Hotspots, not trouble spots: Africa seeks tourism boom

Yahoo – AFP, Gregory WALTON, September 19, 2018

Tanzania's Zanzibar has become a magnet for tourists in the past decade (AFP 

Photo/GULSHAN KHAN)

Cape Town (AFP) - Africa draws just five percent of the world's tourists despite boasting attractions ranging from the Pyramids and Victoria Falls to wildlife safaris and endless strips of pristine beach.

But the continent's huge potential can be unlocked by eco tourism, cultural experiences, domestic travel and political stability, said experts at an African tourism conference hosted by Airbnb in Cape Town last week.

"When you look at the success stories, it's those countries who've embraced trends," said the African Tourism Association's (ATA) managing director Naledi Khabo who spoke at the summit.

"When you look at some countries which have made sustainability a focal point, like Tanzania, or Rwanda, they're very attractive for certain travellers."

Eco-friendly safaris and carbon-neutral lodging draw increasing numbers of tourists from Europe and North America.

The number of tourists visiting Tanzania has more than doubled since 2006 to above one million contributing 14 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to Tanzania Invest.

Tourism is now the second largest driver of growth in Kenya, home to some of the
world's most visited safaris (AFP Photo/ROBERTO SCHMIDT)

Khabo, who speaks for the African tourism sector, said other success stories included South Africa, "which is promoting the diversification of their products beyond the safari".

South Africa has witnessed a boom of experience-based tours, taking travellers to disadvantaged township and rural communities as well as wine farms and game lodges.

Abigail Mbalo founded the 4RoomEkasi concept to showcase food and lifestyles in South Africa's black communities to visitors

"We tapped into the development of tourism in rural and township spaces," she said. "We are now starting to see cultural inclusivity. Those areas have been untapped."

'A safe place to travel'?

Tourism is a major employer of poor black South Africans and accounts for nearly 700,000 jobs -- a rare success story in a country with an unemployment rate of almost 27 percent.

The World Bank, which spoke at the tourism summit, praised the emerging trend for community-based travel projects like Mbalo's for creating opportunities for women and young people.

Cultural tourism is becoming more of a trend across Africa (AFP Photo/

ANDREW KASUKU)

"Every new business, destination, route or visitor creates opportunity for local people," said the World Bank in a statement.

While many African destinations have courted foreign visitors' hard currency, Kenya has invested heavily in promoting "staycations".

The country moved to promote domestic travel after dips in foreign arrivals following violent unrest and criminal attacks in recent years.

"We have managed to develop the domestic market. Twenty-one percent of Airbnb occupancy is domestic market. It's benefiting us," said Kenya's Tourism Minister Najib Balala at the conference.

Tourism, now the second largest driver of Kenya's GDP growth, was worth $1.2 billion in 2017.

But many countries on the continent have struggled to woo foreign visitors fearful of political instability and violence.

"The biggest challenge is perception," said Khabo. "Sometimes there is a real threat and sometimes it's just perceived."

Adventure tourists keen to see gorillas up close are flocking to Rwanda (AFP 

Photo/Ivan Lieman)

Rwanda's transformation

Rwanda is one country that has successfully transformed its global image. The small east African nation was torn apart by a genocide in 1994 but has since established itself as a high-end destination.

"Tourism is the number one foreign exchange earner, which is amazing to see in a country like Rwanda," said Rosette Rugamba who was appointed by President Paul Kagame as head of Rwanda Tourism from 2003 to 2010.

"It is a huge contributor to the image-building of our country."

Zimbabwe, which is home to some of Africa's best game and Victoria Falls, has enjoyed a boost in visitor numbers since long-serving despot Robert Mugabe resigned in November.

While the number of foreign visitors to Victoria Falls jumped nearly 50 percent in the first quarter of this year, the country still operates far below its tourist potential.

"The onus is on African governments and tourism boards to be more proactive in addressing perceptions," added Khabo.

