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25 Armies from Africa to attend India-Africa Conclave

Along with the India-Africa chiefs’ conclave, the second iteration of Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX) will also be held from March 21…reports Asian Lite News

Armies of 25 African countries will attend the India-Africa Chiefs Conclave in Pune on March 28, a senior Indian Army official said.

In the two sessions from the Indian side, the participants, including senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs and the Services, as well as ex-Servicemen, will also attend the conclave. “The first session will explore the key pillars of India Africa Defence Partnership. The second session will focus on Indian Defence Industry’s Outreach to Africa. Eminent speakers from Africa will form part of the panel discussion,” the Army offical said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also scheduled to attend the conclave and deliver an address.

African army chiefs from the Republic of Congo, Niger, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Seychelles, Gambia, Tanzania and Kenya have confirmed their participation at the event.

Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Eswatini (Swaziland), Morocco, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Lesotho and Senegal will also send representatives of their army chiefs at the conclave.

Along with the India-Africa chiefs’ conclave, the second iteration of Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX) will also be held from March 21.

A senior Indian Army offical said, “Objective of the exercise is to continue building upon the initiatives taken to strengthen India-Africa relations, with a focus on enhancing peace and security, creating opportunities to exchange ideas and perspectives.”

The offical also stressed that this exercise will help to learn from the African experience in cooperative security and management of security crisis situations, while also promoting a collaborative approach to capacity enhancement of African armies.

AFINDEX exercise will commence on March 21 in Pune and culminate on March 30. The exercise will be divided into four phases.

Initially, the trainers, themselves will be administered training and the same would be followed by a Humanitarian Mine Action and a Peace Keeping Operations Phase.

Finally, a validation exercise will be conducted to assess the results of the training conducted. The validation exercise will be conducted on March 29, with the chiefs of the African armies in attendance.

Senior Army officials stressed that the exercise will involve large-scale use of indigenously-made defence equipment. New generation equipment manufactured in India will be showcased during the exercise in a bid to demonstrate their efficacy to the troops of the participating nations.

For AFINDEX, 9 contingents, with 78 personnel each, will participate in the exercise. These contingents will arrive from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Niger, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Another 11 countries — Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Eswatini / Swaziland, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Zimbabwe and Morocco — will send 21 Observers for AFINDEX.

A defence equipment display will also be organised by the Indian defence manufacturing industry on March 29 in a bid to showcase the defence manufacturing capabilities of the country.

The first Africa-India Field Training Exercise was held in Pune in March 2019. It saw participation from 20 African nations.

The first India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave was held on the sidelines of the DEFEXPO, 2020 in Lucknow.

The Lucknow Declaration, which was adopted at the conclave, laid down the future path of cooperation between India and African nations in the defence space.

The event is important from the perspective of India-Africa relations wherein Army Chief’s and representatives of Chief’s from 21 African countries will be attending the event.

The chief aim of the exercise is to enable the participating contingents to hone their tactical skills, drills and procedures in joint operations for peacekeeping under UN mandate, create synergy and better understanding with armies of African nations and promote Indian defence Industries.

The 10-day long exercise will commence with an opening ceremony at Foreign Training Node, Aundh, Pune. A comprehensive validation exercise on the theme “Humanitarian Mine Actions and Peace Keeping Operations” under the UN mandate is also scheduled.

The Joint exercise will promote the idea of “Africa-India Militaries for Regional Unity (AMRUT)” and will focus on incorporating the current dynamics of UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKF) through practical and comprehensive discussions and tactical exercise.

The first AFINDEX was held in Pune in March 2019 which saw the participation of 20 African nations. In 2020, the India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave was held on the sidelines of the DEFEXPO in Lucknow.  (ANI)

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Jump in Indian rice exports to Africa this year

Indian non basmati rice is priced at about $410 a tonne compared to the grain sold by Thailand, and Vietnam…reports Asian Lite News

Notwithstanding restrictions, India’s rice exports to Africa have jumped during the current financial year. During the April-January period this financial year, India’s rice exports to African countries crossed 9 million tonnes compared to 7.3 million tonnes in the previous fiscal year. Africa has mostly sourced parboiled rice from India. While the Centre imposed a 20 per cent duty on non basmati rice, parboiled variety was exempt from any additional charges.

For the full financial year, India’s rice exports to price sensitive Africa are expected to touch 11 million tonnes.

