Politics

South Sudan’s President Kiir to replace Burundi’s Ndayishimiye as EAC chairman

Published

6 months ago

November 9, 2023

South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir Mayardit is expected to replace Burundi’s President, Evariste Ndayishimiye as chairman of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit at the next ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit.

Ndayishimiye’s one-year tenure already came to an end mid-year, after being elected in July last year during the 22nd Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State held in Arusha, Tanzania.

The regional bloc’s heads of state summit will be held again next week in Arusha, Tanzania, on November 23–24, and discussion will include a focus on climate change and food security.

Kiir’s schedule for serving as chairman was first revealed by EAC Secretary General, Dr. Peter Mathuki in September during a meeting of regional body delegates.

“President Kiir is expected to be the next Chair of the East African Community after Burundi. Kiir’s nomination as chairman is a testament to South Sudan’s commitment to regional integration,” said Dr Mathuki.

Kiir, whose country also contributes a fair share of the region’s concern, is expected to lead the East African subregion at a time when issues of regional security and peace, notably the situation in Sudan and the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, have peaked in recent months.

With its headquarters located in Arusha, Tanzania, the East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation with seven partner countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. Every member state holds the EAC chairmanship alternately for one year.

Related Topics:EAC East African Featured South Sudan

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Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

1 day ago

April 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.