Visitor numbers to Egypt plunged after the 2011 revolt (AFP Photo/FETHI BELAID)

One African country that has seen its tourism industry squeezed is Egypt, once a magnet for travellers that has since the 2011 revolt seen visitor numbers plummet, despite the huge draw of the Pyramids and the Red Sea.

Another is the Democratic Republic of Congo, which for years has been riven with often deadly political and ethnic unrest.

"There's an enormous amount the DRC has to offer" including gorillas, pristine national parks, and smouldering volcanoes, said tourism author Anita Mendiratta, who spoke at the conference.

"That's limited now because of the safety and security."

New railway raises economic hopes in the Horn of Africa

Ethiopia and Djibouti have inaugurated their first electric railway. It is expected to boost trade in the region. The railway is the first step of a planned 5,000 kilometer long rail project.

Deutsche Welle, 5 Oct 2016

A train shows the logo of Ethiopian railways

The 750 kilometer (460 miles) railway, built by two Chinese companies, will link Addis Ababa to the Red Sea port of Djibouti City in about 10 hours. This will put an end to the exhausting three-days journey that citizens of the two countries have had to endure when travelling from Addis Ababa to neighboring Djibouti. The project cost 3.7 billion US dollars, of which 70 percent was funded by China, while the Ethiopian government accounted for the remaining amount.

At the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, Mekonnen Getachew, project manager of the Ethiopian Railways Corporation, called the railroad a ‘game changer', because it will accelerate growth in Ethiopian. The economy of the country in the Horn of Africa country grew by 10.2 percent last year, the fastest rate in the world.

Djibouti, the smallest state in the Horn of Africa, sees the project as the start of a trans-African railway crossing the continent from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, a journey which takes three weeks by boat.

Media interest ahead of the opening ceremony

More hope for better future

The residents of the two countries have placed great hopes on the railroad. "We're so excited! It takes two or three days for a truck to come from Djibouti. The driver doesn't answer his phone. We don't know where he is and that can be a bit of a nightmare," said Ethiopian importer Tingrit Worku. He drives one of the 1,500 trucks that daliy lumber along the road, carrying  90 percent of imports and exports from landlocked Ethiopia to the port. Djibouti is a key trade hub to Asia, Europe and the rest of Africa.

Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia La Yifan said in a statement that the railroad is built along Chinese standards and with Chinese technology. He said there will be other projects of this kind built by China in the near future. According to the diplomat, many people will benefit from the railroad. It is a win-win situation for both countries in regard to economic integration. Ethiopia gains access to the sea and Djibouti gains access to Ethiopia's emerging market of 95 million people, the ambassador said.

Chinese personnel are in charge
of operating the trains

Test period

The infrastructure will first undergo a three-month test period with no paying passengers and carrying only cargo. As soon as the line is fully functional, uniformed Chinese controllers will welcome passengers to platforms of newly built stations all along the route, while Chinese technicians and stationmasters will keep things running in the background.

"We don't yet have the management experience. We have a management contract with Chinese staff for five years, with an Ethiopian counterpart in training," said Getachew. The effectiveness of security measures will also be gauged during this period as the railway has to go through war-torn countries such as South Sudan or the Central African Republic.

Coletta Wanjohi contributed to this article.

Kenya seeks to burnish security image

Kenya is trying to rebuild public confidence in its security forces after their belated response to the Garrisa massacre. Senior officials have been suspended and thousands of new police recruits are being vetted.

Deutsche Welle, 22 April 2015

Students took to the streets of Nairobi after the Garissa massacre to
complain about lax national security

The Kenyan government has announced that two civil servants and seven senior police officers have beensuspended and could face charges of criminal negligence in connection with the massacre at Garissa University College earlier this month.

Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said the officials appeared to have failed to have taken the necessary action ahead of the attack, despite intelligence warnings.

