United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

3 August 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

US warns against Mauritania travel due to al Qaeda (Reuters)

(Mauritania) The United States on Monday warned U.S. citizens to use extreme caution
when traveling to Mauritania due to increased activities by al Qaeda's North African
wing, which has targeted foreigners.

Leaders Blast U.S. for Soft Stance On Somalia (The East African)
(Somalia) Key African partners of US interests in the Horn of Africa have expressed
their frustration at the on-off manner in which support for Amisom is disbursed.

U.S. Funds Sends Africans To Somalia For War (Black Voice News)
(Somalia) African leaders will send thousands of new troops to Somalia in a U.S.-
funded effort to defeat an insurgent faction that now controls most of that East African
country.

US Congratulates Benin on 50 Years of Independence (Voice of America)

(Benin) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has congratulated the people of Benin for
the country’s 50th independence anniversary observed Sunday.

Military intervention in Mali (Al Arabiya News)

(Mali) France might be embarrassed about military intervention, which has not
achieved its goals, on the border between Mali and Mauritania. However, France is
obliged to engage in this, for more than one reason.

Nigerian leader threatens to keep troops out of UN missions (AFP)

(Pan Africa) Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan threatened Monday to keep his
nation's troops out of UN peacekeeping missions unless rules of engagement are
changed to help prevent soldiers' deaths.

Somali Piracy Attacks Surge, Premiums Sink as More Insurers Leap Aboard
(Bloomberg)
(Somalia) Kidnap and ransom premiums paid to insure against Somali piracy have
slumped since the BBC Trinidad was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in August 2008 as
escalating attacks spurred more companies to offer coverage.
South Africa Tries to Climb the Industrial Ladder (New York Times)
(South Africa) To many outsiders, South Africa has long been an unstable business
environment with an economy overly dependent on natural resources. Now, the
government and a new breed of entrepreneurs are optimistic that they can change
perceptions and climb the industrial ladder.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Uneasy calm reported in tense camp for displaced in Darfur – UN
 Ban saddened by deaths of Darfur peacekeepers in road accident
 Thousands of young Ivorians to receive job training under new UN project
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, August 4, 12:00, Council on Foreign Relations

WHAT: A Conversation with Henry Odein Ajumogobia, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
WHO: Moderated by Princeton Lyman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies,
Council on Foreign Relations
Info: http://www.cfr.org/region/143/africa.html

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, Department of Defense

Civilian Personnel Management Service
WHAT: Conference on Forming an Interagency Community
WHO: National Security Professionals Symposium
Info: http://www.cpms.osd.mil/lpdd/nspd/NSP_Symposium.aspx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

US warns against Mauritania travel due to al Qaeda (Reuters)

WASHINGTON - The United States on Monday warned U.S. citizens to use extreme
caution when traveling to Mauritania due to increased activities by al Qaeda's North
African wing, which has targeted foreigners.

The State Department said in a travel warning that al Qaeda's North African wing,
AQIM, "continues to demonstrate its intent and ability to conduct attacks against
foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens."

It said that faith-based groups working in Mauritania may be particularly targeted.

Late last month Mauritania and France carried out a military operation against AQIM
which was holding Michel Germaneau, a French hostage, in the Sahel desert region.
Six AQIM members were killed in the operation and in retaliation, the group killed the
78-year-old hostage, the State Department said.

"As a result of perceived Western involvement in the raid, it is possible that AQIM will
attempt additional retaliatory attacks against Western targets of opportunity," the State
Department said.
--------------------
Leaders Blast U.S. for Soft Stance On Somalia (The East African)

Key African partners of US interests in the Horn of Africa have expressed their
frustration at the on-off manner in which support for Amisom is disbursed.

This was during a meeting that lasted four hours on the sidelines of the AU summit in
Kampala on July 26. "We deployed in Somalia but we are not getting adequate support
from the international community. "We don't get money when we need it and you give
it to us when it suits you," Uganda's President Museveni is reported to have told US
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jonnie Carson.

