11 April 2023
Kenya: In the face of unpaid March salaries and threats of industrial action, president Ruto says no loans will be taken out to pay the salaries. Ruto’s chief economic advisor says all will be paid by end of April. Will the unions be patient enough for that?
10 April 2023
Mozambique: Two years after the Palma invasion, the Cabo Delgado insurgency has not yet been defeated, but the necessary has been done for global investors to come back, first of all TotalEnergies which has restarted construction. If 2,800 Rwandan and 1,900 SADC troops have provided precious support for Mozambican security forces (soon to be joined by 300 Tanzanian soldiers), it is Europe more than anybody who will profit from the country’s gas production. Coordination between the different forces is lacking. Replacing foreign by Mozambican troops will take time – the training of 1,500 Mozambican soldiers by a European Union Training Mission is only expected to finish in September 2024. For the time being, Rwandan and SADC troops are financed by the European Peace Facility fund – that and EUTM means that “Mozambique is the EU’s biggest Peace Facility fund spend outside Ukraine.” With all this European money spent, 850,000 remain internally displaced even after the return of 350,000 to their villages (under “dire” conditions despite assistance of close to 100 humanitarian organisations). The article suggests that the AU “and its Peace and Security Council (…) help develop a regional force and stabilisation strategy that goes beyond military approaches”.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/cabo-delgado-two-years-since-the-palma-invasion
Ethiopia: To further “promote national unity”, Addis wants to dissolve the regional special forces. Protests in Amhara region are into their fifth day because of fears that this “would leave them exposed to attacks by neighbouring regions”. Amharan special forces had been an important ally of Addis in the Tigray war.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65194146