"Each will be held accountable for any acts of omission that endanger the lives and property of Kenyans," he said.

Kenya media claimed after the lethal attack that warnings were ignored and the university left virtually unguarded.

148 people were killed when al-Shabab militants targeted non-Muslim students on the campus on April 2.

Local media criticized Kenyan's
security forces for their slow reponse
to the Garissa attack

A seven hour delay between the time the authorities learned of the assault and the arrival of police commandos on the scene infuriated students who took to the streets of the capital Nairobi in protest a few days after the massacre.

Controversy surrounds the use of a special police plane to transport the family of a senior police official back from their holiday on the coast on the day of the attack.

Nkaissery insisted that the plane was in the coastal region anyway "on an official training mission and on its way back gave a lift to the family of the police air wing commander." He said this was authorized and did not affect the response to the massacre.

More police officers

Facing criticism over security in the immediate aftermath of the attack, President Kenyatta pledged to recruit more than 10,000 new police officers.

This followed an earlier drive to recruit 10,000 new police officers in July 2014 which was halted after a court ruling said that it contravened the constitution.

That ruling came in reponse to a petition lodged by Kenya's Independent Policing Oversight Authority which said the recruitment drive was tainted by corruption and should therefore be declared null and void.

The Garissa attack has made some
Kenyan students feel vulnerable

After the Garissa attack, Kenyatta overturned the 2014 court ruling. This prompted complaints from human rights organizations and others, whereupon the government launched a fresh recruitment drive.

Preliminary vetting of new police recruits has already begun. 500 applicants turned up at Nyayo National Stadium, south of Nairobi, on Tuesday (21.04.2015) where their educational qualfications were scrutinized.

That was just one hurdle the applicants had to take. A second was a physical fitness test which involved running 1,500 meters. Not all of the applicants passed. Marcy Juma complained of health problems after the physical exertion. "No, I'm not feeling good," she told DW's Nairobi correspondent James Shimanyula . Others like Cynthia Chemurusoi appeared to complete the course with ease. "I'm OK, I have done my best," she said.

Nigeria faces security challenge as it hosts World Economic Forum

Deutsche Welle, 5 May 2014

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls, a day after President Goodluck Jonathan ordered a three day shut down of the capital Abuja during the World Economic Conference.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau on Monday (05.05.2014) claimed the Islamist militant group was behind the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from northeastern Nigeria.

"I am the one that abducted them," the most wanted man in Nigeria said as part of a recorded message released to numerous media organizations. Shekau also warned that more attacks "will follow soon."

"I will sell them in the marketplace," Shekau said in a video recording.

The teenage girls were abducted on April 14 from a boarding school in the rural town of Chibok, near Borno state in northern Nigeria.

According to an intermediary, two of the girls have died of snakebite and about 20 of them are ill.

Boko Haram said it was behind
Abuja's deadly attack on May 1

He was also quoted by AFP as saying that Christians among the girls have been forced to convert to Islam.

Mustapha Gana, a father of one of the girls and a retired military officer told DW, parents and a local vigilante group had attempted a search for the girls. "It was not possible for us to get them because the insurgents are well armed," Gana said adding that they were willing to accompany the military into the bush.

"We the parents are ready to go along with them even if we would be killed."

Girls' protest leader arrested

Nigerian police on Monday detained Naomi Mutu, the woman behind the mass demonstrations dubbed "Bring Back Our Girls." Human rights activists told dpa news agency Naomi had been arrested in Chibok.

The arrest was reportedly ordered by First Lady Patience Jonathan, though as the president's wife she does not have a constitutional right to give such orders. Her office later denied there were any arrests.

President Jonathan's government is increasingly facing criticisms for failing to free the girls. Protests in major Nigerian cities have been held to show frustration with the country's security services.

Nigeria's police recently admitted more than 300 girls were abducted. Of that number, 276 remain in captivity and 53 were able to escape from their abductors.