The meeting was attended by South African President Jacob Zuma, Tanzania's Jakaya
Kikwete, Kenya's Mwai Kibaki, Burundi's Pierre Nkurunziza, Ethiopian Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi, TFG President Sheik Shariff Ahmed, Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh, AU
chair Jean Ping as well as representatives from the UK and France. President Kikwete
recalled that during his tenure as AU chairman, he saw resources flowing to the UN
missions in Darfur and the DRC but only a trickle to Amisom.

"Somalia needs action, not talk. Uganda and Burundi sent troops to Somalia but they
are not getting international support. We don't want to send troops into Somalia
although we can protect the troops on the ground anytime they are endangered;
intervention needs realistic support from the international community," Meles Zenawi
told the meeting.

Djibouti's Ismail Guelleh said while the priority should be to rebuild the Somali army,
this needed committed support and resources. Mr Carson, who took notes throughout,
did not immediately respond to the issues raised. Jean Ping proposed a follow-up
meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.

Outside the meeting, African leaders expressed a lack of faith in US President Barack
Obama's commitment to the Somali problem. "The feeling was that because of his
African lineage, President Obama was responding more cautiously to African problems
than a white president would," our source remarked.
--------------------
U.S. Funds Sends Africans To Somalia For War (Black Voice News)
African leaders will send thousands of new troops to Somalia in a U.S.-funded effort to
defeat an insurgent faction that now controls most of that East African country.

The pledges came at an African Union summit which ended Tuesday. The summit
began only days after twin bombings in Kampala, Uganda, during the World Cup, that
were linked to the Somali insurgent group Al Shabab.

The new surge will by comprised of 2,000 Ugandans and Burundians to the African
Union mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, boosting levels from 6,000 to the
maximum mandate of 8,000.

According to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, a stronger AU
force could defeat al-Shabab which has grown in size and strength despite U.S. training,
logistical support and equipment worth more than $176 million since 2007.

To complete the mission, African Union leaders are requesting helicopters from
Western donors to allow the AU troops to take offensive action against the insurgents.
Currently the peacekeeping forces can only respond to attacks or when they see
militants.

But large-scale intervention by foreign troops may create even more anti-Western forces
as had occurred when the Somalis confronted U.S.-backed Ethiopians in a raid on
Mogadishu in 2007.

“AU troops cannot police all of Somalia,” said David Shinn, former U.S. ambassador to
Ethiopia, in a press interview. Shinn, one of the coordinators of U.S. policy in Somalia in
the early 1990s, said that the failure of U.S. and U.N. involvement in the country
showed large-scale foreign intervention would not work. "That was not the solution
then and it will not be now," Shinn said.
--------------------
US Congratulates Benin on 50 Years of Independence (Voice of America)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has congratulated the people of Benin for the
country’s 50th independence anniversary observed Sunday.

Secretary Clinton said the United States will continue working with Benin to reduce
poverty and promote broad economic growth.

Meanwhile, 10 African heads of state, along with other government leaders and
representatives, were said to have attended Sunday’s official 50th independence
anniversary ceremonies in Cotonou.
Sadikou Alao, president of GERDDES-Africa, a research group for the democratic,
economic and social development of Africa said the Benin government needs to do
more to eradicate poverty and promote good governance.

“As you know, the country is very poor. The majority of people are poor even if there is
some sign of development in Cotonou which is the economic capital, and in Port Novo.
The rest of the country is still very poor. And, as far as poverty is concerned, and good
governance, I don’t think we have made a lot of progress,” he said.

In her statement, Secretary Clinton said Benin’s vibrant democracy and stability make
the country an important U.S. ally in West Africa.

GERDDES-Africa President Alao said Benin’s democracy, seen through the eyes of
Westerners, should suggest progress. But, he said it is another matter when seen
through the eyes of an African.

“As far as democracy is concerned, I think we have made a lot of progress when one is
seeing it with the Western eyes. But, when we look at it as Africans, I don’t think we
have made a lot of progress because, when you refer to democracy, democracy means
something profitable for the majority of the people of a country. But, our democratic
system does not enable us to reach a level of development which can be profitable for
the majority of our people. Our democracy is a democracy for only 10 percent of our
people,” Alao said.

He said the majority of Benin’s population, about 90 percent, reside in rural areas and
do not enjoy the same rights as those living in urban areas.

