoings of other (adult) actors, this is a simplification that does not do justice to the complex reality of a civil war. During the civil war in South Sudan (1983-2005) the recruitment of children under the age of eighteen was common practice in the largest rebel movement: the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The stories of these children – many of whom are by now adults and youngsters – challenge the image of childsoldiers as helpless victims, with no choice or opinion of their own.

Meet Tricia, who joined the SPLA when she was ten years old. When the government army had killed her father, she decided she wanted to fight back: “I became angry. I walked to a town where the SPLA was stationed and I said to them that I want to be a soldier. I took training for two years. I was still small and I was struggling even to carry the gun.” After she completed her training, the army leadership decided she was too young to fight and sent her to a refugee camp in Kenya to go to school. But after a year, she walked back to Sudan to join the army again: “My heart didn’t want to stay in the school. I wanted to fight. Every day in the school, my mind was thinking about going back to the army. This was because of what happened to my father. I was still angry.”

Another soldier, Moses, joined the rebels’ side when he was twelve years old. His home area became very insecure as a result of the war. He explains that he joined the rebels after an attack on his village by the enemy: “When the enemy came, they were killing people and taking the women and cows. They put fire in the house. My father was killed and three men in my sister’s house. I was afraid, I ran away. In the forest, I found soldiers and I joined them.” Although the life of a soldier exposes children to extremely threatening circumstances, it is often overlooked that they were facing the same, or even worse threats in their home communities. Civil war creates extreme insecurities, and becoming a soldier can be a form of seeking relative protection.

Yet, life for children in the army was also harsh and dangerous. There was seldom enough food, and many soldiers died of hunger, malaria or diarrhoea. On the frontlines, soldiers saw their friends die in front of them and many got injured. Simon tells us how he got injured: “When I was sixteen, I got shot in my leg. It had to be amputated and I now use an artificial leg. After that, I could not go back to battle. I stayed in the liberated areas, but still in uniform.” Philip also got injured when he was sixteen “When we started to fight, I felt bad about it. The war made everything worse. People died, got hurt and fled. I got injured in my leg. I had to go to the hospital far from the battles. I had to stay behind in the barracks since then.”

In the SPLA, it was not common for young children to be sent to the frontlines to fight, although there were exceptions to that rule. Many children who wanted to become soldiers were turned down altogether and sent to refugee camps, like what happened to Tricia. Generally, children who were taken into the army were given lighter tasks in the barracks. Yet, some young soldiers recalled how eager they were to go to the frontlines, like Jacob: “I was twelve when I joined the SPLA. I had to join the army, because I needed to protect myself. After the training, I was feeling strong. But the commanders thought I was still too young to fight, so I had to stay in the barracks with them. When I was thirteen, I didn’t want to wait anymore, and they let me go to battle. They saw I was ready for it.”

When possible, the SPLA organised classes for its soldiers in the barracks, mainly during ceasefires. Children were also sent to refugee camps or to safe areas for periods of time to attend school. Daniel explains how he was selected for education: “I joined the SPLA when I was fourteen years old. Then, our commander came to the barracks and they said to me “you are still young, you go to school”. Twenty were selected like that. I went to Kenya and finished my primary and secondary school there.” While life in the ranks of the army was extremely challenging for children, the life they had left behind was often not much better. Those who remained civilians throughout the war were subjected to attacks by the army, disease and famine. In 2005, the SPLA signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government, putting an end to twenty years of a devastating civil war.

Directly after the peace, rights groups pressured the SPLA to release all soldiers who were then under the age of eighteen. Unicef committed itself to help them reintegrate into civilian life, and received funds to do so, but never managed to get projects going. None of the young soldiers ever received any form of support from Unicef. They had to depend on their families, like Daniel, who was sixteen when the peace was signed: “After the peace, I travelled to where my uncle lives. I was released from the army to go to school and I like it. I am in class 7 now. When I finish my education, I want to teach my people how to plant crops and how to take care of them. I don’t want a job in the army.”

Since the peace, the SPLA is an official army, and its remaining soldiers started receiving salaries. Tricia is now twenty-two years old and earning about $200 a month, which makes her more than well-off for Sudanese standards. She talks about her future: “I am now in the military intelligence. I also want to continue my education. I am going to ask for permission to go to school. But after I finish, I will come back to my job. I want to stay in the army. The army is my life.”

Jacob is now thirty years old, and stationed in South Sudan’s capital Juba where he is performing a civilian task. He hopes to find a way to continue his education, but this is difficult: “The problem is that I am too old for the regular schools here. I’ve been in the army for 16 years now. I am a soldier, and I feel that I have to be in the army. It is a job, somehow. All my experience is in the army. I won’t match in any other place. I belong in the army.” He is also now receiving a salary and is saving up for the dowry, as he is planning to get married and start a family.

The image of a child-soldier as a helpless victim who is abducted and forced, is based on only one part of reality and requires nuance. Although the image works well for those organisations seeking to raise funds for their projects, it does not provide room for children who became soldiers in an attempt to shape their destinies. Civil wars expose people to horrendous experiences and make children specifically vulnerable. Under these threatening circumstances, becoming a fighter may be a perfectly rational way to seek protection, even for children. However, that should not diminish our moral outrage. If anything, it should redirect our indignation towards states and leaders who instigate these wars, and those who look away and fail to act.

*Saskia Baas is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam, completing a dissertation on armed opposition movements in Sudan and has done extensive field work in Sudan in 2008 – 2009, interviewing around 80 rebels. Names in the article are not the respondents’ real names.

Related article on the SID forum: Forgotten… by Jan Pronk