Abuja shut down

In the face of the security threat, President Jonathan has ordered a complete lock down of the capital Abuja. However, he argued the measure was meant to decongest the city as it plays host to the World Economic Forum which begins on Wednesday (07.05.2014).

"We plead with Nigerians living in Abuja to understand with government because we believe that instead of keeping you for five six hours and you will not get to your destination better stay back at home," Jonathan said.

However, Tam Breme, a resident of Abuja told DW correspondent Ben Shemang, Jonathan's move was a result of increasing security challenges.

Nigeria's military has been criticized
for extra judicial killings

“If Abuja is being shut down for 3 days, I think the government is trying to consider reasonable period of time to look into the issue of protest.”

Despite the rising number of attacks in Abuja, the President told the nation in a televised "media chat" he believes the country is winning the war against Boko Haram Islamists.

More than 1,500 people have been killed as a result of the insurgency this year alone.

additional reporting by Ben Shemang in Abuja

African leaders meet in Paris as hundreds killed in Central African Republic

Deutsche Welle, 7 December 2013

The Red Cross has said hundreds of people have been killed in the Central African Republic. It comes after the UN authorized French troops to restore order and as African leaders meet in Paris to discuss the conflict.

France deployed around 1,000 troops on the ground in the Central African Republic capital Bangui on Friday, joining hundreds of soldiers from other neighboring countries patrolling the streets in a bid to ease tensions.

But violent clashes and massacres since Thursday between Muslim and Christian militias have continued, claiming at least 281 lives, according to the Red Cross, which said its toll came from counting bodies in morgues and collecting more from the streets.

The head of the Red Cross in the country, Pastor Antoine Mbao Bogo, said the toll was expected to rise significantly when staff resumed work on Saturday.

"Tomorrow is going to be a monster of a day. We're going to work tomorrow and I think we're going to need a fourth day too," he said.

Thousands of residents have gathered at Bangui airport, where both the French army and an African force have bases, in an effort to find refuge from the fighting. The French army says that same area was the scene of a clash on Thursday between armed men and French troops, in which several Central African Republic fighters were killed.

The Central African Republic has seen months of unrest and violence since Seleka rebels toppled former president Francois Bozize in March and installed their own chief, Michel Djotodia, as president - the first Muslim leader of the majority Christian country. The Muslim-led uprising has led to tit-for-tat sectarian violence with the nation's Christian majority.

Djotodia is accused of failing to keep his predominantly Muslim militia under control, allowing them to prey upon the Christian population.

The UN estimates that 400,000 people have been displaced in the fighting, with 68,000 fleeing to neighboring countries. The Central African Republic is rich in gold, diamonds and uranium but it's been mired in crisis from decades of instability and spillover from conflicts in its larger neighbors.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution allowing French and African Union troops to use force if necessary to stabilize the country. Included in the resolution was a mandate for 3,600 additional African troops and for France to double its current deployment in the country to 1,200.

France's military deployment marks its second major African operation this year, following its invention in Mali to oust al Qaeda-linked rebels from the country's unruly north.

Central Africa security summit in Paris

The fighting and intervention comes as French president Francois Hollande hosts 40 African leaders and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a meeting on conflict in Central Africa. A separate mini-summit will be held on the sidelines on the Central African Republic.

On Friday, Hollande said there was an urgent need for the continent to create its own regional security force.

"Africa must be the master of its own destiny and that means mastering its own security," Hollande said.

Guinean president Alpha Conde called for the creation of an African version of NATO, saying France should not be relied upon to intervene.

"We are grateful to France but it's not normal that it's forced to intervene to save us, like a fireman, 50 years after independence," Conde told the Paris conference.

