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Date : 27/06/2006
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs
Title: Pahad: Briefing notes on international issues


  Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad’s notes following briefing on international issues

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

* The process of preparing for elections in the DRC is on track.

* The South African Government will be deploying a 128 member National Observer Team to observe the DRC elections. The Observer Team would consist of people from civic organisations, parliamentarians, government officials and individuals who have previous observation experience. The observer team will be deployed to the DRC from 12 July to 21 August 2006.
* Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also requested that 10 South Africans be nominated to the SADC team. This request is currently being processed.
* As you already know, South Africa has been selected to print the ballot papers, for which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will bear the costs. The South African Government on the other hand will bear the costs for the purchase of the printing paper, storage of ballot papers in South Africa and the costs for the transportation of the ballot papers to 14 hubs in the DRC. An agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and UNDP has been signed in this regard.
* A total of 33 presidential candidates have registered for the elections. There are over nine thousand legislative candidates for the 500 member National Assembly. This has necessitated the printing of over two thousand tonnes of ballot papers.
* The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had also requested 300 Information Technology and logistics support personnel. Since the IEC did not have this capacity, President Mbeki appealed to the private sector for such assistance. The private sector has been very supportive in this regard and has eagerly responded. These personnel will be deployed to the DRC from 2 July to 21 August 2006.
* The IEC has also printed a voter education booklet which has been approved by the DRC government. This booklet is currently being translated into five of their most commonly spoken languages.
* The European Union has decided to deploy a German led EU Peacekeeping Force of 1400 troops to the DRC to bolster security during the elections. Only about 400-450 troops will apparently be based in the DRC while the rest will be based outside of the DRC, in one of the neighbouring countries still to be identified, as a rapid deployment force should there be violence during the elections.
* Since this is the first time that such elections will be held in the DRC in more than 40 years, the massive logistical and technical challenges should not be underestimated.
* We are also anticipating that observers from all over the world, especially the EU and Africa will witness these elections. This will assist in proclaiming them free and fair which is what is required for the country to move forward.

Middle East

* The continuing tensions in the Middle East are a matter of grave concern to us.
* The recent attacks and the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier have created a situation of grave danger and concern.
* The South African government has joined voices within and beyond Palestine calling on the kidnappers of the Israeli soldier to return him.
* We are also calling for caution with regard to the situation in Gaza it is imperative that the Gaza not be re-occupied by Israeli forces. There can be no justification for such acts.
* We have sent a message to President Abbas and the Hamas led government expressing our support for their attempts to resolve the matter diplomatically.
* We continue to continuously monitor the situation through our mission in Ramallah.

President Mbeki’s visit to Mozambique

* President Mbeki will co-chair the South Africa - Mozambique Economic Bilateral Forum in Maputo on Thursday, 29 June 2006. He will be accompanied by:

* Minister Mpahlwa
* Minister Radebe
* Minister Erwin
* Minister van Schalkwyk
* Minister Sonjica, and
* Myself.

This is a very important and unusual forum at Heads of State level since it focuses primarily on economic links between the two countries. Issues on the agenda of these discussions are expected to include:

* Migration, the implementation of visa abolition agreement, hours of operation of the Lebombo-Ressano-Garcia Port of Entry and the Giriyondo Port of Entry.
* Tourism and Environment, the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, new bilateral agreement on Fisheries and Marine and Coastal Management and the Lubombo Transfrontier and Resources Area.
* Minerals and Energy, the Cahora Bassa project, the Northern Mozambique Power Development Initiatives, the supply of additional electricity to Maputo, the Pande and Temane Natural Gas Project.
* Transport and Communication.
* Agriculture.
* Finance, the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement.
* Trade and Industry, implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Economic Co-operation and regional integration.

We will off course do a fuller briefing next week. President Mbeki’s visit to the 7th Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government

* President Mbeki will lead the South African delegation to the 7th Summit of African Union Heads of State and Government in Banjul, the Gambia from 1 to 2 July 2006.
* As you know, Minister Dlamini-Zuma is already there where she will attend the Ministerial discussions in preparation for the Summit.
* The theme of the Summit is “Rationalisation of Regional Economic Communities and Regional Integration.”

* As you already know, South Africa gives a lot of attention to the African Union Summit since it is the major continental forum that is increasingly playing a greater role on the Continent.

* Former President Konare, in his address to University of South Africa (UNISA) on Saturday said, “many important issues will be discussed under the theme ‘Rationalisation of the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Integration’, inter-alia, the subject of the Union Government for Africa, how this could be achieved, within what time frames and what members must do to achieve greater integration, the structure of the African Union Commission and its relationships with the regional communities Africa is at a crossroads, if African countries are willing to take the bull by the horns, then Africa will not be the same after Banjul."

* President Konare outlined the following as some of the key issues Heads of State will have to deal with:

African leaders have strategic choices to make in confronting these challenges. Since the majority view is that collective action is the preferred option, what should be the model and the pace of Africa’s integration? The answers to these questions must be found on an urgent basis, since time is running against us. We must accelerate the pace of the integration of the continent in order to be able to catch up with trends around the world. Africa cannot become a full-fledged member of the global community without having achieved its own monetary and economic integration.

The AU considers regional integration as essential for the transformation and modernisation of the African economies in its Strategic Plan adopted in 2004.

Unfortunately, the process of regional integration is not moving fast. This is because of the difficulties to co-ordinate and harmonise the requisite policies. These difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that some countries continue to be members of different regional economic communities (RECs). We must therefore address the issue of overlapping memberships and try to rationalise the eight communities presently recognised by the African Union.

African leaders must take actions that aim at improving the co-ordination and harmonisation of sector policies in Africa and support the creation of networks that would facilitate the free movements of goods, services and persons. In the process of economic integration, the African Union also gives high priority to the development of regional and continental infrastructure projects.”

Former President Konare went on to say, “I advocate for a model of integration that is based on the principle of subsidiary. The main idea here would be to identify some policy areas, which can be better co-ordinated and supervised by a continental Executive Body. This requires, in the short to medium term, the transformation of the current AU Commission into such an Executive Body. It would be necessary for Member States to agree to surrender or delegate some of their sovereignty in policy formulation and implementation to the AU Commission. The exact form can be debated at some point. If African leaders accept to transform the Commission into a Continental, Executive Body, that body will have the authority to issue regulations and directives for Member States in a number of policy areas.”

Some of these areas would cover policies regarding:

* Peace and security
* Good governance
* Social sectors of education and health
* Agriculture and food security
* Infrastructure and energy
* The role of government in the process of promoting public-private sector partnership
* International relations, including trade and investment

Africa must also put in place an institutional framework, including the establishment of Pan-African financial institutions that will be needed for the implementation of policies in these areas. * It is clear that the Commissioner has begun to indicate what the expected outcomes from the Summit are.
* In addition, Heads of State are expected to deliberate on:

* Peace and Security Council on its activities and the state of Peace and Security in Africa including African continental peace and security architecture and the implementation thereof and status reports on conflict situations in Africa viz. Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Sudan, Chad, C

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