“We expect robust demand from Africa even in the next financial year,” Vinod Kaul, executive director, All India Rice Exporters’ Association, told India Narrative.

Africa is a major player in the international rice market as it imports about 20-30 per cent of the total global imports, Africa Business said, adding that the rapid growth in rice trade is due to its high consumption of the grain as a food source in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Guinea are among the top importers of Indian rice.

Indian non basmati rice is priced at about $410 a tonne compared to the grain sold by Thailand, and Vietnam.

“We are satisfied with overall rice exports. While Africa has become a major market for India, our outbound shipment to other destinations including the West Asian countries and several in Latin America has also picked up,” Kaul said.

Among the Latin American countries, Cuba, for the first time has started importing Indian rice. It has already sourced 57,000 tonnes of non basmati rice from India.

India’s rice exports to China however have dropped significantly, Kaul said. China was sourcing 100 per cent broken rice from India. However, the Centre banned the exports of 100 per cent broken rice last year.

Despite several restrictions including imposition of 20 per cent duty on exports of non basmati grains, India’s total outbound shipment could touch about 20 million tonnes by the close of the current financial year.

The US Department of Agriculture had projected India’s rice exports to drop at about 19 million tonnes.

Though in 2021-22 India’s rice exports touched a record 22 million tonnes, several projections had earlier indicated a “huge drop” in outbound shipment of the grain after the ban in exports of 100 per cent broken grain along with an imposition of 20 per cent duty on non basmati variety barring the parboiled crop.

Total exports of basmati rice between April and January stood at 3.7 million tonnes and for non basmati, it was 12 million tonnes.

Kaul said that exports of basmati for the full financial year may be in the range of 4.4 million tonnes to 4.6 million compared to 3.9 million tonnes in 2021-22.

Rice accounts for more than 40 per cent of total food grain production in the country. According to World Grain.com, a website tracking production, consumption and exports of grains and other crops, rice production in India is trending upwards and has reached record levels in the last five years due to rising yields on favourable monsoon rains and improved varieties.

(India Narrative)

ALSO READ-India expresses concern over rising threat of terrorism in Africa

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Moroccan minister hails Indian economy

It is being held as part of the ASEAN-India Year of Friendship to commemorate the more than three-decade-long engagement between India and the 10-member bloc in Kuala Lumpur…reports Asian Lite News

Indian economy is doing very well and most of the countries want to benefit from the best practices, Morocco’s Delegate Minister of Investment Mohcine Jazouli said on Monday.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Mohcine Jazouli said, “Indian economy is doing very well, thanks to the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) who is a visionary. Most of the countries want to benefit from the best practices of Indian companies and the Indian government. We consider India as a success story.” Jazouli said that India is one of the largest fastest-growing economies of the world and has a lot of success stories. “We want to benefit from India’s experience, mainly from financial technologies, and automobile,” the minister said, adding, “We can share the experience in renewable energy as Morocco has 40 per cent of production of energy coming from renewable sources.”

Jazouli spoke to ANI just after having a bilateral meeting with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the 12th edition of FICCI ‘MASSMERIZE’ conference held here.

The Moroccan Minister said, “We met and discussed about the cooperation with India. We can use Morocco as a manufacturing and industrial platform for India. On behalf of Morocco, we invited Indian companies to come and invest in Morocco. So, they can reach a market of almost USD 2.5 billion consumers. Morocco has free trade agreements with countries like the US and European countries as well.”

Digital transformation

Digital technologies are key drivers of economic development in the ASEAN region and Indian IT companies have played an integral part in the digital transformation journey in the region, said the Union minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“Digital technologies have been key drivers of economic development in the ASEAN region, especially in sectors such as e-commerce, online media and financial services. Indian IT companies have played an integral part in the digital transformation journey of Malaysia and other ASEAN countries,” the minister said Monday. He made the remarks while virtually addressing the ASEAN-India Business Summit 2023 themed “Strengthening and Moving Forward ASEAN-India Economic Relations for a Strategic Business Partnership”.

It is being held as part of the ASEAN-India Year of Friendship to commemorate the more than three-decade-long engagement between India and the 10-member bloc in Kuala Lumpur.

Reflecting on the scope for further cooperation between India and the regional bloc, the minister said, “After the recent announcement of the real-time payments linkage system between India and Singapore, India is working with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to operationalize it for more countries in the region.”