“They are not enjoying the same facilities, as far as development is concerned. If
democracy does not lead to better governance, does not relieve the poverty of the
people, it means that, really, we are not making progress. We need to make a lot of
change before our democracy will look like our people. This is what we should plan for
(in) the coming 50 years,” he said.

In her statement, Secretary Clinton praised Benin’s “positive role” in international

mediation and peacekeeping.

Alao said West Africa has come a long way given the region’s history of military coups.

“Due to our region, where we were having a lot of coup d’états, I can say that we are
making of lot of progress by which we have a positive change of government, let’s say
acceptable elections, don’t call it free and fair because it’s only a minority who are
leading these types of elections. That’s the reason why, in any of our places after a good
election, you can have a coup d’état and nobody will just get up and defend the
government because everybody knows that it is a government always of a majority of
this 10 percent,” Alao said.
--------------------
Military intervention in Mali (Al Arabiya News)

France might be embarrassed about military intervention, which has not achieved its
goals, on the border between Mali and Mauritania. However, France is obliged to
engage in this, for more than one reason. First of all, it cannot be indifferent to what is
taking place in areas of its traditional influence in northwest Africa. Moreover, it cannot
stand idly by when French citizens are kidnapped and murdered. The intervention is
not interesting in itself; rather, it is the method that has been used, a method that has
resulted in transferring domestic conflict in Mauritania and Mali to the realm of French
concerns.

In the same manner that dirty laundry of Mauritania or Mali was awaiting a chance to
be shown in public, in the form of political conflicts that take advantage of certain
occasions, the domestic situation that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is experiencing
has, in turn, moved toward attacking an intervention that has failed to achieve its aims.
However, away from these turbulences, whose backgrounds have many different
origins, there is the acknowledgment that the situation in the south Saharan Sahel
region cannot continue much further, especially since the confrontation has moved
from the African arena to the European jurisdiction, which has begun to examine how
its citizens have become subject to terror and murder, without succeeding in warning
them about traveling to dangerous areas, or adopting a long-term strategy to face the
growing phenomenon of terrorism.

The concerned regional and international parties appear to be racing to play roles that
guarantee their interests. Algeria, which has returned its former ambassador to Bamako,
to declare that the crisis with Mali had been overcome, believes, logically, that it is the
country most closely involved with dealing with the region's security challenges. It does
not believe, as a result of its constant disputes with Paris, that France can play a role
without its consent. Meanwhile, the concerned African countries that have tried to show
openness toward Algiers, cannot do anything without informing France. In fact, the
repercussions that have appeared inside Mauritania, amid the latest incidents, reflect a
part of the existing tension.

The recent summit of Sahel and Saharan countries, which was hosted by Chad, could
have produced some clear answers to the fundamental questions about security
challenges in the Sahel and Sahara. If this does not happen through the adoption of
concepts that would revitalize the African summits that have become all rusted, then it
would take place by relying on recommendations and resolutions of the Sahel country
summit, had it not been subject, in turn, to considerations that include contradictory
positions in North African countries.
However, Paris is now being prompted to pay more attention to these developments.
This is because its policies have been very similar to the type of tutelage, which it has
imposed in Africa. In fact, France has an annual summit whose main headline is about
Africa and France, analogous to the summit held in the Commonwealth. The problem is
that African decision-making has been split, since the very beginning, between
Francophone and Anglo-Saxon countries. The repercussions of this division continue to
influence the present and future of the continent, which suffers from a number of
problems and challenges.

The Americans are no smarter. At a time, in which they found that the French role
would hardly extend beyond one of dialogue within a political club based on economic
interests, they posed the idea of military intervention in Africa, through AFRICOM. The
current tension over what is developing in the Sahel and Sahara region is not that far
from the facets of this struggle. No one objects to US military maneuvers in the region,
which were conducted under the rubric of the war on terror and assistance to confront
the wrath of nature and the deceit of humans. While the French wanted to speak up,
they were criticized by all sides. Most importantly, inter-African conflicts are about to
bend in the direction of Franco-American issues, and all of this is taking place in the
absence of a clearer vision, which would be the natural refuge for countries of the south
Saharan Sahel.
--------------------
Nigerian leader threatens to keep troops out of UN missions (AFP)

ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan threatened Monday to keep

his nation's troops out of UN peacekeeping missions unless rules of engagement are
changed to help prevent soldiers' deaths.

