African Union Commission (AUC) — The Assembly of the African Union Heads of State and Government while at their 14th Ordinary Session from 31st January to 2nd February 2010, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adopted the following Decisions:

On the situation of peace and security in Africa, the Summit expressed satisfaction with the efforts by the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), with support from the international community, for the effective establishment of the continental Peace and Security Architecture, as well as for the prevention and resolution of conflict and the consolidation of peace.

With regard to unconstitutional changes of government, and strengthening the capacity of the African Union to manage such situations, the Assembly reiterated the African Union’s total rejection of unconstitutional changes of Government, and its determination to put a definitive end to this scourge, which undermines the progress achieved in the ongoing democratization processes in the continent and constitutes a threat to peace and security in Africa.

The Assembly decided that, in case of unconstitutional changes of government, in addition to the suspension of the country concerned, the following measures shall apply: non-participation of the perpetrators of the unconstitutional change in the elections held to restore constitutional order; implementation of sanctions against any Member State that is proven to have instigated or supported an unconstitutional change in another State; and implementation by the Assembly of other sanctions including punitive economic sanctions. It further decided that, Member States should, upon the occurrence of an unconstitutional change of Government, refrain from granting any accreditation to the de facto authorities in non-African international bodies, including the United Nations and its General Assembly, thus strengthening the automatic suspension measure taken by the AU against the countries in which unconstitutional changes of Government have taken place.

The Assembly strongly underscored the importance of signing and ratification by Member States which have not already done so, of the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance as well as on good neighbourliness and non-subversion.

Concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC), the recommendation of the Assembly contained therein, and in particular the following:

Proposal for amendment to Article 16 of the Rome Statute;

Proposal for retention of Article 13 as is;

Procedural issues: guidelines for the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by the ICC Prosecutor;

Immunities of officials whose states are not parties to the Rome Statute: the relationship between articles 27 and 98; and

Proposals regarding the crime of aggression.

On the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction, the Assembly reiterated its previous positions adopted in Sharm el Sheikh, Addis Ababa and Sirte in July 2008, February 2009 and July 2009 respectively to the effect that there has been blatant abuse of the Principle of Universal Jurisdiction particularly by some non-African States. It called for immediate termination of all pending indictments while urging the Commission to follow-up on this matter with a view to ensuring that a definitive solution to this problem is reached and to report to the Ordinary Session of the Assembly through the Executive Council in July 2010.

For the Hissène Habré case: the Assembly appealed to all Member States to contribute to the budget of the trial and extend the necessary support to the Government of Senegal in the execution of the African Union (AU) mandate to prosecute and try Hissene Habre;

With respect to the terrorist attack against the Togolese national football team, the Assembly recalled the principles enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the 1999 OAU Convention on Preventing and Combating Terrorism (Algiers Convention) and the 2004 Protocol, the relevant legal instruments of the United Nations and other international conventions relating to the fight against  terrorism, all of which equally condemn the support, sheltering and financing of terrorists groups;

On the Year of Peace and Security in Africa, the Assembly stressed that the Year of Peace and Security will be an opportunity for African people and leaders, as well as African institutions, in partnership with the international community, to review current efforts towards peace on the continent, with a view to strengthening them and, where appropriate, launching new initiatives, in particular by:

giving added momentum to peace and security efforts on the continent;

giving greater visibility to ongoing and past efforts by the African Union on the ground;

speeding up the implementation of commitments made by Member States to various AU instruments relating to peace and security;

making synergy between official efforts to promote peace and security with those  being undertaken on the ground by grassroots communities; and

mobilizing resources to support peace and security efforts on the Continent.

On the African Common position on the review of the implementation of the Beijing+15 platform, the Assembly took note of the Report on the African Common Position on the Fifteen Year Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action, and the recommendations contained therein. It called on the United Nations to consider and incorporate the Common African Position on the Fifteen Years Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, during the global review.

Regarding the establishment of the Fund for African Women, the Assembly decided to  launch the Fund for African Women in accordance with Assembly Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.143 (VIII) adopted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2007.

On the date and venue of the fifteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, the Assembly accepted the dates proposed by the Republic of Uganda and the Commission for the holding of the Summit meetings in Kampala as follows:

19 to 20 July 2010: 20th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee;

22 to 23 July 2010: 17th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council;

25 to 27 July 2010: 15th Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

Concerning the election of the members of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, the Assembly appointed the following five (5) Members of the Peace and Security Council for a three-year term as of 1 April 2010:

It also appointed the following ten (10) Members of the Peace and Security Council for a two-year term as of 1 April 2010:

Concerning the African Common Position at the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, the Assembly reaffirmed its continued stand to remain united in all future negotiations on climate change while endorsing that the leadership of H.E Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, as Coordinator of CAHOSCC, be extended to lead CAHOSCC for the next two Conferences of Parties (COP16 in Mexico and COP17 in South Africa, in 2010 and 2011 respectively).

Regarding the report of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee on NEPAD, the Assembly approved the adoption of a new strategic approach focusing on partnership dialogue on Africa’s development policy issues and called for the institutionalization of Africa’s engagement within the G20, and the effecting of the desired paradigm shift from management of poverty in the Continent to economic transformation for Africa to emerge as a new growth pole to address existing imbalances and play a significant role in the integrated world economy.

On the integration of the NEPAD into the structures and processes of the African Union including the establishment of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), the Assembly approved the following:

Facilitate and coordinate the implementation of the continental and regional priority programmes and projects;

Mobilize resources and partners in support of the implementation of Africa’s priority programmes and projects;

Conduct and coordinate research and knowledge management;

Regarding the response to the global financial crisis, the Assembly expressed some concerns on the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on African countries, despite their economies being less integrated into the international financial system. It called upon developed countries as well as international financial institutions to urgently implement the recommendations and commitments made during the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit, while requesting the Commission, in collaboration with the AfDB and the ECA, to continue monitoring the impact of the crisis on African countries, as well as the implementation of the G20 Summit Commitments

On the Reform of the United Nations Security Council, the Assembly reaffirmed the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration on the reform of the United Nations Security Council containing the African Common Position, and called for its intensive promotion to ensure that Africa speaks with one voice on the issue of Security Council Reform.

