Mozambique govt, opposition Renamo sign historic peace pact

Yahoo – AFP, Joaquim Nhamirre, 1 August 2019

Mozambique President Felipe Jacinto Nyusi signed a deal with opposition
Renamo to end hostilities (AFP Photo/THIERRY CHARLIER)

Maputo (AFP) - Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo opposition leader Ossufo Momade on Thursday signed a landmark agreement aimed at formally ending decades of military hostilities, state TV said.

The signing took place in the Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique, nearly 27 years after the end of the southern African country's first civil war.

The two leaders hugged after penning the deal on a mounted stage in Gorongosa where a white tablecloth carried the inscription "Peace: Final agreement on cessation of hostilities", according to live broadcasts of the ceremony.

Thursday's agreement brought an end to a long peace negotiation process initiated by Renamo's historic leader, Afonso Dhlakama, who died in May last year, and comes just months before general elections in October.

"We want to assure our people and the world that we have buried the mindset of using violence as a way of resolving our differences," Momade, the new Renamo leader who succeeded Dhlakama, said.

Nyusi said "this agreement opens a new era in the history of our country in which no Mozambican should use weapons to resolve conflicts."

"The act we have just witnessed shows our commitment to permanent and lasting peace," Nyusi said. "Today, August 1, a new child was born."

Brutal civil war

Soon after Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975, Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against the Frelimo government, a conflict that left one million people dead before the fighting stopped in 1992.

The rebel movement then entered politics after a 1992 peace pact which was signed in Rome, paving the way for multi-party elections in 1994.

Renamo (the Mozambican National Resistance Movement) lost that vote and subsequent elections and became the official opposition party.

In October 2013 Renamo declared the end of the 1992 peace deal after the military raided its bush camp in central Sathundjira.

Fresh clashes then erupted again between government forces and Renamo soldiers from 2013 to 2016.

Former Mozambican rebel movement "Renamo" will hand over their weapons 

as part of the peace deal (AFP Photo/Jinty Jackson)

Since 2016, the government and Renamo have been in talks, which continued after Dhlakama died from a suspected heart attack.

Despite the end of the civil war and the group transforming into a political party, it retained an armed wing.

On Tuesday Renamo began disarming armed members as part of the peace deal.

Some of the demobilised fighters will be absorbed into the country's army and police, while others will be re-integrated into civilian life.

More than 5,200 Renamo fighters are to expected to surrender their weapons to the government.

The signing of the peace deal comes just months before general elections scheduled for October 15 in the former Portuguese colony, at a time Renamo itself is facing internal divisions.

It also comes as Nyusi's administration is battling a jihadist insurgency in the north, which has claimed more than 250 lives since October 2017, and ahead of the visit to the impoverished country by Pope Francis in September.

'Critical next few days'

Analysts warned that the coming days will be a crucial test of whether the agreement will hold before a final and main agreement scheduled to be signed in Maputo next Tuesday.

Local media reported that unknown gunmen on Wednesday attacked a truck and a bus along the main north-south highway - just hours after Nyusi announced he was going to sign the cessation of hostilities agreement with Renamo.

A small group of disgruntled Renamo members, who have refused to recognise Momade as party chief, last week warned the government against continued negotiations with the new leader.

"Today’s final cessation of hostilities ceremony in Gorongosa is an important stepping stone for peaceful settlement," said Chatham House's research director Alex Vines.

"The next few days are critical as there have been some reports of hostile action in central Mozambique by some disgruntled RENAMO militia," Vines said.

University of South Africa's international law professor emeritus Andre Thomashausen was less optimistic of what he termed an "elitist" agreement.

"This is the fourth demobilisation agreement with Renamo and it is bound to fail just like the preceding three agreements"

"As in the previous cases the arrangements do not offer any attractive outlook for the simple Renamo guerrilla force which remains in part, unstructured and autonomous."

He suggested that the latest agreement provided "retirement comforts" the ageing Renamo leader and "his group of similarly tired generals and commanders, but it offers nothing," to the thousands of fighters being demobilised.