"I wouldn't want to lose one soldier carelessly, and for that reason, the UN also needs to
change rules of engagement if Nigeria's soldiers must be involved in peace operations,"
Jonathan told an international seminar on peacekeeping.

He did not specify what new rules of engagement Nigeria wants.

Nigeria, currently a member of the UN Security Council and Africa's most populous
nation, lost seven soldiers in 2007 in an ambush during peace operations in Sudan.

Last year, a Nigerian soldier was gunned down near his home in the capital of Sudan's
South Darfur state by unknown attackers who stole his car.

Jonathan said militia groups ambushing and killing troops was "totally unacceptable."

The country has also notably participated in peace operations in Liberia and Sierra
Leone.
Nigeria's UN mission says on its website that there are more than 6,000 Nigerian troops
serving under United Nations mandates worldwide, but it was unclear whether that
number remained up to date.

Jonathan also blamed arms manufacturers in rich nations for contributing to violence in
Africa.

"In Africa, one of the greatest problems is the dumping of small arms and light weapons
by the industrialised countries. This encourages a lot of criminal activities, the militia
groups and all kind of conflicts," he said.

Nigeria will hold presidential elections early next year, and Jonathan is widely expected
to run.
--------------------
Somali Piracy Attacks Surge, Premiums Sink as More Insurers Leap Aboard
(Bloomberg)

Kidnap and ransom premiums paid to insure against Somali piracy have slumped since
the BBC Trinidad was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in August 2008 as escalating attacks
spurred more companies to offer coverage.

Buying $5 million of coverage now costs as little as $15,000 per voyage, half the peak
rate in 2008, said William Miller, divisional director of Willis Group Holding Plc’s
Kidnap and Ransom, or K&R, unit in London.

“Piracy is a peak risk with a relatively low probability of happening, but with an
immensely high damage potential,” said Niels Stolberg, head of Bremen, Germany-
based Beluga Shipping GmbH, the Trinidad’s owner. The company now buys kidnap
and ransom coverage for every ship crossing “this dangerous passage,” after paying a
$1.1 million ransom to release the vessel and its 13 crew from the pirate haven of Eyl, he
said.

Kidnap and ransom premiums climbed to $100 million last year as pirate attacks on the
25,000 ships passing through the Gulf of Aden rose 70 percent. That prompted more
insurers, including Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., Ascot Underwriting Ltd. and
Chubb Corp., to offer marine K&R coverage, a policy first developed to address
kidnapping in South America.

The insurance covers the ransom of the ship and its crew, including negotiations with
pirates and hiring ex-special forces teams to deliver the money. With Somali pirates
usually returning hijacked vessels undamaged, kidnap and ransom plugs a gap in war-
risk insurance that only covers damage to a ship and its cargo, said Stolberg.

Ransoms Increase
The average ransom has almost doubled to between $3.5 million and $4 million since
Chubb entered the market 22 months ago, said K&R Manager Greg Bangs, adding that
the company expects to expand its piracy business further.

“At first the rates were a little higher than they should have been and then over time
insurers realized they could reduce their rates and still make money,” said Bangs.

The decline in rates has deterred Ascot from writing any policies since being authorized
to offer kidnap and ransom coverage last November, said Andrew Moulton, a marine
underwriter at the Lloyd’s of London arm of American International Group Inc.

“Traditional carriers have been cutting each other so much to get the premium in that
the price has fallen off the end of a cliff,” said Moulton, adding that in the current
economic climate, most ship owners won’t buy kidnap and ransom insurance as they
view it as “icing on the cake” rather than core coverage.

‘Big Problem’

Pirates are currently holding 18 ships and 379 hostages, up from 11 ships and 261
hostages at the beginning of the year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
When the summer monsoon in the Indian Ocean ends this month, attacks may rise as
pirates venture from lairs such as Garacad, Hobyo and Harardhere on the Somali coast,
said bureau Director Pottengal Mukundan.