"What's happening in Bangui, coming so soon after Mali, should make us all reflect and I hope here that we will ... give ourselves the means to resolve conflicts in Africa."

jr/ccp (AFP, Reuters, AP)

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Syria's Assad 'legalises' private security firms

Google – AFP, 6 Aug 2013

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with a

German newspaper in Damascus, on June 17, 2013 (SANA/AFP/File)

DAMASCUS — Syria's president has passed a decree legalising private security firms, faced with a 29-month armed revolt against his rule that has pinned down the police, state news agency SANA reported Tuesday.

President Bashar al-Assad's decree regulates "licencing for private companies that provide protection and guard duties ... to ensure the safety of individuals, establishments, property and the transport of cash, jewels and precious metals," said SANA.

One-year renewable licences are to be issued by the interior ministry, it said, but only to Syrian nationals with capital of more than $250,000.

"The interior minister will define the categories of arms to be used by each company, ranging from revolvers to rifles and others," said the agency.

The decree also stipulates that each company will be licenced to recruit between 300 and 800 guards.

A security source told AFP that guards will have to wear a uniform, while the decree will allow security companies to open offices and issue employees with hand arms.

"Security guards will be in charge of protecting prominent personalities and businesses, while securing the transport of money," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Before Syria's conflict broke out in mid-March 2011, "these tasks were mainly assigned to the police. But because of the situation, now the police has other tasks," he added.

Alongside the anti-Assad uprising, Syria has been plagued by a spike in crime, kidnappings and robberies.

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"2013 - A Difficult Year" – July 14, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version) - New

“… You Can See It In Your News

The final item is this: All around you, dear ones, is proof of what I'm telling you. You have two countries currently in turmoil at the moment, and a third one about to go. All three have been stable for a very long time. Who would have thought that Egypt would be part of this? Egypt seemed to be in balance for decades - or was it? Syria ruled itself with an iron hand and created a stability of power that was absolute. What would then cause these to erupt the way they did and at this time? If you take a look at why, and why now, you'll see the timing is all around 2013 and 2012. And it's around Human consciousness that is starting to be more transparent and saying, "We don't want what we now understand and see is continuing unbalance in our country. We see it never getting better, and now we want finality and we want resolution." That is what you're looking at.

It's ugly to look at this, for there is death, suffering, sorrow and turmoil. There is frustration, and the resolution of it all may take longer than you want it to. But someday you will look back and see the results clearly. Mass Human consciousness is starting to change and demand what it expects in the way of integrity. Governments often want the old ways of power, but their people want schools, hospitals, safe streets and parks, and peace with their neighbors.

So expect more of this, especially this year. The more turmoil you see, the more the puzzle is being worked with. So we close this message the way we started it. I know who you are, magnificent one. I sit at your feet in awe. Do not miss this point! Old souls have been here through all of the transitions of humanity. Do you understand that? Four times you came close to this shift you are today experiencing and four times you missed it. Four times you died in the process of trying. This time you didn't.

Do not miss this: There is something within your Akash, a "remembrance button", that is being pushed and plays an emotion that says, "We've felt this before and it didn't turn out well." Don't let this energy define you. It's the button of duality and fear that says things are always the way they are and they will repeat themselves because that's just the way life works. No it isn't! You are magnificent and you have the ability at this point to finally begin to see it, and to cast all the fears and the voices in the back seat of life and tell them you are in charge now and you are the one driving the car of your reality. That's the message of the day. ….”

A mobile app to combat armed robbery in Ghana

Deutsche Welle, 5 September 2012

Armed robbery in Ghanaian cities is on the increase. The capital city Accra tops the list. Now a software company has developed an SMS-triggered alert system to reduce the number of robberies in the country.

All that is required is a blank text message and the rest will be taken care of by a security system called "Hei Julor". In the local dialect "Hei Julor" means "Hey thief!"

It is a mobile phone based security system developed by leading Ghanaian software engineer Herman Chinery-Hesse and his company SOFTribe.

By sending a blank SMS to the server, a security team will be dispatched and up to ten friends and neighbors will be notified of the user's plight.