Mauritania releases jailed 'blasphemy' blogger

France24 - AFP, 30 July 2019

A November 2017 decision by a Mauritanian appeals court to lessen Mkheitir's
sentence to a two-year jail term sparked protests in the conservative nation (AFP)

Nouakchott (AFP) - Mauritania has released a blogger who drew international attention after being accused of blasphemy, his lawyer and the campaign group RSF said Tuesday.

Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkheitir, 36, had been initially sentenced to death but was then given a jail term on appeal.

He remained in detention despite having already served the sentence -- a situation that sparked a chorus of protest from rights groups.

"(He) was released yesterday from the place where he was under house arrest... (but) is not completely free in his movements," his attorney Fatimata Mbaye told AFP.

Mkheitir "is no longer in Nouakchott," the Mauritanian capital, Mbaye said, without giving further details.

His release came in the final days of the presidency of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who had previously argued that to free Mkheitir would endanger the blogger as well as the public.

Mkheitir was sentenced to death for blasphemy in December 2014 after he wrote a blog that challenged decisions taken by the Prophet Mohammed and his companions during holy wars in the seventh century.

He repented after being given that sentence, prompting an appeal court on November 2017 to downgrade the punishment to a two-year jail term -- a decision that sparked protests in the conservative Saharan nation.

His lawyers said he should have been released immediately, having already spent four years behind bars, but remained confined.

On June 20, Abdel Aziz, defended Mkheitir's continued detention, saying it was justified by "his personal security as well as the country's."

"We know that from the point of the view of the law, he should be freed, but for security reasons, we cannot place the life of more than four million Mauritanians at risk," he said.

In an open letter published the following day, 10 rights groups, including the media watchdog Reporters without Borders, called on Abdel Aziz to use his final weeks in office to end the "illegal detention".

Abdel Aziz and religious leaders then launched a process of "preparing national opinion" for Mkheitir's release, under which he formally repented again, on social media.

On Thursday, Abdel Aziz hands over the presidency to Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, a former general and close ally, after serving a maximum two terms in office.

Ghazouani won presidential elections on June 22 with 52 percent of the vote, according to official figures disputed by the opposition.

Kenya launches Africa's biggest wind farm

Yahoo – AFP, Nick Perry, July 19, 2019

The $680-million wind power project is delivering 310 megawatts of renewable
power to Kenya's national grid (AFP Photo/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)

Lake Turkana (Kenya) (AFP) - Kenya on Friday formally launched Africa's biggest wind power plant, a mammoth project in a gusty stretch of wilderness that already provides nearly a fifth of the country's energy needs.

The $680-million (600 million euro) scheme, a sprawling 365-turbine wind farm on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana, is delivering 310 megawatts of renewable power to the national grid of East Africa's most dynamic economy.

The largest private investment in Kenya's history, the Lake Turkana Wind Power project was beset with delays and took nearly a decade to rise from the arid landscape 600 kilometres (372 miles) north of Nairobi.

The turbines, scattered across Turkana's stark lunar landscape and rocky hills, began to deliver their first electricity last September.

Today, their giant blades deliver 15 percent of Kenya's entire installed capacity, connected to the national grid through a 428-kilometre power line.

"Today, we again raise the bar for the continent as we unveil the single largest wind farm," said President Uhuru Kenyatta, after touring the project.

"Kenya is without a doubt on course to become a world leader in renewable energy."

Turkana Corridor

The project lies in a natural corridor dubbed "the windiest place on earth" and promises to harness this endless power at low cost.

The nearly-50 metre turbines were engineered to handle the fierce gusts that tear through the "Turkana Corridor", a wind tunnel that generates optimal conditions, year round.

The winds howling near constantly through the barren valley deliver double the load capacity enjoyed by similar projects in America and Europe.

"It is unprecedented. This is one of the most consistently windiest places in the world," said Rizwan Fazal, the executive director of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project.