“It’s a big problem,” said Per Gullestrup, chief executive officer of Clipper Ferries. He
arranged for a $1.7 million cash ransom to be parachuted to pirates that used AK-47s
and rocket-propelled grenades to hijack the CEC Future in November 2008. “The
Somali pirates have shown they are quite good at adapting to the situation.”

Pirates are being encouraged by the ransoms and the ease with which they capture
ships, said Sven Gerhard, global product leader of marine hull & liabilities at Allianz
SE’s corporate and specialty unit. Ship owners must also pay as much as $2.5 million to
negotiators and security firms that fly the ransom to a drop-off point, he said.

‘Taking More Risks’

While the presence of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Gulf of Aden cut attacks by
18 percent to 196 in the first half of this year, incidents in the surrounding Somali basin
and Indian Ocean rose 14 percent to 51 as the pirates used larger mother ships to widen
their range toward the Maldives and as far south as the Mozambique Channel,
according to the maritime bureau.

Attacks have been reported as far as 1,000 miles from shore.

“They’re going further and they’re taking more risks than before,” said Guillaume
Bonnissent at Hiscox Ltd. in London, the world’s largest underwriter for piracy
coverage.

Premiums depend on the ship’s speed, height of its deck above sea level and measures
taken to protect the vessel, said Sean Woollerson, a partner at Jardine Lloyd Thompson
Group Plc, the U.K.’s biggest publicly traded insurance broker.

While most insurers advise ship owners to deploy razor wire and train sailors how to
legally fend off attacks, Woollerson also aims to raise funds for a fleet of escort ships to
shepherd vessels through the Gulf of Aden. That may push rates down further, he said.

‘Private Navy’

“We are working on a unique concept to create a legitimate private navy for the
shipping industry to complement the existing naval forces to stop this kind of piracy
escalating,” said Woollerson, who estimates start-up costs of $15 million. “This is the
only way we’re ever going to stem these attacks.”

For the moment, Beluga Shipping deploys high-pressure hoses and cardboard dummies
called “soldiers” to deter boarders, after the Trinidad was captured by nine pirates
using two speedboats, said Stolberg.

“Sending armed teams aboard is a last resort,” said Mark Hankey, a spokesman for
Maritime & Underwater Security Consultants, which gives shipping lines transit advice
from its basement control center opposite London’s Royal Courts of Justice. Using arms
involves the risk of “massive escalation,” he said.

When the company does employ guards on cargo vessels it stations three to four former
British Royal Marines or Royal Navy personnel to escort ships through pirate waters,
said Hankey.

No Guarantees

The naval task force is no longer effective after the pirates expanded the scope of their
operations, said Jan-Thiess Heitmann, head of the legal department at the German Ship
Owners’ Association. While the association is against arming crew members or hiring
armed security guards, it’s in talks with the German government on installing soldiers
on merchant ships.

“The number of forces is never going to be enough to guarantee protection,” a

spokesman for the 24-nation Combined Maritime Forces said in an e-mailed statement.
“Pirates are opportunists who will seek the easiest target available.”
The naval force deploys as many as 25 vessels in counter- piracy operations along a
recommended transit corridor that runs from close to the Bab-el-Mandeb at the
southern end of the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aden to a point north of the Yemeni
island of Socotra. The corridor carries about a fifth of the world’s trade.

Gullestrup says a set of best practices, introduced by the naval task force, have helped
keep the rest of Clipper’s fleet safe. Still, he says the only long-term solution to piracy is
to help Somalia, a country that has lacked a central government since the overthrow of
former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, develop its own security and coastguard
infrastructure.

“All the money would be much better spent in assisting the Somalis in capacity
building,” he said.
--------------------
South Africa Tries to Climb the Industrial Ladder (New York Times)

To many outsiders, South Africa has long been an unstable business environment with
an economy overly dependent on natural resources.

Now, the government and a new breed of entrepreneurs are optimistic that they can
change perceptions and climb the industrial ladder.

A group of companies is working in sectors like clean energy, aviation, engineering,

military contracting and mining, hoping to benefit from positive growth forecasts for
the region.