On the annexes to the statues of the African Investment Bank, the Assembly adopted the Annexes to the Statutes of the African Investment Bank (AIB) including the selection of scenario B, on the distribution of capital and voting rights of the AIB among Member States, and the choice of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of the International Monetary Fund as unit of account of the AIB, until the creation of the African single currency. It called on the Member States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Protocol and the Statutes of the African Investment Bank.

On the African Union budget for the 2010 financial year, the Assembly approved the Budget of the African Union for the Year 2010 amounting to US$250,453,697. They requested the Commission to implement the decision to increase Member States` contribution towards the peace fund from 6% to 12% over a period of 3 years starting from 2011. They also decided to allocate US$3,020,854 to NEPAD as initial budget for its integration into African Union structures and processes pending the approval of its structure by the Policy Organs as well as the continued harmonization of its programs with those of AUC to avoid duplication and ensure coherence.

On Zimbabwe, the Assembly recalled its Decision 252 adopted in Sirte, Libya, in July 2009 on the immediate lifting of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. In this regard, the Assembly invited all the Member States of the AU and the international community to give priority to the immediate and permanent lifting of the international sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. Source: (African Press Organization)

By: K Ssangalyambogo

The American founding fathers were great men. They had their faults but the one thing that no one can criticize about them is that they left power at the right time.

They must have believed or dreamed that America would someday become a powerful influential democracy that could be an example for all nations. Did they step down because they understood their historical significance or were there too many powerful like minded leaders that wouldn’t allow dictatorship to flourish in our new fragile democracy?

Africa also had honorable leaders but few of them willingly left power when their terms were up. There were a few that may have left power when they were supposed to but one can argue that they weren’t remarkable men like the founding fathers. Like George Washington, Uganda’s Museveni, Eritrea’s Isaias, and Zimbabwe’s Mugabe were all great military leaders that liberated their countries through a grassroots effort.

All were tremendously popular and strove to create a foundation of democracy in their country. Like the American founding fathers, many great African leaders were not fans of dictators, yet they have failed their people and have become exactly what they liberated their people from (in some cases even more oppressive).

Uganda is one of the more pleasant African countries to live in. With its beautiful fertile countryside, vast resources, hospitable people and richness in culture, the sky is the limit for this amazing country. They could achieve economic success through tourism, exporting various commodities, including flowers, and are slowing developing their service industry, which is a result of the investments they have made in education.

The US spends less than 2% of its budget on education and in past years Uganda has spent up to 15% of its annual budget on education. In 1986, Museveni liberated this country from oppressive, corrupt Ugandan rulers through a guerrilla war where he won the support of his people. Communities in southern Uganda came together to help him take over the country.

Once in power he preached democracy and created a local district system where local communities had more power than ever before. Justice and rule of law was promoted and a constitution was enacted in 1995. The constitution put in place several checks and balances and ensured equal representation for women, youth, and interest groups in the government. It was truly an extraordinary document.

However, Museveni destroyed the very institutions he had worked so hard to create in 2005 when he bribed parliament to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. The strongest aspects of Uganda’s democracy are that the courts are independent and they have a high level of freedom of press compared to other African countries.

People are free to criticize the president on the thousands of independent radio stations throughout the country. Museveni also allowed political parties to be formed for the first time in 2005 to appear more legitimate, but it is impossible to develop a viable opposition within the system Museveni has created.

Museveni has become increasingly corrupt, filling top positions with people from his ethnic group and other close allies. His close friends are leaders in all aspects of society, which discourages people from running against him.

They are not officially restricted but he has not created the open democratic society that he promised. With the ethnic hatred that was revealed during the riots in September, it is becoming apparent that there is great animosity towards those perceived to hail from Museveni’s ethnic group.

The challenges that Uganda faces are not simple and cannot be fully addressed here; however, Museveni’s apparent blindness to the nepotism within his system has fueled this ethnic hatred that could destroy Ugandan society.

Museveni may be considered one of the least oppressive dictators on the continent but the tragedy of the Ugandan story is the opportunity lost. It was within his grasp to become the father of Uganda and create a legacy of democracy that would live on for generations. Instead he has developed a system which enriches him and his cronies to the point that his inner circle probably won’t allow him to leave office even if he wanted to.

Eritrea is a unique country with a history like no other African country. Like Uganda, there are good and bad elements to the Eritrean story. In 1991, Eritrea won independence after a brutal 30 year war with Ethiopia. The war hero and leader of the EPLF, Isaias Afewerki, became the country’s first president.

He was extremely popular and the Eritrean people were elated to have their own nation. Developed through their tremendous struggle, Eritreans have strong sense of nationalism that is the envy of the continent.

No other African country has the unity across ethnic groups and religions that Eritreans have achieved. Eritrea also has low levels of corruption and built a lot of infrastructure since independence. In 1997, the constitution was adopted setting up the the foundation of democracy and established a multi-party system, but the constitution was never implemented.

Also, Isaias has not allowed other parties to organize and has not held a presidential election. Eritreans have been patient with their leader and understand that their country is in its infancy; however, the reality for Eritreans has gotten dramatically worse in the last two years. One major challenge to assessing the level of democracy in Eritrea is that it is a very closed society with no freedom of press.

The government shut down the independent media in 2001 and last year Eritrea ranked dead last below North Korea in freedom of press. Since there is virtually no truthful information about the daily lives of Eritreans outside the country, I must rely on blogs and first hand horror stories from friends and family who recently lived in Eritrea.