A Herculean effort was needed to construct the behemoth wind farm in Kenya's farthest extremes.

The windmills, manufactured by Danish company Vestas, had to be brought one-by-one overland from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, some 1,200 kilometres away.

The sprawling 365-turbine wind farm is on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana

(AFP Photo/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)

Each one was customised so its different segments could be packed "like Russian dolls", the company said

More than 2,000 trips were needed to bring all the materials from port to plant.

Some 200 kilometres of road leading to the site had to be tarred to allow trucks through.

Another 100 kilometres of internal roads linking the turbines dotting the hot, desert horizons were also constructed.

'Incredible journey'

The project, far more ambitious in scale than rivals elsewhere on the continent, has been closely watched as a case study of investing in renewables in Africa, where demand for energy is soaring as economies grow and populations swell.

In Kenya -- which relies heavily on hydropower and geothermal -- power is unreliable and costly, hindering business as energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing look to take off.

Kenyatta has previously committed to 100 percent renewable energy for Kenya by 2020 -- a pledge the government has been accused of betraying with plans to build a coal-fired power plant off the coast in Lamu.

That project -- deemed unnecessary by experts -- has been stalled by legal challenges.

The Turkana wind farm involved years of planning and construction but the turbines went up quicker than one a day, with the last raised in March 2017, ahead of schedule.

But difficulties in financing the transmission line, being laid by state-owned power company Ketraco, and problems acquiring land, meant this landmark project didn't connect to the grid for another 18 months -- in September 2018.

"The farm was built on time. But the project can only operate if you can bring power to the client," said Catherine Collin, East Africa head of the European Investment Bank.

The EU's lending facility loaned $200 million for the project, which received other finance from a consortium of European and African companies

"There was a delay, there was a few difficult moments, I have to say, for everybody, but in the end we all made it," Collin said.

Fazal said it had been "an incredible journey" but more than anything it let the world know Kenya's untapped clean energy markets were open for business.

"It sends a very strong signal about Kenya being ripe for projects," he said.

African leaders launch 'historic' free trade deal

Yahoo – AFP, Emmanuel AKINWOTU and Patrick FORT, July 7, 2019

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signs onto the landmark African trade
deal at the AU summit in Niamey (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Niamey (AFP) - African nations officially launched a landmark trade agreement at the African Union summit in Niger on Sunday, with the long sought-after agreement hailed as a historic step towards "peace and prosperity" across the continent.

After 17 years of tough negotiations, the AU launched the "operational phase" of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in what AU commission chairman Moussa Faki had described as a "historic" moment.

"An old dream is coming true, the founding fathers must be proud," said Faki, adding that AfCFTA would create "the greatest trading area in the world".

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou hailed it as "the greatest historical event for the African continent since the creation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963," referring to the AU's predecessor.

AU officials announced the launch of the five "operational instruments" of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Nations agreed to shared "rules of origin, the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers, a unified digital payments system and an African trade observatory dashboard", the AU commission announced.

The agreement was given a boost when the presidents of Nigeria and Benin signed on to rapturous applause on Sunday morning at the two-day summit in Niger's capital Niamey.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou hailed the deal as "the greatest historical 

event for the African continent since the creation of the Organisation of African Unity 

in 1963" (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

With Nigeria and Benin on board, 54 of the 55 AU member countries have now signed onto the deal, with holdout Eritrea announcing it will consider joining the pact.

Around 4,500 delegates and guests -- including 32 heads of state and more than 100 ministers -- attended the AU summit in Niamey, which has been revamped and boasts a brand-new airport, upgraded roads, and new hotels for the occasion.

'Game changer for Africa'

The agreement was formalised at the end of April when the agreement crossed the launch threshold, which required ratification by at least 22 countries.

The zone will be operational from July 1st 2020, giving countries time to adapt to the agreed changes, Issoufou said.

Malawi's director of trade, Christina Chatima, told AFP the trade agreement as a "game changer for Africa."