In what is a first-of-its-kind collaboration with another country, India and Singapore last monh linked their respective online payment systems — Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore — for seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries.

The virtual launch function was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.

The linkage of these two payment systems of both countries would enable residents of both countries to the faster and more cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances. People in both countries will be able to send money in real-time via QR-code based or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to the bank account.

Speaking about the catalyzing impact of UPI in developing India’s Fintech ecosystem, Chandrasekhar said, “India’s Unified Payments Interface with over 350 banks and 260 million users has transformed the way payments are made in India and over 8 million transactions are made every month through this platform.”

In addition to UPI, the Minister spoke about other digital public infrastructures created by India such as Aadhaar, Cowin, and GeM which collectively streamlined and reformed government and governance and promoted economic inclusion. (ANI)

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India expresses concern over rising threat of terrorism in Africa

New York, Feb 15 (ANI): India's Permanent Ambassador to United Nations Ruchira Kamboj speaks at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Climate change, in New York on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

Kamboj said that these are worrying trends of terrorism and needed urgent reversal…reports Asian Lite News

Concerned over the spread of terrorism, particularly in the regions of Africa and Asia, India on Wednesday said that the threat of terrorism can only be tackled through consistent and unified multilateral action.

Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to the UN, said that India is committed to eradicating terrorism entirely and will not rest until this goal is achieved. She quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement, “even a single act of terrorism is one too many, even a single life lost is one too many” and said that in recent years, India has contributed more than USD 2 million to the UN Office of Counter Terrorism in support of its global programmes to counter financing of terrorism as well as stemming terrorists’ travels.”

Going forward, we also reiterate our support to provide more financial resources to UNOCT from the regular UN budget.

Ruchira Kamboj, while addressing the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Ambassadorial-level quarterly briefing to member States, said that the threat of terrorism is serious and real and despite best efforts aimed towards transnational cooperation, it continues to spread, particularly in the regions of Africa and Asia.

Emphasizing that the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy should continue to enjoy the support of all member states, she said, “the current Review Resolution adopted in 2021 is relevant and balanced” and, the upcoming Review should be a technical update of this Resolution, taking into account the activities and achievements of the United Nations and other important fora.

Three, we need to keep divisive narratives at bay. We should accordingly refrain from the classification of terrorism. The usage of terms such as ‘right wing’ or ‘left wing’ or ‘far right’ or ‘far left’ are fraught with the misuse of them by vested interests.

She also said that thirdly, we need to keep divisive narratives at bay. We should accordingly refrain from the classification of terrorism. The usage of terms such as ‘right wing’ or ‘left wing’ or ‘far right’ or ‘far left’ are fraught with the misuse of them by vested interests.

While addressing the meeting at the UN Office of Counter Terrorism, she congratulated ambassadors Bob Ray and Tarek Ladeb for their appointment as co-facilitators of the review process.

Kamboj said that these are worrying trends of terrorism and needed urgent reversal.

So that terrorism comes to an end, she laid out a four-point plan.

The Permanent Representative of India to the UN also said, “We should exert our energy on addressing more serious issues such as the growing threat of terror financing, which has been further exacerbated by the use of new and emerging technologies by Terrorists and Terrorist Groups.”

India has hosted the 3rd “No Money for Terror” Conference in November 2022, and has offered to host the Permanent Secretariat for the Conference in Delhi, as one of the concrete outcomes of that event.

In October 2022, India had hosted the Special meeting of the Counter Terrorism Committee, which had adopted the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies, highlighting not only the threat, but paving the way for a futuristic road-map for the CTC to help member states address this threat holistically.

Pointing to the fourth aspect, she said, “It is important to protect the secular nature of the strategy. India strongly condemns all kinds of terrorist attacks irrespective of religion, belief, culture, race or ethnicity. In the same vein, we also condemn terrorist attacks motivated by Islamophobia, Christianphobia, Anti-Semitism, Anti-Sikh, Anti-Buddhist, Anti-Hindu prejudices.”

The 7th Review took into account the first three kinds of attacks while failing to address the rest. A more sagacious approach would be to keep this reference broad, abandoning thereby a list-based approach in the upcoming Review. (ANI)

ALSO READ-IOM warns of drought-induced impact in Horn of Africa

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IOM warns of drought-induced impact in Horn of Africa

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) last week warned that catastrophic consequences of the multi-year drought will continue in 2023 in the Horn of Africa region, leaving communities in urgent need of assistance…reports Asian Lite News

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has warned of the impact of the drought in the Horn of Africa region.

