Month: May 2024

Juba, South Sudan — In a significant policy reversal, the government of South Sudan has responded to a U.N. appeal and reversed its decision to impose taxes and fees on humanitarian services and products.

However, Titus Osundina, the U.N. Development Program’s deputy resident representative for South Sudan, told VOA that questions remain because some private suppliers and companies that provide services to the U.N. may still be taxed. “We need to see how that clarifies,” Osundina said.

South Sudan’s finance minister explained in a press release that while U.N. humanitarian organizations and diplomatic missions are tax-exempt, companies contracted by the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) are not exempt because they are “profit-making entities” and are subject to taxes under the agreement the mission originally signed with South Sudan.

As South Sudan’s largest humanitarian agency, the United Nations conducts crucial air drops, feeding more than 16,300 people monthly, especially in regions grappling with food insecurity, conflict and natural disasters.  

With nearly half the country’s population facing acute food shortages and the looming threat of floods, the U.N. stressed that new taxes would have added $339,000 to the UNMISS monthly operational costs, affecting food and humanitarian assistance operations.  

No figures have been released about how much the new taxes will cost the U.N. contractors. 

Timo Olkkonen, who heads up the European Union delegation to South Sudan, one of the major international donors to the African country, said agencies need ample time and resources to prepare and deliver relief assistance.

“We encourage all the stakeholders to resolve this issue so that the fuel and other essential items will be coming here for the service of the South Sudanese, and so that the humanitarian community and the U.N. can continue with their lifesaving and peacekeeping work,” Olkkonen said.

The U.N.’s role in ensuring stability in South Sudan ahead of the upcoming national election in December highlights the urgency of resolving this issue promptly.

 
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YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Opposition candidates in Chad who lost the recent presidential election have filed paperwork challenging President Mahamat Idriss Deby’s victory. The legal challenge comes as the media there appeal a decision barring them from reporting on election-related violence. 

State television reported on Monday that the country’s Constitutional Council received a petition from opposition candidate Succes Masra, calling for results of the May 6 vote to be annulled. 

The central African state’s elections management body, or ANGE, declared Masra second with more than 18% of the votes cast. Deby, the transitional president, won more than 61% of the vote, exceeding the 50% mandate needed to avoid a runoff.  

Deby’s victory follows the death of his father, Idriss Deby, in 2021 and completes the country’s three-year transition from military to civilian rule. 

Masra and the Transformers party he leads allege massive electoral fraud, including the stuffing of ballot boxes and soldiers chasing opposition representatives from polling stations. 

Masra alleges that soldiers carried ballot boxes to military barracks, where government troops counted and declared results, instead of ANGE. The Transformers say scores of opposition officials and hundreds of Masra supporters were arrested and detained by government troops.  

Chad’s military government says Deby won the election and some opposition parties want to create chaos by not respecting the vote. Deby calls the allegations unfounded. 

Sitack Yombatina Beni, the Transformers’ vice president, spoke Monday with VOA via a messaging app from Chadian capital N’djamena. 

Beni said Masra has asked civilians to maintain peace and avoid reacting violently to ongoing provocations from Deby’s supporters. He said it is an open secret that rights and freedoms are abused in Chad, but that this time civilians, opposition and civil society are ready to fight back if the Constitutional Council fails to render justice and give back what he calls Masra’s stolen victory. 

Beni said peaceful demonstrations were held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in several areas, including N’djamena and Moundou, Chad’s second-largest city. 

Yacine Abdramane Sakine, another losing candidate, said he also filed a petition asking the Constitutional Council to order ANGE to do a public recount of the votes.   

Evarist Ngarlem Tolde, a political affairs lecturer and researcher at the University of N’djamena in Chad, said the fact that Chad’s military leaders ordered government troops to undemocratically vote for Deby is an indication they are not ready to lose their grip on power.

He added that it is surprising that Chad’s elections management body published provisional results at 8 p.m. May 9 after it had announced at 2 p.m. that it was very difficult for the body to assemble result sheets from more than 26,000 polling stations. 

Tolde said it will be very difficult for the Constitutional Council to cancel provisional results of the May 6 presidential elections declared by ANGE. Both institutions were formed by Deby. 

ANGE says it is independent and that the results published are free, transparent, and credible, reflecting the verdict of the ballot.  

Civil society and opposition groups say the troops deployed after the May 9 publication of partial results are still intimidating and arresting civilians, especially in N’djamena. They say the death toll from shooting since May 9 has increased to 30. 