"Most of us export with Europe and the US. It's about time we started trading more with each other," she said.

However despite the launch, there are still key issues leaders have yet to resolve.

Leaders could not agree on a common criteria for rules of origin for some sectors.

The trade deal signed at the African Union Summit in Niger took years to negotiate 

(AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

"An agreement has not yet been reached on some of these issues," Chatima said. "On textiles, even the automotive sector. The AU secretariat is meant to come up with proposals on how we can agree," she added.

The AfCFTA commits the majority of countries to 90 percent tariff cuts within a five year period -- reducing barriers to trade on the continent.

Countries on a United Nations list of 'Least Developed Countries' will have 10 years to cut tariffs, whilst a group of six countries -- including Niger and Malawi -- will have at least 15 years, Chatima said.

Amaka Anku, Africa analyst at Eurasia group, described the deal as a positive step but said implementing the AfCFTA was still "a long way from taking off", with concerns on how many of the new regulatory agencies for the trade agreement would be funded.

The AU estimates that the deal will lead to a 60-percent boost in intra-African trade by 2022.

At the moment, African countries trade only about 16 percent of their goods and services among one another, compared to 65 percent with European countries.

Security on the continent

Also on the summit agenda is security -- an issue afflicting the Sahel in particular.

Summit host Niger has faced constant attacks by jihadist groups.

Security in Niamey was tight for the summit (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Its fellow members in the G5-Sahel security pact -- Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania -- will seek backing at the AU summit to push for a greater UN security force to address the terror threat.

The countries hope to activate Chapter VII of the UN Charter, a Nigerien security source told AFP. The chapter allows for the UN Security Council to determine a threat to peace and propose measures, including military deployment, to deal with it.

"No prosperity, no integration is possible without peace," said Faki, who stressed the importance of an AU Peace Fund launched in 2018 to finance security activities and called on member states to fulfil their financial promises.

So far, only $116 million has been received for the envisaged $400-million fund.

The leaders are also set to discuss boosting intelligence cooperation and the global migration crisis.

Togo ruling party triumphs at first local polls in 30 years

Yahoo – AFP, July 6, 2019

Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe has ruled the country for 15 years since taking
over from his father (AFP Photo/Michele Spatari)

Lome (AFP) - Togo's ruling party has cruised to victory at the first local elections in 32 years in the West African nation that has been dominated by one family for decades, results said.

Voters in the country of 8 million people cast their ballots on Sunday at a poll Western powers described as an "important step in strengthening local democracy".

Some opposition parties took part after boycotting parliamentary elections last year in protest at President Faure Gnassingbe's grip on power.

Gnassingbe has ruled the country for 15 years since he succeeded his father Eyadema Gnassingbe, who led the country with an iron first for 38 years after taking over in a coup.

Parliament in May approved a constitutional change allowing Gnassingbe to run two more times and potentially remain in office until 2030.

Preliminary results released late Friday by the electoral commission gave the ruling Union for the Republic 895 of the 1490 local council seats on offer.

The National Alliance for Change was second on 134 seats, ahead of two other opposition groupings.

Overall turnout was put at just over 52 percent but participation was low in the capital Lome. The vote was not held in three areas of the country due to "technical reasons".

The election came almost two years after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Lome and other cities in anti-government protests, leading to deadly clashes.

Protests again erupted earlier this year in Togo, sandwiched between Ghana and Benin, but have since waned.

Political activists have been detained by security forces and the police.

The previous councillors elected in local elections in Togo governed for 14 years from 1987 -- despite being elected on five-year terms.

Councillors were later replaced with "special delegations", tasked with organising new elections, whose positions were often filled with figures hand-picked by the government.

Botswana High Court decriminalises homosexuality

Yahoo – AFP, June 11, 2019

Botswana's 1965 penal code makes homosexuality punishable by up to
seven years in jail (AFP Photo/GREGOR FISCHER)

Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana's High Court, in a highly-anticipated verdict, on Tuesday ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality, which is outlawed under the country's 1965 penal code.