A very good friend of mine who spent much of 2009 in Asmara described how Eritreans cannot get basic supplies due to government rations. Gasoline, cooking oil, sugar, bread, and many other household basics are strictly limited per person. My friend told me a story about whenever they have other Eritreans visit, they take them to the gas station and other stores a bunch of times to collect their rations so they can survive.

Eritrea is quickly becoming one of the worst Marxist oppressive societies to ever exist on the continent. The saddest tragedy of all is the forced military service. The government is currently forcing men to serve in the military and not allowing them to leave. My friend’s brother was forced to be in the military for 15 years and he had to pretend to be crazy to get out. It is said that several Eritreans are trying to escape the military by fleeing through the desert to Sudan and dying.

Eritreans are not allowed to bring printers into the country because the government is worried people will print letters that will dismiss men from the military. Isaias has no incentive to end the border war with Ethiopia since it creates a great excuse for him to have a free source of labor through the military. We had another friend who was forced to be a spy against his will since he spoke fluent Amharic and he was terrified of being caught and tortured by the Ethiopians.

There is very limited information about the realities of this brutality but the horror stories are there. The major supporters of Isaias seem to be some people in diaspora that really have no idea what is going on in Eritrea. Issaias was once beloved by his people and he has sourly disappointed them.

Parade magazine ranks him as one of the world’s worst dictators. To make things worse, now the international community is threatening sanctions since Issaias is supporting the Muslim extremists in Somalia, when Eritreans are already struggling to get by. It is impossible to understand Issaias’ reasoning and how he justifies such oppression when he and his people sacrificed so much for freedom.

Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for ten years in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974, he joined the Rhodesia bush war and “emerged as a hero in the minds of many Africans”. Mugabe became Zimbabwe’s first prime minster in 1980 and then head of state in 1987.

As the sole political force in Zimbabwe since independence, his government has been marked with violent oppression, massacres, and lack of political freedom. Despite Mugabe’s flaws, his people and Africans all over the continent continued to view him an African hero for liberating his country from white oppressors. However, due to Mugabe’s greed and misguided policies, Zimbabweans have suffered tremendously in the last few years and he is increasingly viewed as a tyrannical old man.

The state of the Zimbabwean economy has been a major factor in his decline. The economy started to struggle with Zimbabwe’s participation in the second Congo war and was magnified by his land reform program where he confiscated the majority white owned farms and redistributed them.

The general concepts of his land reform plans were not bad, but Mugabe foolishly gave the land to his political cronies rather than the black Zimbabweans who had always worked the land under white ownership. Zimbabwe was always an exporter of food in the past and now 11 million Zimbabweans are on the brink of starvation. Since the farms were confiscated violently, the UK and several other countries imposed economic sanctions. In addition, he printed hundreds of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars resulting in hyperinflation of 10,500,000% in 2008, which is unheard of anywhere else.

By 2008, it was clear that Mugabe had lost of the support his people and Mr. Tsvangirai gained more votes than Mugabe in the election. Officially no candidate received the required 50% of the votes to win the election but it was obvious that opposition supporters were jailed, harassed, beaten, and tortured.

The runoff election was not free and fair and marred by violence. At the end of 2008 due to international pressure, Mugabe and Tsvangirai entered into a power sharing agreement; however, it was clear that Mugabe had no intention of loosening his control over the government. Mugabe’s greed for power and blind selfishness has brought his country to its knees and its a prime example of the last thing that any great man would ever want to become.

These dictators have not only tarnished their own legacies, but they have robbed their people of the great leaders they long for. I was personally struck by Museveni’s unjust third term. Before he decided to wrongfully run again, I was advocating Museveni and his party to other students (probably future leaders) at the public university, Makerere, explaining that his democratic model was much better for Uganda than a western style democracy.

His one party system acted as a two party system with competition between his supporters and the reformists. I was crushed when he decided to run again and I’m sure there were a lot of other young Ugandans saddened also.

The Eritrean people have undergone tremendous sacrifice for the independence of their country, only to suffer under Isaias’ oppression and do everything they can to flee the country they fought so hard for. Every Eritrean no matter what country they live in, has had relatives or friends die in the war or border conflicts with Ethiopia. And for what? Isaias’ greed?

The most tragic story of them all is Mugabe. He wins the prize for the most horrible African dictator currently in power. The suffering and hardship experienced by the Zimbabwean people in the last two years has been unimaginable. Some would argue that Zimababweans were doing better during colonial times, which is difficult to imagine.

The longer these dictators stay in power, the more they will be hated and destroy the prospects of their nations becoming great democracies someday. The people of their countries deserve better and so do their generations to come. Source (Ezine)

Jaspreet Kindra

Jaspreet Kindra began her career in India – Bhopal, the provincial capital of Madhya Pradesh, where her first editor was passionate about environmental reporting and encouraged her to write articles focusing on environmental issues.

In 1991 she moved to Delhi and joined the editorial team of an evening paper published by the Hindustan Times. Here she gathered a wealth of experience as a journalist covering issues that ranged from the environment, to HIV/AIDS.

When her family moved to South Africa she began her career again and worked her way from a community newspaper in Durban to South Africa’s leading daily publication “The Mail and Guardian”, where her first assignment was to cover the African National Congress. She now lives in Johannesburg and couldn’t imagine doing anything other than what she is doing right now. Jaspreet talked via e-mail with capitaleritrea.

Q: Congratulations, you won the Earth Journalism Awards in Copenhagen with a series you wrote for IRIN South Africa. What is your job at IRIN?
A: Thank you. I am IRIN’s focal point for climate change and food security coverage. I write about these issues from a global and regional perspective – from the field and the desk on policy.

Q: Did you ever imagine you’d be winning a journalism award with a series about climate change in Eritrea?
A: No I did not. I heard about the award many months after the Eritrea trip and wasn’t even going to enter it. However, only after IRIN’s marketing person insisted that I should participate I applied minutes ahead of the closing time on the last day.