Chinery-Hesse's invention was launched a year ago. He was inspired by the increasing use of the Internet and mobile phones around the globe.

He was impressed by the way these tools played a role in the Arab Spring and he decided to make use of the technology to protect his countrymen against armed attacks and robberies.

A neighbor's keeper 

"Africa's Bill Gates" - Herman
Chinery-Hesse

"We are having armed robbery problems in our country. If they could coordinate in Egypt and suddenly get thousands of people to show up, this is in line with our culture," said Chinery-Hesse.

"In our culture everyone is a neighbor's keeper. If your neighbor is attacked and you know about it, the very least you can do is to shout"Hei Julor!" and the robbers will run away."

Herman Chinery-Hesse is known as Africa's Bill Gates. Putting the Hei Julor concept into practice was not a problem for him and his colleagues.

"We had all the tools we needed, so we sat down and thought what it would take to have a cheap product that everyone could afford," he told DW.

The service costs 10 cedis (4 euros / $5) per month.

A warning sticker

To subscribe to the service, customers must first buy a starter kit which provides them with a code. The code must be sent to the SOFTribe company via SMS. The customer then receives a phone call from the company for confirmation. 

A Hei Julor sticker serves as a
warning to potential robbers

In the starter kit, there is also a sticker that can be attached to a house or garden wall as a warning to potential burglars.

If someone does try to break into the house, the customer only needs to send a blank SMS to "Hei Julor" and the team will be on its way to help.

"We want to protect Ghana from becoming a rogue state full of crime," said Chinery-Hesse.

Some people have been saved through this service confirmed the company owner. One old man who suffered a stroke was taken to hospital after he sent a blank SMS to Hei Julor. He survived.

In another case, the wife of a Hei Julor customer contacted the company who rescued her from her intoxicated husband who was beating her up.

"When the team came, the drunkard started kicking and shouting. He said he was the one who has signed up and that he should be left alone. The neighbors came and it was quite embarrassing," Chinery-Hesse said.

"Unfortunately he unsubscribed. But that is OK if we lose him. His wife was safe, that's what's important."

A growing company 

The Hey Julor's call center facility is small with servers spread across the world. By using their laptops, workers are mobile and connected all the time.

Because of its automated character, the system can sometimes trigger false alarms. But the big advantage is that people who need the service receive a swift response.

"There is no human intervention in this system. It is background machines that carry out the messages. So once you trigger it, no one can stop it," Anthonio Tettey, the CEO of SOFTribe, told DW.

Since its launch a year ago, more than a thousand customers have subscribed to the service, and the number is on the increase, Tettey says.

"We just signed on security partners which have country-wide reach and I am sure in the next couple of weeks we will be able to roll out into other regions."

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Let's not forget the miners in DR Congo

RNW, Mélanie Gouby, Goma, 24 August 2012

(Photo: AFP)

Last week's tragedy at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in South Africa has drawn international attention on the deplorable working conditions of miners in that country. But was there any media coverage of the sixty people who died two weeks ago in a gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)? Barely. 

Stretching into the depths of the mountain, a tunnel, carved by hand, is supported by a wooden structure like that on a set of an old Western movie. It gets dark very quickly as we move heads down into the tunnel. It’s hard to tell if our shortness of breath comes from the slight but unavoidable claustrophobic anxiety or the actual lack of oxygen down the well.

“With time, we actually forget about the dangers, even though they are real,” says Bisima, a 33-year-old miner working at the Nyabibwe pit in eastern DRC. “Mine collapse remains the greatest danger,” he says.

While Lonmin's Marikana mine carnage in South Africa got an incredible amount of coverage last week, only two weeks ago, 60 people died following a mine collapse in Pangoyi, in Ituri Province. However, there were barely any reports about the incident.

No safety measures

In the DRC, no one protests for better living conditions. Between the constant conflicts and extreme poverty, a human life does not hold much value.