“Following a historic fifth consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa, more than 36 million people have been affected by the drought in the region, of which more than two million people have been forced to leave their homes in search of life-saving assistance,” the IOM said in its latest East and Horn of Africa Drought Response Situation Report.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) last week warned that catastrophic consequences of the multi-year drought will continue in 2023 in the Horn of Africa region, leaving communities in urgent need of assistance.

According to a new seasonal forecast, below-normal rainfall is expected in most parts of the region over the next three months, the WMO said in a statement issued last Wednesday.

“Should this happen, it would be an unprecedented sixth poor season for the worst hit countries — Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.”

The WMO said the current drought began with the poor performance of the October-December 2020 rains and has since deepened with all four subsequent seasons also performing poorly. A persistent La Nina event has had a key influence.

ALSO READ-Macron ends Africa tour

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Macron ends Africa tour

This tour is Macron’s 18th visit to Africa as president and follows a recent slew of Africa tours by high-level US, Russian, and Chinese officials seeking closer ties…reports Asian Lite News

Emmanuel Macron shared his vision of a renewed partnership with Africa in which it stands equal with France, as he concluded a tour where he has sought to dispel France’s image as an arrogant former colonial power whilst bidding for future influence.

The French President held talks on Saturday with President Felix Tshisekedi in the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, which this week saw several small-scale protests – signs of rising anti-French sentiment in parts of Francophone Africa.

At a joint press conference, Macron acknowledged France was among foreign powers jostling for influence in Africa but said he was committed to working with states on an equal footing.

“We want to be long-term partners,” he said. “Africa is a theatre of competition. It has to be done in a fair framework … We have our role to play, neither more nor less.”

This tour is Macron’s 18th visit to Africa as president and follows a recent slew of Africa tours by high-level U.S., Russian, and Chinese officials seeking closer ties.

France has endured a recent messy breakdown in relations with some former colonies in West Africa and his first-time visits to Congo, Gabon, Angola, and Congo Republic this week reflect Macron’s wish to turn the page.

On Monday, he outlined France’s new Africa policy, saying military bases would be co-run with host nations and commercial and other interests pursued with respect and humility.

Tshisekedi welcomed the new approach and said France needed to listen to what African people wanted if it hoped to compete with the continent’s other would-be partners.

“Francafrique is a thing of the past,” he said, referring to the murky links that sometimes saw Paris prioritise commercial gain and support autocratic regimes in former colonies.

Nevertheless signs of tension emerged later in the press conference, when Macron appeared to suggest the insecurity in Congo since 1994 was mostly its own fault.

“Sorry to say it in such harsh terms, you have not been able to restore your sovereignty,” he said.

Eastern Congo has struggled with instability and conflicts since the 1990s that have killed millions and given rise to dozens of militias, some of which remain active.

Macron has mostly avoided politics this week, announcing French humanitarian aid to eastern Congo, and support for agriculture and forests, prompting some to question the point.

“There is no political or strategic coherence to this four-day trip, it feels like they are clinging to something,” said Jean Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi, vice-president of Gabonese opposition party Union Nationale.

France’s new approach comes amid a deepening security crisis in West Africa’s Sahel region that has fueled anti-French protests and brought juntas to power in Burkina Faso and Mali which have rejected long-standing military ties.

“Macron is looking at how to respond to the wave of anti-French sentiment in the Sahel,” said Pauline Bax, Africa Program Deputy Director at the International Crisis Group.

“Like it or not, Africa will remain important to France. It is not going to withdraw from this continent. There is a change of tone,” she said.

There have been no significant signs of public opposition to the tour apart from in Congo, where perceptions of French support for neighbouring Rwanda have stoked anti-French feeling as eastern regions battle an offensive by the M23 rebel group that Congo accuses Rwanda of backing. Rwanda denies this.

In Kinshasa, Macron said he had “been very clear about condemning the M23 and those who support it.”

A peace process brokered by regional powers in November has so far failed, but Macron said he had confidence in the plan. “If they do not respect it, then yes there can be sanctions,” he said without naming any particular party.

EU sets up humanitarian aid for eastern DRC

The French president said Brussels was setting up a “humanitarian air bridge” to deliver aid to the troubled east of the country.