Q: How many online votes did you get out of the total and does the award come with a monetary incentive?
A: I actually have no idea about the number of votes I got in the end. The award did not come with any monetary incentive.

Q: You said you chose Eritrea because it is a very under-reported country. Are there any other reasons?
A: I liked the fact that Eritrea’s environment officials were so proactive and I was amazed to discover that Eritrea was already tapping wind power. I was curious – wanted to find out what this country with very little financial resources had managed to do.

Q: How would you describe Eritrea?
A: Eritreans are some of the most warm, friendly and resilient people I have ever come across. It is a tough terrain with some tough people. I also discovered how beautiful the Red Sea coastline is – it has a tremendous potential as a tourist destination – the untouched unspoilt beaches…though it was incredibly hot.

Q: “Reaping the wind” is the winning story in your series. Personally, what is your favourite story in the series?
A: I like all of them enormously. But I guess `Reaping the wind’ and `Water on their minds’ because I got to visit those areas I wrote about.

Q: What was your experience with the local fishermen at the Red Sea coast line?
A: Wonderful people! Very resilient and extremely hospitable. The fishermen were very open and shared their lives without any prompting. I am really grateful to them for sharing their lives with me. I think sleeping out in the open on the cots close to the sea was probably one of the highlights of my trip. It gave me a sense of their relationship with the sea and comprehend what one of the fishermen said: “The sea is everything to us”. And the food was great by the way.

Q: You mentioned that it’s only the National Fisheries Corporation that buys the fish at very low rate or else in the bigger markets of Yemen. What changes do you think would the wind turbines bring to the livelihoods of the Afar tribe in the area unless there are other market opportunities?
A: From what I understand from the fishermen, if they had access to cold storage facilities– they could access markets in other towns and even the capital, Asmara. At the moment they have to get rid of their catch at the nearest market. The fact that they are unable to access bigger markets also acts as a disincentive to catch bigger loads of fish.

Q: You also stated that ‘’Eritrea could sustainably harvest around 70,000 metric tonnes of fish annually, but the current catch is around 13,000 tonnes, according to the government’s environment department.’’ What are the measurements for this figures to be sustainable?
A: These are figures I sourced from the government. I assume they would have taken all the sustainability indicators into account to come up with the figure.

Q: What are the goals of the award and what would one expect after this – is there possibility where the international body could put some efforts to help the society to develop what they already have started?
A: I hope the award by highlighting certain stories – well, speaking for the adaptation award – I hope the Eritrean story will inspire other LDCs/ communities to become proactive about their future living with an even more erratic climate.

Q: What are your future plans?
A: I hope to continue to highlight efforts being made by small and poor countries in dealing with the impact of climate change and food insecurity.

Q: Do you plan to return to Eritrea one day?
A: I hope I do one day to be able to see the impact of the projects I had seen.

By Olad Hassan

East Africa is believed to have one of the biggest oil deposits in the world. Companies, both western and Asian, are hunting in earnest for oil and gas in the region. East African countries are experiencing one of the highest levels of investment in the world right now. However, year long conflict and political instability made the region to one of the riskiest places for local and foreign investment. Mainly due to the region’s trouble zones, the Horn of Africa and the Sudan Region of Darfur, which are believed to have the biggest deposits in natural resources.

Somalia.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when former Mohamed Siad Bare’s Regime was over thrown.

In a 1991 a World Bank coordinated study intended to encourage private investment in the petroleum potential of eight African nations, Somalia and the Sudan topped the list of potential commercial oil producers.

The earliest indication of oil in Somalia was a large oil seep southeast of Berbera and several other seeps in various locations of the Somaliland province which considers itself independent from the rest of Somalia.

However, early exploration concentrated on an anticline structural approach since this had met with success in the Arabian Peninsula it took the oil companies a number of years to abandon this approach in Somalia. There is no evidence of large scale compressive folding in Somalia and the anticlines in the north of the country appear to be associated with the Miocene separation of Africa and Arabia and hence post-Mesozoic and early Tertiary oil and gas accumulations. Therefore, hydrocarbon accumulations must be sought in older structures and strata graphic traps.

Puntland, remains one of the last under-explored regions that have high potential for vast reserves of hydrocarbons. During the late 1980’s the State was divided into a number of concessions for oil exploration. Significant exploration was undertaken but this effectively ceased due to political instability that arose in 1991. However, there exploration activities have never ceased for good.

For example Australian exploration company Range Resources LTD. has been conducting studies on the mineral resources of the region during 2006 with a team of geologists based in Bosasso on the northern coast. The geological work has identified the potential of large silver rich lead zinc deposits analogous to the Jabali deposit in southern Yemen.

The agreements that Range Resources has entered was followed by intense negotiations between the Parties and their legal advisors. As part of this process the Parties have satisfied themselves that all previous mining concessions have lapsed.

The government of the semi-autonomous Puntland province has given Range Resources of Australia and Canmex Minerals of Canada joint E&P rights in parts of the region. The exploration period of its Somalia oil projects have been extended from 36 months to 48 months with the Somalian authorities, this is positive news as both sides see a reason to continue exploration in the area.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) deal covers another part of Puntland and was endorsed by former President of Puntland and Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, who hailed from the province, even though the transitional government’s authority there is tenuous. The prime minister himself has questioned the validity of the Chinese agreement because it was signed before the new oil law was in place.

The war torn nation is now under the eyes of Investors. Early 2007, the state-owned Chinese oil giant has signed a PSA with the former Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi a, which ranks as a high-risk frontier even in an industry well accustomed to dangerous environments.

Kenya.