The state hopes this will lead to job creation and other benefits, and has played its part
in some cases by offering direct financing and other sweeteners. It has also backed new
university research positions and is trying to promote centers of excellence.

“We are a producer and exporter,” said Naledi Pandor, the minister of science and
technology. “Now we’re saying: let’s become an innovator.”

South Africa’s many hurdles — notably unemployment, crime, illegal immigration,

corruption, income inequality and health problems — have not disappeared. But
executives and officials believe that the environment is improving and that the
country’s success as host of the recent soccer World Cup can act as a catalyst.

“There has never been a greater opportunity for South Africa than today,” said Ivor
Ichikowitz, a South African of Lithuanian descent who controls and runs an aerospace,
security and military contracting company, Paramount Group.
The security obsession and regional conflicts of the apartheid era left an industrial and
research legacy — and comparatively strong infrastructure. That, he said, makes South
Africa an ideal place from which to make inroads in a continent often neglected by
Western companies.

“Africa is the current economic battleground and the last frontier,” Mr. Ichikowitz said
recently in Paris, where he was attending a conference. “The Chinese and the Indians
are coming in with huge amounts of cheap capital and a very open approach.”

Based near Johannesburg, Paramount makes mine-protected vehicles, sold primarily to

African clients for peacekeeping missions. It also refurbishes and upgrades Mirage jet
fighters, and finances and supplies security forces.

Created in 1994, it had African countries involved in peacekeeping, like Uganda and
Ghana, for its initial clients. More recently, it has signed deals to manufacture vehicles
in Jordan, India and Azerbaijan, and it has alliances as far off as Singapore, raising its
profile in global procurement bids.

Last year, it added a 19 percent stake in Aerosud, South Africa’s largest independent
aerospace company, which manufactures parts for Airbus and Boeing including galleys,
fuel supply systems and wing and fuselage components.

Paramount employs 3,500 people and is privately held. Mr. Ichikowitz would not
divulge financial data except to say that the group is “very profitable.”

A recent report on the country by Jane’s World Defense Industry said that the military
budget has fallen in recent years as the government focuses on social programs. But in
2008, South Africa authorized military export deals worth $2.6 billion, up from $406
million a year earlier, and sold equipment, munitions and components to 96 countries.

The country’s biggest military contractor, Denel, is state-owned. It posted a loss of 543
million rand, or $74.6 million, on sales of 4.05 billion rand last year.

Mr. Ichikowitz, a longtime member of the governing party, the African National
Congress, owns a venture capital firm, an oil business, a teddy bear retailer and an
exclusive luxury retreat in the bush.

“You cannot be in business in Africa if you are not respectful of the political
environment,” he said. “A lot has to do with faith in people, trust and personal
relationships.”

The democratic government that came to power in 1994 inherited an economy racked
by internal conflict and external sanctions. Yet from 2004 to 2007, gross domestic
product grew on average over 5 percent annually. It contracted by 1.8 percent in 2009,
affected by energy shortages, slower consumption and the global recession, but it is
expected to grow at 3.3 percent in 2010 and 5 percent next year, according to the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Mining accounts for almost a tenth of output, but in contrast to much of the rest of the
continent, South Africa also has well-developed manufacturing, whose output accounts
for over 50 percent of exports.

“South Africa’s ambition to climb the value-added chain is valid, justified and doable,”
said Andreas Wörgötter, an economist at the O.E.C.D. who wrote a recent study of the
country. The main challenges, he said, will be to “broaden economic activity” by
creating jobs, moderating wages and improving the regulatory environment.

Unemployment remains a huge hurdle; the O.E.C.D. forecasts it at 24.5 percent this
year. Industrial strikes remain a feature, the health and education systems are also
troubled and social inequity runs deep. A recent study from the University of Cape
Town described the country as “the most consistently unequal economy in the world.”

Corruption is also cited as a drag by executives. South Africa has experienced a number
of high-profile scandals within public-sector agencies, provinces and even senior levels
of government. The O.E.C.D. criticized South Africa in a report last month for failing to
enact any prosecutions for foreign bribery and called for “a more proactive approach.”