Judge Michael Elburu "set aside" the "provisions of a Victorian era" and ordered the laws be amended.

In a courtroom packed with activists, the judge emphasised that the current laws oppressed a minority of the population.

"There’s nothing reasonable in discriminating," he said.

"We say the time has come that private, same sexuality must be decriminalized."

"It is a variety of human sexuality," he said.

The High Court had been petitioned by an anonymous person, identified only by initials LM for security reasons.

The individual challenged two sections of the penal code under which offenders face a jail sentence of up to seven years.

In March, the court postponed a ruling on the issue, sparking fears that the much-awaited decision could be delayed indefinitely.

But on Tuesday, Judge Elburu stressed that the country's highest judicial body took the matter deeply seriously.

"Sexual orientation is human, it's not a question of fashion," he said. "The question of private morality should not be the concerns of the law."

Last month, Kenya's High Court upheld laws against same-sex relations, dealing a blow to activists campaigning to roll back anti-gay laws and stigma in Africa.

Before Tuesday's ruling, 28 out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa had laws penalising same-sex relationships, according to Neela Ghoshal, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) specialist in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.

The death penalty is on the books, under sharia, in Mauritania, Sudan and northern Nigeria, although there have been no known executions in recent times.

In southern Somalia, gay men are believed to have been put to death in territory ruled by the Al Shabaab jihadist group.

However, Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles have scrapped anti-gay laws in recent years.

Rights groups say many laws punishing homosexuality date from the colonial area.

They represent a peril even in countries where they are not implemented, according to campaigners, as their existence on the statute books entrenches discrimination and encourages harassment.

Huawei turns to Africa to offset US blacklist

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre Donadieu and AFP's African bureaus, June 9, 2019

Chinese tech giant Huawei, now in the middle of US-Chinese tensions, has
looked to bolster its ties in Africa (AFP Photo/Pau Barrena)

Paris (AFP) - As the US leads a drive for the West to shun Huawei over security fears, the Chinese tech giant has sought to strengthen its position in Africa, where it is already well-established.

Huawei has taken a leading role in developing next-generation 5G mobile phone networks around the world.

But it has been in turmoil since Washington charged its equipment could serve as a Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence services.

The world's second smartphone marker fiercely denies the allegations, but the US has urged countries to avoid it and several companies have distanced themselves.

They include Google, whose Android operating system runs most smartphones.

And as Washington and Beijing duke it out in an escalating trade war, nations around the world are faced with the dilemma of having to choose a side between the world's two top economies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in on Friday, slamming Washington's attempt to "unceremoniously push" Huawei out of the global market. Earlier in the week, Russia's MTS telecoms giant signed a deal with Huawei to develop a 5G network in the country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, a guest of Putin at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg, said China was "ready to share technological inventions with all partners, in particular 5G technology".

But will the escalating fight lead to African nations having to choose between China -- the continent's top trade partner -- and the US?

"For African countries this trade war may end up a binary choice. It will be very difficult for Africa to just ignore" it, said Aly-Khan Satchu, an independent economic analyst based in Nairobi.

'Very aggressive strategy'

Huawei, now a major factor in US-Chinese tensions, has looked to strengthen its ties in Africa, last week signing an agreement to reinforce its cooperation with the African Union.

"This was a way to show that Huawei is still present in Africa and that they want to remain a major player by positioning themselves in this very important growth sector," said Ruben Nizard, an economist and Sub-Saharan Africa specialist at the French financial services firm Coface.

The deal comes after the French newspaper Le Monde reported in 2018 that China had spied on the AU's headquarters in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, citing sources inside the organisation.

The report said the spying began in 2012 after the completion of the AU's new headquarters that was financed by China, and was only noticed when technicians discovered data on the building's servers was being sent to Shanghai.

Both China and the AU reject the allegations.

Huawei has established itself across Africa since launching in Kenya in 1998, and now operates in 40 countries, providing 4G networks to more than half of the continent.