The East African republic of Kenya has no known oil or gas reserves. The Kenyan government is encouraging foreign interest in oil exploration and there is a modest upstream oil industry. It is endowed with other energy sources including wood fuel, coal, solar and wind power, much of which is untapped. The country’s commercial energy needs are supplied by electricity, coal, fuel wood and oil-derived products

Petroleum is Kenya’s major source of commercial energy and has, over the years, accounted for about 80% of the country.s commercial energy requirements. Demand for oil in Kenya is quite small due to the country.s underdeveloped economy, which is heavily dependent on labour intensive and rain-fed agriculture systems. The domestic demand for various petroleum fuels on average stands at 2.5 million tons per year, all of it imported from the Gulf region, either as crude oil for processing at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited or as refined petroleum products.

Uganda.

Also in nearby Uganda, there is euphoria over oil discoveries as the region is sailing up as a new hydrocarbon producing zone attracting foreign investments. Early 2007, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni used the national thanks-giving service day in the capital Kampala to announce the discovery of oil in his country by London based explorer Tullow Oil. This discovery followed several years of the country’s painstaking search for oil.

The prospect Uganda becoming an oil producing country soon has caused a lot of excitement among many Ugandans. Even the government has boasted of the possibility of import savings of about a billion dollars (almost 2 trillion shillings) a year if the country’s oil needs are met from domestic oil supply, freeing much needed foreign exchange, and even of the possibility of Uganda becoming a net oil exporter.

This follows the confirmation Hardman Resources; an Australian drilling company working in conjunction with Tullow Oil from the United Kingdom, that Uganda has the capacity to produce oil to a tune of 10,000 barrels per day.

The world’s current oil consumption stands at 80 million barrels of oil per day having gone up from 65 million barrels per day (bpd) over the last five years. This jump in demand is a result of China and India’s rising demand of oil. Locally, Uganda’s demand for oil products is also rising at a rate of 6 % per day. Last year, Uganda consumed 700,000 cm of petroleum products worth $250 million. Per day, the country’s fuel needs stand at 50,000 cm (1,000 litres make up 1 cm). Per capita consumption of petroleum in Uganda has grown from 16 litres in 1991 to 24 litres at end of 2004 and that figure must be higher now.

At the cost of $70 (about 125, 000 shillings) a barrel, the average current price, 4,200 barrels a day from Waraga 1 would generate about $294,000 (Shs 546m) a day and Shs 199.5 bn annually just from one well.

Eritrea.

Eritrea is Africa’s youngest nation, having gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. It lies to the north of Ethiopia and forms part of the North East African Region.  The two-year war between Eritrea and Ethiopia that began in 1998 has badly affected Eritrea’s economy, as Ethiopia was one of Eritrea’s major trading partners.

Eritrean mining and oil resources might soon become key elements of the countries economy. Two mining companies, Nevsun Resources and Chalice Gold, have announced to start within the next two years gold production in the Red Sea State. This will add Eritrea to the list of mineral exporting countries in Africa. Several other companies such as Sunridge Gold Corp. and South Boulder Mines  have also projects and mining assets in Eritrea.

Oil resources in Eritrea are believed to be substantial although there is little information available in this regard. In 2008 the Government of Eritrea signed two agreements with Defba Oil Share Company on oil exploration and development. The company is supposed to undertake oil exploration activities in two blocks of the Eritrean northern territorial waters.  The Defba Oil Share Company has been set up through the partnership of the Eritrean government and Energy Alliance Company W.L.L.

Hydrocarbon exploration, primarily offshore in the Red Sea, began in the 1960’s when Eritrea was still federated with Ethiopia. In 1995, Eritrea signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with U.S.-based Anadarko Petroleum (Anadarko) for the offshore Zula Block. Anadarko signed a second PSC for the offshore Edd Block, located south of the Zula Block, in September 1997.

Anadarko announced, in December 1997, that it had reached an agreement with ENI/Agip (Agip) to swap interests in exploration acreage. Anadarko received a 25% interest in a Tunisian block operated by Agip, and Agip received a 30% share in the 6.7-million acre Zula Block and 30% interest in the Edd Block. Burlington Resources, a U.S.-based independent, later joined the consortium by acquiring a 20% interest in both acreages. Anadarko’s first two exploration wells, both drilled on the Zula Block, were unsuccessful. In January 1999, a third dry well, Edd-1 on the Edd Block, was drilled. Citing the disappointing exploration results, Anadarko and its partners ceased exploration activities and relinquished their rights to the offshore blocks.

Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is endowed with energy resources such as coal, biomass, solar energy and natural gas and is not a great consumer of petroleum fuels. Current natural gas reserves are estimated to be 24 million cubic meters.

Just recently Ethiopia signed an oil exploration agreement for petroleum onshore development in the Ogaden Basin with Sweden- based Lundin East Africa Bv. There are in total 11 foreign companies exploring Oil in Ethiopia including Africa Oil Corporation, South West Energy and Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas. The Ethiopian government has announced that it will offer further 14 licences for oil and gas exploration over a period of three years starting from 2009.

In June 2003, the Ethiopian government signed an oil exploration deal with Malaysian company Petronas for 5,800 square mile tract in Gambela, in the far western part of the country. The region is closely related the Sudan oil fields. Petronas has committed to investing in regional infrastructure, employing local staff, improving health services, and developing the skills of the ministry of Mines. Petronas is also interested in natural gas exploration in Ogadenia region.

Ethiopia is totally reliant on imports to meet its petroleum requirements. Some petroleum imports are received at the port of Djibouti, and shipped via rail and tanker truck to Ethiopia. With the recent development of oil in Sudan, however, Ethiopia has begun importing oil which, under COMESA, is not subject to tariffs. Oil imports from Sudan began in January 2003 transported by tanker trucks along a new road between the two countries.

Petronas, is going to drill three oil exploration wells in Ethiopia’s Ogaden basin. They have hired a Dubai-based exploration company to replace China’s Zhonguyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, which refuses to go back to the region, after the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an ethnic Somali separatist group, attacked a Chinese-run exploration site, killing 65 Ethiopian and nine Chinese.

Concerned about the serious threat posed by drug trafficking to global security, particularly in Africa, the Security Council yesterday called on the international community to strengthen its cooperation with the United Nations and regional organizations in fighting the scourge.