It will link the capital, Kinshasa, with Goma, which is the main city in the DRC’s North Kivu province, where fighting with the rebel group M23 has displaced more than 600,000 people.

“The EU stands ready to mobilize all the necessary means to support humanitarian workers, including logistics and air, to meet the needs of the population in Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Janez Lenarčič, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management.

Macron, who is visiting the country on the last leg of his African tour aimed at renewing frayed ties, said that all sides in the ongoing conflict would support a ceasefire in the fighting.

France is supporting the operation as part of a Team Europe initiative. The EU will also release more than 47 million euros through partners to cover immediate needs such as nutrition, healthcare, water and sanitation, shelter and protection.

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African nations wary of China’s soft loan trap

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, waves to journalists at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei/IANS)

China is a major African trade partner and from 2012 to 2017, Chinese loans to countries in sub-Saharan Africa grew tenfold to more than $10bn per year..reports Asian Lite News

Witnessing the living example of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, African countries, which are caught in China’s soft loan trap, are fearing that Beijing won’t bail them out, Pardafas.com reported.

China’s offer to ease Sri Lanka’s financial woes with a two-year moratorium on its debt repayments has shocked Sri Lanka and the global community with financial experts stating that the debt relief offered by China to Sri Lanka still falls short of the overall burden on the country. The Export-Import Bank of China has offered to ease Sri Lanka’s financial woes with a two-year moratorium on its debt repayments, according to a reviewed letter.

The economic meltdown and toppling of the Rajapaksa family regime in Sri Lanka has infused fear among South Africa countries.

According to Sri Lanka-based Daily Financial Times, experts and analysts opined that EXIM Bank’s outstanding debt is only $4,023 million whereas Sri Lanka owes a further $3,000 million to China including $2,950 million to China Development Bank (CDB).

This moratorium would enable Sri Lanka to seek a 2.9 billion US dollars loan from the International Monetary Fund, the Export-Import Bank of China said. China’s 2-year moratorium on debt payments is not in parity with IMF’s debt sustainability analysis of Sri Lanka with a 10-year debt moratorium and restructuring period of 15 years. Chinese EXIM banks have expressed their willingness to offer a 2-year debt moratorium. This would spell further economic pain for the Island nation.

According to analysts, “Ideally China, if it wants to live up to what it claims to be to Sri Lanka, it should give a broader expression of support in terms of debt relief. “Others opined that Sri Lanka will have to deal separately with CDB since it is categorized under “Commercial” creditors. The Export-Import Bank of China has offered to ease Sri Lanka’s financial woes with a two-year moratorium on its debt repayments, according to a reviewed letter.

China’s efforts to take advantage of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to widen its economic and geopolitical clout has put at risk the already burdening yet developing countries having unsustainable debt by increasing their dependency on Communist China.

The media reports revealed that South Africa countries are worried about a vicious cycle of downgrades by the rating agencies, and rising trade imbalances.

Sri Lanka owes at least $7 billion to China in debt including loans from the Chinese Development Bank with the numbers reaching another level if private debt is also included. The Chinese high interest money was used to build unsustainable white elephant projects all over the country including Hambantota port, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Norocholai power station.

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka is a lesson to Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Myanmar and many African countries which have often fallen into Beijing’s debt trap. China’s efforts to take advantage of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to widen its economic and geopolitical clout has put at risk the already burdening yet developing countries having unsustainable debt by increasing their dependency on Communist China.

China is a major African trade partner and from 2012 to 2017, Chinese loans to countries in sub-Saharan Africa grew tenfold to more than $10bn per year. From 2012 to 2017, Chinese loans to countries in sub-Saharan Africa grew tenfold to more than $10bn per year, it reported.

London-based international affairs policy institute Chatham House stated that 22 low-income African countries are either already in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress.

Chatham House in its recent report said that Africa’s total external debt increased more than fivefold between 2000 and 2020 to $696 billion – with Chinese lenders accounting for 12 per cent. “China did not cause African debt distress in most cases, but it is key to finding a solution,” it said.

An estimated 20 percent of African governments’ external debt is owed to China, according to the Jubilee Debt Campaign, a charity that wants the debts of developing countries to be written off. Around 40 percent of African countries are in debt distress compared with 2013, when 20 percent of African countries were at high risk of debt distress, World Finance reported.