Despite such problems, examples of South African regional and global corporate
success stories include Standard Bank and Investec in financial services; Sasol in
chemicals and fuels; South African Breweries; Steinhoff International in furniture; and
De Beers, Anglo-American and Impala Platinum in resources.

But there is a sense that the global breakthroughs have been few, and sometimes — in
cases like Anglo-America, now based in London — the benefits can migrate.

“There are lots of good ideas here and a strong history of engineering and design, but
we don’t commercialize and build sustainable business — we sell them to others,” said
Diana Blake, sales and marketing director at Optimal Energy, which is preparing to
produce the Joule, Africa’s first battery-powered car.

Examples of this include the Zebra, an advanced battery developed by a research body
in Pretoria but now produced in Switzerland, and thin-film solar panel technology
developed at the University of Johannesburg and now produced in Germany.

“Now there’s an enormous drive to keep the value in South Africa,” Ms. Blake said.
Optimal was co-founded in 2005 by an entrepreneur, Kobus Meiring, who was helped
by an investment from the national innovation fund; the South African government
holds more than 50 percent.

The standard five-seater Joule has a top speed of 135 kilometers, or 84 miles, an hour
and a nominal driving range of up to 300 kilometers. It will start retailing at $30,000 to
$38,000 — around the same price as the comparable Nissan Leaf.

About 80 percent to 90 percent of sales are expected to come from abroad once the car
hits showrooms in 2013; the company hopes to export to Australia, Israel and Europe.
Optimal hopes to be making 50,000 vehicles — and a profit — by 2015.

Production will be located in the Eastern Cape, near a Mercedes-Benz plant, and
Optimal will work with EDAG, a German specialist in low-volume production, to
ensure quality. Once production starts, the company expects to employ 2,300 people
directly, with a further 8,000 in support industries.

A smaller company also being helped by the state is Adept Airmotive. It focuses on the
design, development and manufacture of fuel-efficient engines for light aircraft and is
working on products to run on leaded fuel, unleaded fuel mixes, including ethanol, and
even L.P.G.

The company was formed in 2003 and financed by a handful of businessmen and a
private equity firm. In 2007, the government took a 25 percent stake, which it eventually
hopes to sell.

“I think South Africa probably has one of the best environments for a start-ups
anywhere,” Richard Schulz, managing director, said from his base in Durban, South
Africa, where he employs seven people in design and subcontracts manufacturing to a
number of companies.

“We had planned a slow phase of market entry, but the demand is amazing,” he added,
raising the possibility of an initial public offering of shares, stake sale or licensing
agreement with a larger player. “There’s a broad spectrum of interest.”

South Africa also hopes to win a bid to host a giant radio telescope project known as the
Square Kilometer Array. A collaboration among 19 countries, it would be the most
powerful radio telescope ever built, attracting significant related investment in
astrophysics and cosmology.

Construction is expected to cost €1.5 billion, or almost $2 billion, and is scheduled to

begin in 2013 for initial observations by 2017 and full operation by 2022.
The government hopes that other projects, already established, like the Karoo Array
Telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope, will help it to beat Australia in the
final decision, due 2012.

“We in South Africa can’t afford to be pessimistic,” said Mrs. Pandor, the science
minister. “We came out of such terrible times that we have to believe we can do it.”
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UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Uneasy calm reported in tense camp for displaced in Darfur – UN

2 August – An uneasy calm has returned to a displaced persons’ camp in the restive
region of Darfur in western Sudan where clashes broke out last week over tensions
related to the current state of the peace process, the joint United Nations-African Union
peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) there reported.

Ban saddened by deaths of Darfur peacekeepers in road accident

2 August – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he was saddened by the deaths
of four Sierra Leonean peacekeepers serving in the joint United Nations-African Union
mission in the Sudanese region of Darfur (UNAMID) who died in a road accident.

Thousands of young Ivorians to receive job training under new UN project

2 August – Some 3,000 young people in Côte d'Ivoire, including ex-fighters and women,
will receive training in the construction, manufacturing and service sectors under a new
United Nations project that seeks to help them get involved in their country’s economic
recovery.