In a statement read out by Bedouma Alain Yoda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, which holds the Council presidency for December, the Council recognized the anti-drug-trafficking measures undertaken by a range of United Nations bodies, from the General Assembly to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and encouraged them to take further action.

The Council also encouraged States to comply with their obligations to combat drug trafficking, to accede to relevant conventions and to investigate and prosecute those involved. It invited the Secretary-General to consider integrating the anti-drug-trafficking fight into conflict prevention strategies, conflict analysis and integrated mission assessments, as well as planning and peacebuilding support.

“Those who run trafficking operations are ruthless and often murderous,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he helped open a discussion of the problem following the Council’s adoption of the presidential statement. “We must pursue them and thwart them with the full force of the law and international resolve.”

He said the framework for international cooperation was being built around strong, United Nations-backed legal instruments, with the assistance of UNODC and other organizations. However, not all States had become parties to the instruments and they needed to be implemented more effectively. “So far, cooperation between Governments is lagging behind cooperation between organized crime networks,” he said. To counter the global threat, States must share more intelligence, carry out more joint operations, build capacity, and provide mutual legal assistance, he stressed.

Briefing the Council after the Secretary-General’s remarks, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said there were new, worrisome developments concerning drugs in both West and East Africa, as well as across the sub-Saharan land mass. The continent was facing a severe and complex drug problem – not only trafficking but also production and consumption. Serious consequences in terms of health, development and security were inevitable.

He said the recent discovery of laboratories in Guinea showed that West Africa was also becoming a producer of synthetic drugs (amphetamines) and of crystal cocaine refined from pasta basica.

In East Africa, 30-35 tons of Afghan heroin were being imported, causing a dramatic increase in heroin addiction and spreading HIV/AIDS in the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya’s two main cities.

The two streams of illicit drugs flowing into East and West Africa were now meeting in the Sahara, creating new trafficking routes of unprecedented scale across Chad, Niger and Mali he said.

Drugs were enriching not only organized crime but also terrorists and other anti-Government forces, he warned. To counter that threat, national capacity must be strengthened and information-sharing among affected countries promoted. In addition, he urged the creation of a Trans-Saharan Crime Monitoring Network to improve information, monitor suspicious activity, exchange evidence, facilitate legal cooperation and strengthen regional efforts.

In the ensuing debate, speakers welcomed UNODC’s efforts and called for a greater focus, as well as a more comprehensive framework of international cooperation, for fighting illicit drug trafficking in Africa and around the world. Many also described the extent of the problem in their own subregions, emphasizing the need not only to reduce supply, but also demand.

Most speakers called on the Security Council to pay more attention to the issue from the peace and security perspective. However, Venezuela’s representative said drug trafficking did not fall under the 15-member body’s jurisdiction and must be fought in a way that gained the approval of the entire international community, through United Nations units that reported to the General Assembly.

Austria’s Vice-Minister for European and International Affairs described the results of a donor round table that his country had co-hosted last week, with a view to increasing support for the Regional Action Plan on illicit drug trafficking and organized crime of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“An interesting blog on the COP15-website. It would be very brave of African countries to walk out of the Bella Center in Copenhagen if the deal gets to bad in December. However, having been in Eritrea and see firsthand what happens if a country is “self-relied” and “strong and honest” makes me wonder if this strategy, while being morally probably the better one, is in realpolitik really senseful. Interesting that the otherwise rather mainstreamed WWF has the position stated here”. Source: (Georg P Koessler Blog)

Africa afraid of being taken hostage

Highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Africa badly needs an agreement in Copenhagen. But an agreement could become so weak, that it would be better to walk away, some analysts say.

by Morten Andersen

Can a global deal become so weak that Africa will do better by walking out of the UN negotiations in Copenhagen this December? The issue is being debated at news site AllAfrica as a new report by two UN institutions highlights the continent’s vulnerability to climate change.

“If the (Copenhagen) deal does not respond to the expectation of African nations to adapt to climate change, (and) if it fails to provide the necessary finance, technology and capacity building, then Africa should consider not signing in Copenhagen,” argues Hawa Sow, Africa Climate Policy Coordinator at global conservation organization WWF, adding that “a really bad deal could be worse than no deal”.

The opposite view is held by Gabriel Odima, President of the US based Africa Center for Peace and Democracy:

“(The African continent) is facing a real challenge in dealing with climate change. Poor governance, lack of democracy, lack of political will and institutional framework are some of the challenges facing Africa. But threatening to walk away from the negotiations is not a wise idea,” Gabriel Odima states, while adding that “the African Union should put its house in order first and come up with a workable plan to address the problems relating to climate change in Africa.”

WWF’s Africa Climate Policy Coordinator does not try to hide the fact that following the international negotiations has made her pessimistic.

“We would like the Copenhagen deal to provide special help and treatment for Africa and other vulnerable countries, but at the current state of the negotiations, we are not very confident that this will happen to a high enough level,” she says.

“Suggestions that we can do without the Kyoto Protocol (as has been suggested by primarily USA, editors remark) and replace it with an entirely new instrument are unproductive at this point. It will take too long, and we have no way of knowing what we will get. And it is very likely that the process will just lead to a prolonged race to the bottom,” says Hawa Sow. Source: (Cop15 COPENHAGEN)

African Chinese Entrepreneurs

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) reports that it participated at the third Conference of African and Chinese Entrepreneurs in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt from 7th to 8th November 2009.

The organization was represented by Assistant Secretary General (Programmes), Mr. Stephen Karangizi, who pointed out that there is increasing evidence that Regional Economic Communities on the continent are working more closely together to realize the dream of Africa which is to integrate Africa.

A good example of this was the launch of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite arrangement in October 2008, at which the 26 Heads of State of the three regional economic communities agreed to establish a Grand FTA stretching from Egypt and Libya to South Africa. In addition, the Heads of State also agreed on the eventual merger of the three institutions.