Meanwhile, China has refuted accusations that its loans to African countries have created a “debt trap”, saying multilateral lenders and commercial creditors should carry the biggest blame for Africa’s debt troubles. Foreign Minister Qin Gang recently said that China’s projects and cooperation in Africa have contributed to the development of Africa and the improvement of people’s livelihood.”

In Africa, Ghana is facing debt troubles and has defaulted on its loan obligations, while Kenya plans to renegotiate the $5 billion in Chinese loans that it took to build a railway. Nairobi has asked China Exim Bank to extend the maturity period from 20 years to up to 50 years. Zambia, which in 2020 became the first African nation to default on loans, is renegotiating loan terms for its foreign debt, including borrowings from China.

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Ramaphosa declares national state of disaster

To deal more effectively and urgently with the challenges, Ramaphosa said he will appoint a minister of electricity in the presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response…reports Asian Lite News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster to address the country’s electricity crisis.

“The National Disaster Management Center has consequently classified the energy crisis and its impact as a disaster. We are therefore declaring a national state of disaster to respond to the electricity crisis and its effects,” Ramaphosa said while delivering his 2023 State of the Nation Address in Cape Town.

“The state of disaster will enable us to provide practical measures that we need to take to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including for the rollout of generators, solar panels and uninterrupted power supply,” he said, adding that it will also enable the country to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals from load shedding.

To deal more effectively and urgently with the challenges, Ramaphosa said he will appoint a minister of electricity in the presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response.

“As we outline our agenda for the year ahead, our most immediate task is to dramatically reduce the severity of load shedding in the coming months and ultimately end load shedding altogether,” the President added.

South Africa is currently facing a severe electricity crisis.

South Africans have endured power cuts for years but 2022 was the worst on record with 205 days of rolling blackouts, as aging coal-fired power plants broke down and state-owned power utility Eskom struggled to find the money to buy diesel for emergency generators.

So far this year, there have been outages every day.

The situation worsened again last month when Eskom said it would implement more cuts because of breakdowns at 11 coal-fired generating units.

Loadshedding was escalated to level 6, which entails removing 6,000 megawatts (MW) worth of power from the grid in order to rebalance demand and supply. This can result in outages lasting 4.5 hours at a time and totaling 12 hours a day for households and businesses.

At peak times, demand in South Africa averages between 28,000 MW and 34,000 MW.

The electricity crunch has been years in the making, a product of delays in building new coal-fired power stations, corruption in coal supply contracts, criminal sabotage and failures to ease up regulation to enable private providers to swiftly bring renewable energy on tap.

Ramaphosa said on Thursday he would appoint a minister of electricity within the presidency to focus solely on the crisis.

He also pledged to continue with South Africa’s partly donor-funded transition to cleaner energy, with planned investments of 1.5 trillion rand ($84.52 billion) in the next half-decade.

He said the government was working on a mechanism for targeted basic income support for the most vulnerable, within fiscal constraints.

Ramaphosa started his speech about 45 minutes late after opposition lawmakers, mainly from the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, disrupted proceedings. After the speaker of parliament told them to leave, a group of EFF MPs tried to barge onto the stage before security intervened.

Eskom has racked up debts and struggled to maintain the country’s coal-powered electricity infrastructure. The electricity provider was mired in corruption scandals under former President Jacob Zuma.

Declaring a state of disaster allows the government to follow emergency procurement procedures with fewer regulations and bureaucratic hurdles.

It also unlocks additional funding for the government to quickly buy new energy equipment, such as generators and solar panels.

South Africa’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has vowed to challenge Ramaphosa disaster declaration in court.

It claimed that Ramaphosa’s African National Congress abused procurement processes during the pandemic and issued nonsensical regulations.

Meanwhile, the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters walked out en masse before the State of the Nation Address. Some members of the party stormed the stage, causing Ramaphosa’s speech to be delayed by 45 minutes.

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‘Electricity crisis continues to undermine economic growth’

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.(Photo: twitter.com/PresidencyZA)

Some of the power stations which are reaching the end of their lives will be repurposed from coal to renewables, the President added…reports Asian Lite News

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that the electricity crisis in the country continues to undermine economic growth and investment.

“Load shedding damages businesses, disrupts households, compromises the provision of social services, and affects the safety and well-being of the people,” Ramaphosa, also President of South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress (ANC), made the remarks at the ANC’s National Executive Council lekgotla on Sunday.