“People risk their lives. This is our daily reality here in the DRC. In Nyabibwe, no miner wears a protective helmet or gloves,” says Fidel Bafilemba, a researcher for the American NGO Enough Project in the DRC.

Conditions are no better in the Ituri gold mine. “When we descend into the wells, there are no safety measures. The mine can collapse at any moment. And we work very hard, even at night. Those are not conditions for human beings to work in,” complains Patrick, a 20-year-old miner from Mubi in the Walikale region.

Abundant resources

Although the DRC has mineral resources that would make any Western country pale with envy, it remains one of the world's least developed countries. The nation is Africa's leading tin exporter and the fifth one in the world. Congo's subsoil holds 80% of the world’s coltan reserves. The metal is used in the manufacture of almost all electronic devices. Gold and diamonds are also present in abundance.

But miners often dig using only pickaxes and shovels, without any motorised tools. A number of mines have virtually no infrastructure whatsoever because they are informal and don't belong to any large industrial corporation. The miners sell the minerals to traders who take them to the cities of Goma or Bukavu, where they are purchased in bulk by foreign companies.

Blood minerals

Although few human rights organisations tackle the issue of working conditions in Congolese mines, many nevertheless campaign against the use of the infamous “blood diamonds” which are believed to finance armed rebel groups in the eastern part of the country.

In 2010, a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including Enough Project and Global Witness, successfully lobbied the US Congress to pass a law on blood diamonds. However, with the enforcement of the law, the mineral trade in the DRC has almost come to a standstill. Instead of investing in a system of traceability that would guarantee the “cleanness” of the minerals they purchased, American companies simply withdrew from the DRC.

As a result, the sales of minerals like coltan and cassiterite has dropped by 90%, and the living and working conditions of the miners have deteriorated further.

“We feel forsaken. People say that this law will help our country and stop the war, but we don’t see any difference. In fact, things are even worse today: there is still insecurity and we have no income,” says Safari, a 50-year-old miner in Nyabibwe.

"Cleaning"

In the last two years, numerous projects to “clean” the Congolese mining sector and guarantee the origin of the minerals have been launched by the United Nations, the United States of America and the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region. But these efforts were stumped by the M23 rebellion.

The rebellion takes its name from a 2009 peace accord which the rebels say was violated by Kinshasa. They were joined by hundreds of defectors from the Congolese army who walked out into the bush in support of fugitive Congolese General Bosco Ntaganda, wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.

In Katanga, a province spared by the conflicts in southern DRC, a system of traceability has been put in place, allowing the trade of minerals to continue uninterrupted. However, working conditions in the Katanga mines have not improved.

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Shell spending millions of dollars on security in Nigeria, leaked data shows

Internal documents reveal oil company spent $383m over three years protecting staff and installations in Niger delta region

guardian.co.uk, Afua Hirsch and John Vidal, Sunday 19 August 2012

If it were a country Shell would have the third highest security budget
in Africa. Photograph: Adrian Arbib/Corbis

Shell is paying Nigerian security forces tens of millions of dollars a year to guard their installations and staff in the Niger delta, according to leaked internal financial data seen by the Guardian. The oil giant also maintains a 1,200-strong internal police force in Nigeria, plus a network of plainclothes informants.

According to the data, the world's largest company by revenue spent nearly $1bn on worldwide security between 2007-09: if it were a country Shell would have the third highest security budget in Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria itself.

The documents show that nearly 40% of Shell's total security expenditure over the three year period – $383m (£244m) – was spent on protecting its staff and installations in Nigeria's volatile Niger delta region. In 2009, $65m was spent on Nigerian government forces and $75m on "other" security costs – believed to be a mixture of private security firms and payments to individuals.

Activists expressed concern that the escalating cost of Shell's security operation in the delta was further destabilising the oil rich region and helping to fuel rampant corruption and criminality. "The scale of Shell's global security expenditure is colossal," said Ben Amunwa of London-based oil watchdog Platform. "It is staggering that Shell transferred $65m of company funds and resources into the hands of soldiers and police known for routine human rights abuses."