On Monday, Chad’s journalism union condemned a government order that stops the news media from reporting on post-election tensions and violence and orders news organizations to desist from giving casualty figures. 

The Constitutional Council has until May 21 to rule on the petitions and proclaim definitive results. But Chad’s transitional officials report that Deby already has been congratulated by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, Guinea Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Kenyan President William Ruto. 
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The South African government is hoping to strengthen protections for whistleblowers who report on corruption in business and government. Proponents say it’s not only about making whistleblowers feel comfortable coming forward, but also about protecting them from retaliation. VOA’s Ihsaan Haffejee reports
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Rescue teams in South Africa forged ahead Monday with efforts to find any survivors still trapped under rubble a week after an apartment building that was under construction collapsed.

Their hopes were boosted over the weekend when one of the construction workers was found alive after six days without food and water.

Authorities said 24 construction workers who were on the site when the unfinished five-story building came down have been confirmed dead, while another 28 are missing, raising the possibility that the death toll could ultimately be above 50.

More than 600 emergency services and other personnel have been involved in the search for survivors in the wreckage of the building in the city of George on South Africa’s south coast, which collapsed last Monday.

There were 81 workers on the site when it collapsed, and 29 have been pulled out alive, the city said. It said 13 of them remained in a hospital without giving details of their condition. The city has previously said that many of the survivors were in critical condition when they were found.

The disaster management team overseeing the emergency response maintained that the operation was still rescue rather than recovery, pointing to the survivor pulled out on Saturday.

The man, who was identified as 32-year-old Gabriel Guambe, was in stable condition in the hospital and “remarkably sustained only minor injuries,” the city said. Guambe was trapped in the rubble for 118 hours, it said.

His survival underlined rescuers’ hopes that there may be more people alive in what they called voids in the ruins of the building — areas where there are gaps between the concrete that might have allowed some workers to survive the collapse.

Rescue teams have been using cranes and other heavy machinery to move some of the thousands of tons of concrete in an attempt to reach deeper into the wreckage. Sniffer dogs were also being used and one was responsible for locating Guambe.

Many of the workers were foreign nationals from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi and authorities were calling for translators to help communicate with survivors. They also said it was making the identification of victims difficult.

Multiple investigations into the cause of the building collapse were underway, including by police, who declared the site a crime scene. The construction company responsible is being investigated to see if it followed proper safety protocols.

People began leaving flowers around the edge of the site as a mark of respect for the victims, while the city and the disaster response team issued a joint statement asking South Africans to observe a moment of silence at 2.09 p.m. on Monday, the exact time the building collapsed last week.
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With Chad recently confirming Mahamat Déby as civilian president after a long-delayed election, Western powers are watching to see what role, if any, they will play in countering terror threats in the Sahel region. Henry Wilkins has more on the election, which follows a series of military coups in the region.
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LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s fashion and traditional dances were at full display on Sunday as Prince Harry and Meghan arrived in its largest city, Lagos, as part of their three-day visit to the country to promote mental health for soldiers and empower young people.

The couple, invited to the West African nation by its military, were treated to different bouts of dancing, starting from the Lagos airport where a troupe’s acrobatic moves left both applauding and grinning. One of the dancers, who looked younger than 5 years old, exchanged salutes with Harry from high up in the air, standing on firm shoulders.

Going with Meghan’s white top was the traditional Nigerian aso oke, a patterned handwoven fabric wrapped around the waist and often reserved for special occasions. It was a gift from a group of women a day earlier.

The couple visited a local charity – Giants of Africa — which uses basketball to empower young people. There, they were treated to another round of dancing before unveiling a partnership between the organization and their Archewell Foundation.

“What you guys are doing here at Giants of Africa is truly amazing,” Harry said of the group. “The power of sport can change lives. It brings people together and creates community and there are no barriers, which is the most important thing.”

Masai Ujiri, the charity’s president and an ex-NBA star, wished Meghan a happy Mother’s Day and acknowledged how hard it can be “for us to be away from our kids and family to make things like this happen.”

“To do so shows dedication (and) we truly appreciate it,” he told the couple.

Meghan and Harry later attended a fundraiser for Nigeria’s soldiers wounded in the country’s fight against Islamic extremists and other armed groups in the country’s conflict-battered north. The event was related to Harry’s Invictus Games, which Nigeria is seeking to host in the future.

The couple were also hosted at the Lagos State Government House, where Meghan received another handwoven Nigerian fabric.

“We’ve extended an additional invitation to them that they can always come back when they want to,” Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu told reporters.
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