It will also showcase 5G -- the next-generation mobile phone network that will transmit data at far greater speeds -- in Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held from June 21 to July 19.

"Africa is a market Huawei had identified and which they conquered thanks to a very aggressive strategy based on cheap financing and speed of execution," Satchu told AFP.

"The fact that Huawei has equipped the AU says it all," he added.

'Big Brother Beijing'

Huawei's presence in Africa goes far beyond selling smartphones and building mobile networks.

In South Africa, it provides training at the country's top universities, this year launching a specialised course on 5G.

Kenya's government signed a 17.5-billion-shilling ($172 million) deal with Huawei in April to build a data centre and "smart city" services.

The Chinese giant also offers a "safe city" surveillance programme.

This initiative, according to the firm's website, "can prevent crimes targeted towards the normal citizen, tourists, students, elderly persons etc before they occur".

It has been deployed in Kenya's capital Nairobi as well as Mauritius, with 4,000 "smart" surveillance video cameras set up at 2,000 sites across the Indian Ocean island nation.

Some media outlets in Mauritius have condemned the system as "digital dictatorship" from "Big Brother Beijing".

But Ghanaian Security Ministry Albert Kan-Dapaah, for one, says Huawei's video surveillance technology helps catch criminals.

"When a crime has been committed, thanks to the cameras, we work magic," Kan-Dapaah says in a promotional video for the Chinese firm.

Huawei Marine, the company's submarine cable arm, is helping to deploy a key 12,000-kilometre (7,450-mile) cable system connecting Africa to Asia.

With Huawei so deeply embedded in Africa, the continent may find it difficult to avoid becoming a collateral victim of the US-China bust-up.

"Africa is caught in the middle of a trade war that they should not have to take part in, because they have nothing to gain," said Nizard.

Ethiopian churches oppose gay travel company's tour plans

Yahoo – AFP, 3 June 2019

Anti-gay: Ethiopia is one of the majority of countries in Africa where same-sex
relations are illegal

Ethiopia's religious leaders on Monday urged the government to block a US gay travel company from touring the country's ancient sites, and one group warned visiting homosexuals could face violence.

The Chicago-based business, Toto Tours, which describes itself on its website as "the only gay tour company in existence", told AFP it has received death threats since announcing a 16-day trip to Ethiopia, which includes numerous historical religious sites.

Their itinerary has sparked ire in Ethiopia, which like many in Africa is deeply homophobic and has strict anti-gay laws, punishing homosexual acts with up to 15 years in prison.

"Tour programmes and dating programmes that try to use our historical sites and heritage should be immediately stopped by the Ethiopian government and we urge Ethiopians supporting these sinful and evil acts to desist from their acts," Tagay Tadele of the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia told journalists.

The council counts seven Islamic and Christian denominations as members.

An influential Ethiopian Orthodox organisation, the Sileste Mihret United Association, also held a press conference Monday to condemn the tour company.

"Homosexuality is hated as well as being illegal in Ethiopia. Toto Tours are wrong to plan to conduct tours in our religious and historical places," the organisation's vice chairman, Dereje Negash, told AFP.

"If Toto Tours comes to Ethiopia where 97 percent of Ethiopians surveyed oppose homosexuality, they will be damaged, they could even die," he said.

Dan Ware, the president of Toto Tours, said the company had been "terribly misunderstood", in an email to AFP.

Map of sub-Saharan Africa showing the 28 countries with anti-homosexuality 

laws, according to Human Rights Watch

"Our company is not aimed at spreading values contrary to local cultures when we travel around the world. We are simply an organization where like-minded people can travel comfortably together to experience the world's most precious wonders.

"We come with only the greatest respect and humility."

He said the tour had been advertised on the company's social media pages and spotted within Ethiopia, leading to "death threats", and called for protection for the tour group from both the US State Department and the Ethiopian tourism ministry.