The financial documents, passed to Platform, suggest Shell's worldwide security costs almost doubled between 2007-2009, coinciding with the rise of armed insurgency in the Niger delta.

In 2008, 62 Shell employees or contractors were kidnapped and three killed, many Shell-operated pipelines, well heads and offshore oil platforms were attacked and the company was forced to halt oil exports for several weeks after attacks by groups including the Movement for the emancipation of the Niger delta.

Nearly a third of Shell's global security budget in 2008, or $99m, was spent on "third parties". This was double what the company spent on its own security staff and is believed to include the services of 600 Nigerian government police and 700 members of the controversial state "joint task force" (JTF) comprised of army, navy and police.

Shell denies having any direct control over JTF forces, amid numerous accusations of human rights abuses, including a large-scale military attack in 2009 which the US state department said led to the displacement and loss of livelihood of tens of thousands of residents.

But in the past Shell has supplied government forces with gunboats, helicopters, vehicles and satellite phones to better patrol the myriad creeks and waterways of the delta.

"This proves what we in the Niger delta have known for years – that the air force, the army, the police, they are paid for with Shell money and they are all at the disposal of the company for it to use it any how it likes," said Celestine Nkabari at the Niger delta campaign group Social Action.

According to Platform, a significant amount of Shell funding is channelled via senior military officials which provides "ample opportunities for corruption". US cables, released by WikiLeaks in 2010, alleged that the company paid hundreds of thousands of pounds towards the deployment of 350 soldiers in the delta in 2003.

But Shell International said that any allegations of corruption should be addressed to the Nigerian authorities, and that its spending is necessary to protect its staff and operations.

Although armed insurgency in the oil producing regions of the delta has declined since a 2009 amnesty, the company says it faces widespread criminality, organised crime and massive oil theft. It has stated that 15-20% of its output is stolen by international gangs.

"Protecting our people and our assets is Shell's highest priority," it said. "Our spending on security is carefully judged to meet this objective, wherever we operate in the world. We have always acknowledged the difficulties of working in countries like Nigeria. In the period that this report refers to, the armed militancy in the Niger delta was at its height, requiring a relatively high level of security spending there.

"All our staff and contractors are expected to adhere to the highest levels of personal and corporate ethics, as set out in our code of conduct. We support the Voluntary principles on security and human rights (VPSHR), and we recognise that these principles help maintain the safety and security of our operations in a manner consistent with upholding human rights. We also investigate grievances under the VPSHR."

The company declined to comment on whether worldwide costs for security were increasing because of the Arab spring. The company has recently left Syria and has interests throughout the Middle East.

But the scale of Shell's spending, revealed by the data for the first time, raises questions about the effectiveness of its security policies. "What is striking about the amount being spent in Nigeria is its ineffectiveness," said Amunwa. "Shell spent many millions of dollars each year on government forces who failed to provide the company with adequate security."

Nkabari said: "Shell cannot call this spending 'security'. If it was really providing security, then why do we continue to have vandalisation, why do we have bunkering [theft of oil], why do we have the security mess that we have in the Niger delta? They give protection to the oil workers but they are not providing the region with 'security'."

"These figures are alarming – it is a scandal that so much money is spent on security instead of on the local communities whose livelihoods are destroyed as a result of the oil exploitation," said Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo of Relufa, which campaigns for environmental justice in west Africa.

"Across Africa oil, mining and agro-industry companies regularly pay for the services of local security forces that have deplorable human rights records; sometimes as a contractual obligation," said Bamenjo. "This is an extremely unethical practice held over from the colonial era which must end immediately. Not only is it bad for local communities who are the primary victims of police and military predation, but as Shell well knows, it exposes foreign companies to lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions."

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