“Resolving the energy crisis and putting an end to load shedding is one of our most immediate and pressing challenges,” he added.

As a result of load shedding, companies are reluctant to invest, productivity is dampened, economic growth cannot be sustained, and jobs cannot be created on the necessary scale, said Ramaphosa.

He noted that they have signed agreements with independent power producers for 26 renewable energy projects, which will generate around 2,800 megawatts (MW) of power; they are also negotiating to import 1,000 MW from neighbouring countries.

Some of the power stations which are reaching the end of their lives will be repurposed from coal to renewables, the President added.

ALSO READ-Pope’s Africa trip spotlights conflict, church’s future

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Pope’s Africa trip spotlights conflict, church’s future

Aid groups are hoping Francis’ trip will shine a spotlight on two of the world’s forgotten conflicts and rekindle international attention on some of Africa’s worst humanitarian crises…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis opened a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan last week, aiming to bring a message of peace to two countries riven by poverty, conflict and what Francis has called a lingering colonialist mentality that still considers Africa ripe for exploitation.

Aid groups are hoping Francis’ trip will shine a spotlight on two of the world’s forgotten conflicts and rekindle international attention on some of Africa’s worst humanitarian crises, amid donor fatigue and new aid priorities in Ukraine.

But Francis’ trip will also bring him face-to-face with the future of the Catholic Church: Africa is one of the only places in the world where the Catholic flock is growing, in terms of practising faithful as well as fresh vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

That makes his trip, his fifth to the African continent in his 10-year pontificate, all the more important as Francis seeks to make his mark on reshaping the church as a field hospital for wounded souls where all are welcome and poor people have a special pride of place.

“Yes, Africa is in turmoil and is also suffering from the invasion of exploiters,” Francis said in an interview last week. But he said the church can also learn from the continent and its people.

“We need to listen to their culture: dialogue, learn, talk, promote, Francis said, suggesting that his message would differ from the scolding tone St. John Paul II used in 1980 and 1985 when he reminded Congolese priests and bishops of the need to stick to their celibacy vows.”

Congo, Francis’ first stop, stands out as the African country with most Catholics hands down: Half of its 105 million people are Catholic, the country counts more than 6,000 priests, 10,000 nuns and more than 4,000 seminarians  3.6 per cent of the global total of young men studying for the priesthood.

Congolese faithful were flocking to Kinshasa for Francis’ main event, a Mass on Wednesday at Ndolo airport that is expected to draw as many as 2 million people in one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Congo and one of Francis’ biggest Masses ever.

There are people who chartered planes to come here because there were so many of them! marveled Inniance Mukania, who travelled to Kinshasa from the Kolwezi diocese in southern Congo.

On the eve of the pope’s visit, President Felix Tshisekedi met with foreign diplomats in Kinshasa and told them the visit was a sign of solidarity particularly with the battered populations of the eastern part of the country, prey to acts of violence and intolerance that you are witnessing.

Jesus-Noel Sheke, technical coordinator of the organising committee for the papal visit, said nearly everything was ready at Ndolo, where organizers have arranged for 22 giant screens to carry the service live.

There are only a few decorations left, he told journalists of the preparations over the weekend. They will be done the day before.

The trip was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed because of Francis’ knee problems. It was also supposed to have included a stop in Goma, in eastern Congo, but the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group.

The fighting has displaced some 5.7 million people, a fifth of them last year alone, according to the World Food Program.

Instead, Francis will meet with a delegation of people from the east who will travel to Kinshasa for a private encounter at the Vatican embassy. The plan calls for them to participate in a ceremony jointly committing to forgive their assailants.

While the people of Goma were saddened that Francis won’t be visiting the east, we hope with the visit that the pope can bring a message of peace to the people of Congo who need it, said Providence Bireke, a Goma-based manager with AVSI, an Italian aid group active in the area.

The second leg of Francis’ trip will bring him to South Sudan, the world’s youngest country where continued fighting has hampered implementation of a 2018 peace deal to end a civil war. Francis first voiced his hope of visiting the majority Christian country in 2017, but security concerns prevented a visit and only contributed to worsening a humanitarian crisis that has displaced more than 2 million people.

The South Sudan stop also marks a novelty in the history of papal travel, in that Francis will be joined on the ground by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields.

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