"This is terrible discrimination, and when the word of this spreads internationally, as it is most likely to do, it will have a negative impact on the important tourism industry in Ethiopia."

He said that by the time the tour takes place in October "the eyes of the entire world will be on the people of Ethiopia to see what happens to us."

Twenty-eight out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have laws penalising same-sex relationships, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Some countries, like Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles, have moved to scrap anti-gay laws.

However Kenya's high court earlier this month refused to do so, in a major blow to gay activists on the continent.

Anti-gay: Ethiopia is one of the majority of countries in Africa where same-sex relations are illegal

Map of sub-Saharan Africa showing the 28 countries with anti-homosexuality laws, according to Human Rights Watch.

Tanzania latest African nation to ban plastic bags

France24 – AFP, 31 May 2019

More than 30 African countries have banned plastic bans as a way to tackle
plastic waste due to its non-biodegrable nature AFP

Nairobi (AFP) - A plastic bag ban comes into force in Tanzania on Saturday, as Africa leads efforts to stem the tide of plastic blighting the farthest reaches of the globe, and depths of the ocean.

Tanzania is banning the importation, production, sale and use of plastic bags, becoming the 34th African country to implement such restrictions, according to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).

"Let me be clear on this, once it reaches June 1, the government is not planning to add any more days and we will not tolerate anyone who will be caught using them. No plastic bag will be allowed in the country," Tanzania's vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan said when announcing the move in April.

Tanzania -- whose wildlife is a popular tourist draw -- has also issued a notice to travellers that they will have to "surrender" plastic bags in their possession before entering the country.

"The government expects that, in appreciation of the imperative to protect the environment and keep our country clean and beautiful, our visitors will accept minor inconveniences resulting from the plastic bags ban," said the statement.

According to local media, anyone caught manufacturing or importing plastic bags and plastic wrappings could get a fine of one billion Tanzanian shillings ($430,000, 390,000 euros) or face imprisonment for up to two years.

Possession and usage can lead to a fine of $87 or imprisonment for seven days, or both.

Degrees of success

Globally, 127 countries have some sort of plastic bag legislation, 91 of which include a ban or restriction on manufacturing, importation and retail distribution, according to UNEP.

Africa has 34 of these countries, followed by Europe with 29.

Patrick Mwesigye, UNEP's regional co-ordinator for resource efficiency told AFP that the degree of success of the bans varied in Africa.

Rwanda's plastic bag ban has been in place for over a decade and is considered one of the most successful.

"But Rwanda had an advantage that there wasn't much manufacturing of plastics," in the country when the ban was implemented, said Mwesigye.

Countries with manufacturing and import industries, where jobs are impacted by bans, have struggled more to enforce them.

"In Kenya... it has been very effective. Still you have some plastic smuggled from neighbouring countries" like Uganda, he said.

Kenya's 2017 plastic ban imposed particularly harsh laws, with fines of up to $38,000 (32,000 euros) and four-year prison sentences.

However in reality, while there have been waves of arrests, fines and jail terms have been far less than proscribed.

Mwesigye said some countries put bans in place before ensuring there were suitable alternatives in place, while monitoring and practical enforcement were also a challenge.

Scourge of single-use plastics

Joyce Msuya, UNEP's Acting Executive Director, praised Tanzania for joining the nations implementing the ban.

"It is critical that bans now be complemented by efforts to identify effective alternatives to single-use plastics...".

The world currently produces more than 300 million tonnes of plastics annually, and there are at least five trillion plastic pieces floating in oceans, scientists have estimated.

Most of the items polluting oceans and landscapes and causing horrendous deaths for the creatures that live there, are made to be used once and thrown away, such as bags, straws and food packaging.

In March nations failed to agree to a timetable to phase out all single-use plastics, opting instead to "significantly reduce" their production.

Neither the United States, Canada or Australia have national plastic bag regulations -- although some American states like Hawaii or California have implemented bans.

The European Union in March voted to ban a dozen forms of single-use plastics from 2021.