This augurs well for regional integration in Africa and for all potential investors as the removal of trade barriers of such a large region offers huge economies of scale. “We also believe that this new impetus opens the best way in which the building blocs recognized by the African Union, can rapidly contribute to the establishment of a larger African Economic Community”.

Mr. Karangizi added that through regional integration, Africa intends to create one large continental market of approximately one billion people that is competitive and offers all the productive and service sector economies of scale. Indeed the China example, which is the single largest integrated market in the world, offers the best lessons. The rapid growth of the economy of China over the past 20 years owes much to the large market of over 1.3 billion people.

In order to create a large continental market, the RECs have been concentrating on: removal of tariff barriers which has already been done by COMESA with the establishment of Free Trade Area stretching from Egypt and Libya in the north, to Swaziland and Mauritius in the south, reducing the range of non-tariff barriers, improving customs procedures and charges; and improving access to market information.

Mr. Karangizi said it is easier to invest in infrastructure projects on a regional basis in order to enhance intra-regional trade and address the uneven historical focus of having infrastructure designed to serve only the metropolis and export of raw materials.

However, RECs do recognize that there are several challenges to increase investment in infrastructure. One of the challenges is that most countries do not have the financial resources for investment in infrastructure projects, which require large capital outlays and are characterized by long gestation periods.

The traditional approach has been to obtain funding from multilateral development banks and development partners. This type of funding increases the debt stock and burden of countries. Hence, the need for public/private sector partnerships. It is gratifying to note that this is happening with respect to power and telecommunications projects.

Mr. Karangizi revealed that emphasis by Heads of State on regional integration is intentional so as to focus on five important factors, namely: Establishment of a large regional market to enhance competitiveness, Investment in infrastructure (energy, transport network, water and ICT), Investment in Productive and Services Sectors, Policy Harmonization and Regulation and Addressing Peace and Security Issues.

On expanding private/public partnerships, creative and innovative approaches are required for infrastructure financing such as the regional funds like the COMESA Infrastructure Fund, which has been established for pooling together resources to be leveraged for private sector investment in selected priority projects. In the near future, Member States of the Infrastructure Fund will be approaching selected private sector institutions that can participate in infrastructure investment in the region in partnership with the public sector.

Chinese Airline

Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines plans to launch a service to the capital of Sudan, a close political ally of China’s and a major oil producing nation, according to Air Transport Intelligence.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China says in a statement Hainan Airlines has applied for traffic rights to launch a thrice-weekly service from Beijing to Sudan’s capital Khartoum. The twice-weekly service starts 20 November and uses an Airbus A340, says an airline spokesman.

China is investing heavily in Sudan’s oil industry and has close ties to the government there. China’s foreign direct investment to Sudan was in 2005 worth over $300 million (Uncat).  The Washington Post reports that Trade between China and Africa jumped 45 percent, to $107 billion, in 2008, a tenfold increase since 2000, and that the new loans offered during the 4th China-Africa summit in Egypt are likely to sustain the expansion.

Economic development and financial ties also generate movement of people, goods and services between two points of gravity. Air transport correlates perfectly with trade activities and often fuels the pace of development between two trading regions.

The fact that a Chinese airline is opening air services to an African country shows that these trade relations must be quite advanced and a very serious matter to China. Hainan Airlines will have a monopoly on the connection Bejing to Khartoum as no other airlines operate on the route.

An Eritrean government delegation headed by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mr. Ahmed Haj Ali, participated in the 11th China Mining Conference that was held from October 21 to 22.

Mr. Ahmed Haj Ali presented paper at the conference highlighting the available mineral resources in Eritrea and investment prospects in the sector.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy and Minies and the Chinese Minister of Land and Natural Resources, Mr. Shu Shiwoshi, concluded agreement on fostering cooperation between the two ministries.

The Chinese Minister asserted that cooperation with the Eritrean Ministry of Mines and Energy would be enhanced in accordance with the agreement.

Moreover, the Eritrean delegation conducted extensive discussion with the Chinese Geological Survey (CGS) and the Northern Chinese Geological Survey (NCGEB) on ways of working jointly.

Over 3,500 persons, including ministers and Ambassadors from African, Asian and Latin American countries took part in the conference . Source: (Shabait)

African oil production accounts for 13% of total oil production worldwide. Experts believe that Africa is going to contribute 33% of total expected oil production growth in the coming years. The growth projection creates amongst investors as well as exploration companies an atmosphere comparable to the mining rush experienced by North America in the mid-1840s. The search for oil and gas has begun all over the African continent.

Dubai based company Black Marlin Energy is an oil and gas exploration company focusing on identifying overlooked or misinterpreted ground floor opportunities around the globe. The company emphasizes that it has long ago recognized the oil and gas potential of the East African Margin, which has been underestimated in the past. According to Black Marlin Energy, $ 500 million us dollars has been spent on research in East Africa and approximately 600 wells have been drilled from Eritrea to Mozambique with a high success rate.

Range Resources Ltd., another company engaged in oil and gas exploration from Australia, has directed its principle activity towards searching oil, gas and mineral resources in Puntland, Somalia. Range Resource could be described as a high risk taker considering the current situation in Somalia. However, some investors believe that there are large undiscovered oil fields off the coast of Somalia, which could provide a huge return in capital employed in the near future.

Interestingly, exploration of natural resources appears to be conflict resistant and bullet proof even in the most violent corners of this planet.

Coastal countries especially in the Horn of Africa are predestined for offshore oil exploration as they share the same geographical region as the Arabian Peninsula.

Eritrea has proven that mining could become one of the important pillars of its economy. In a recently published statement the Government of Eritrea has announced that the country will export gold and copper starting from autumn 2010.

This is a major step forward for the country because the export of gold and other metallic ores will significantly contribute to the earnings of much needed foreign exchange.

In 2008 the Government of Eritrea signed two agreements with Defba Oil Share Company on oil exploration and development. The company is supposed to undertake oil exploration activities in two blocks of the Eritrean northern territorial waters.  The Defba Oil Share Company has been set up through the partnership of the Eritrean government and Energy Alliance Company W.L.L. Thus, time will tell if oil and gas exploration could become another pillar, which will play an important role in the development of the country’s economy.

In financial investment overestimated risk can turn into huge profits, if detailed analysis has been conducted in understanding the facts on the ground when assessing a business, company or country.

Gold mining companies targeting Africa have been busy with mergers, strategic partnerships and takeovers in the current year. The industry has witnessed 14 mergers, in the run up to secure a foothold in the African mining sector, alone from July to October 2009.

This development has not gone unnoticed by investors and other stakeholders in times of recession and a weak dollar, which is at a historic low compared to other currencies.

The world is looking for an alternative store of value and this is why investors increasingly invest in gold  stocks.Proactive Iinvestors has recently reported that merger activities have further intensified investor interests in at least 80 listed gold stocks active on the continent.

One example of increasing interest is the share of Nevsun Resources (AMEX: NSU) with its Bisha project in Eritrea . At the beginning of this week Nevsun Resources  was comfortably the strongest gold stock on the American Stock Exchange, rising over 8%.

Many analysts and traders put Nevsun as a stock to watch out for, due to several facts; the share price is continuously on a rise, gold exports from the Bisha mine in Eritrea will start in 2010 and Nevsun Resources is considered to be a takeover candidate in the near future.

Nevsun Resources Presentation October 2009 

Moto Goldmines disappeared from stock market listings this week, following its friendly takeover by a joint venture involving AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold Resources, the target being more than 20m ounces of gold that have been outlined at the Moto project in the far north east Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The transaction has further intensified investor interest in listed gold stocks active on the continent as a whole; at least 80 names can be identified.

A good number of these stocks currently rank as the world’s most in-demand gold stocks, as indicated by the table that follows this article.

While gold mining in South Africa has been very much a formal activity for well over a century, various kinds of gold mining activity have for many centuries characterised gold belts located in parts of Africa. New “discoveries” are indeed rediscoveries; relative to the gold belts available, very little modern exploration has taken place. In the DRC, as an instance, the semi-continuous Kilo Moto greenstone belt is currently under exploration by Moto Goldmines, AngloGold Ashanti (separately, to the south) and Mwana Africa.

London-listed Mwana recently announced an initial resource of 452,000 ounces of gold outlined on the Zani-Kodo trend within the Kilo Moto gold district. The general Kilo Moto location is remote, and the new Moto JV partners will be budgeting good amounts of money for basic infrastructure, and rehabilitation of one or more of a number of run-down hydropower facilities.

History shows, however, that these are old hats, albeit good ones.

The semi-continuous Kilo Moto greenstone belt was exploited primarily in the 1950s and 1960s by Belgian charter companies, producing more than 3m ounces of a total recorded 11m ounces of gold production from hard-rock mines in the Kilo Moto belt.

The mining was mainly focused on surface operations, a mixture of alluvials and shallow oxide pits.

The concessions are like small countries. To the south of Zani-Kodo lies what’s currently known as Mongbwalu, where the 10,000 km2 kilometer concession 40 (AngloGold Ashanti, 86.22% and OKIMO (a DRC parastatal), 13.78%) is being extensively explored by AngloGold Ashanti. Mwana Africa, in a 80:20 JV formed with OKIMO, holds gold mining rights over 1,610 km2 in Orientale Province.

The Moto Goldmines project, 570km north east of the city of Kisangani and 150km west of the Ugandan border town of Arua, covers an aggregate lease area of some 1,841 km2. Activities to date have primarily focused on just 35 km2 surrounding the old Durba gold mine, where a monumental resource of 25.7m ounces of gold has been outlined.

Some considerable distance to the south, Banro holds gold concessions in the Kivu provinces, stretching west of Lake Kivu. Mine build at Twangiza, nearest deposit to Bukavu, is underway. Annual production from the first phase plant is anticipated at between 80,000 and 110,000 ounces of gold a year. London-based Mark Smith of GMP Securities Europe fancies the Banro story: “We have tracked the evolution of Banro in terms of the development of the gold projects and the share price performance.

“The share price chart appears to have mirrored the classic ‘resource value curve’, from exploration discovery through to resource expansion and project development. We believe Banro is entering the fourth phase in the mining project life cycle, given recent development land marks.

“First, in June 2009 Banro raised C$100m to commence the development of the Twangiza oxide gold project. Second, in August 2009 Banro purchased a refurbished 1.0m tons a year CIP plant from Australia and plans to expand the plant to 1.3Mtpa.Third, in August 2009 the DRC government ratified Banro’s four mining licences and agreed on the fiscal terms for the 25 year exploitation permits. Four, in September 2009 Banro appointed Standard Chartered as the debt advisor to raise the project debt for Twangiza”.

In its initial phase, Banro is to opt for diesel rather than hydroelectric power; capital expenditure is anticipated at around US$145m. Further phases, and capital outlays, could see output at the multi million ounce Twangiza property increase to 300,000 ounces a year. There is gold all over the place: there is evidence of considerable artisanal activity on parts of Banro’s considerable concessions.

With at least 80 listed gold stocks active in African gold, there is lots of competition to attract investor interest. Some of these stocks are out of the top draw, such as Barrick, the world’s biggest gold miner by output and market value. There are other Tier I global gold miners with operations on the continent, in the form of AngloGold Ashanti, as mentioned, Gold Fields, Harmony, and Newmont, which has concentrated on West Africa, just as Barrick has on East Africa.

Further down the pecking order, there are a dozen or so African gold stocks that attract what may loosely be described as interest from professional investment analysts. For more detailed information on this article please visit Proactiveinvestors