South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) cannot disobey the decision to suspend its leader Julius Malema, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe says. "Once a decision is taken by a higher organ, it is binding on all lower organs, whether you think it is stupid or uninformed, it is a decision and it cannot be refused," he says. Mantashe, who is also the chairman of the SA Communist Party, was speaking at a Young Communist League meeting, at the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. He says the ANCYL that formed in 1944 represented a "body of opinion" in the ANC. "You can't claim to be a body of opinion, you earn it. The youth league of 1944 had the intellectual capacity and analytical ability to influence the ANC to a particular direction." He says that the generational mix in the party is not the function of "birthdays", but rather one's contribution to the party. "It is not a youth league that says move out, we have arrived," he adds. "You graduate into the structure of the mother body through your contribution, not because you say, 'it is our turn'." He says the ANC suspended several members in the 60s and 70s after they disagreed with allowing non-Africans to join the party. "They were expelled after six years. People ask: 'Why so long to expel disruptive members?'. The ANC is an elephant that goes slow . . . we do not just expel." Earlier in the day, ANCYL deputy president Ronald Lamola said Malema would not be removed from his position by anyone but the structures of the league.

PRETORIA – Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies says there has been a general improvement in economic governance across the African continent. “Improved economic governance is underpinning the fact that Africa is experiencing a growth spurt. However, the challenge facing Africa is to transform that growth spurt into a sustained effort and development,” says Davies at the South Africa-Turkish Business Forum, in Istanbul. The business forum includes break-away sessions and business-to-business meetings between South African and Turkish business people. Davies says Africa could not continue to grow simply on the bases of the supply of raw materials to fuel industrialisation processes taking place elsewhere. He stresses that to address this, the continent must engage “in a series of exciting ventures to boost and expand regional integration”. According to the Minister, lack of infrastructure as well as the lack of productive capacity are the biggest barriers to inter-regional trade in Africa. “To overcome this, we need to promote a significant industrialisation effort across the continent,” Davies says, noting that bilateral relations between South Africa and Turkey were well below potential.

JOHANNESBURG – Major policy changes in South Africa are unlikely this year ahead of the December national conference of the governing African National Congress (ANC) in Mangaung, global risk consultancy Control Risks says. In its latest version of the yearly ‘RiskMap’, it states that a measured evaluation of government policies, notably in the mining sector, is only likely to take place from 2013 onwards, with more definitive policies emerging as South Africa moves towards national elections in 2014. “All roads lead to Mangaung, where the fifty-third ANC national conference will take place in December, with nationalisation high on the agenda. This, and debate on President [Jacob] Zuma’s re-election, will dominate politics in the coming year,” states Control Risks associate analyst for sub-Saharan Africa Simiso Velempini. She adds that, while suspended ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema will emerge weakened from his disciplinary hearing, he could serve as a lightning rod for anti-Zuma sentiment within the ANC and will retain access to patronage networks and a political platform.

PRETORIA – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has once again rallied behind South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to contest the position of African Union Commission chairperson. Dlamini-Zuma, a seasoned diplomat, recently faced off against Gabon’s Jean Ping, in Addis Ababa, for that seat, but neither of the two could master the required two-thirds majority to clinch a victory. Following three rounds of voting, Dlamini-Zuma withdrew from the race, but Ping, who dared a fourth round, could not win it, making him ineligible to run again next time. Kenya’s Erastus Mwencha is the caretaker chairperson until the next round of voting at the AU Summit set for Malawi in July. The stalemate for this influential position has reportedly divided the continent along the English- and French-speaking African power fault lines. Confident of its candidate, the SADC Extra-Ordinary Inter State Politics and Diplomacy Committee says Dlamini-Zuma will contest again in July.

Africa & the world

KHARTOUM – Sudan and South Sudan want to have the bulk of their loosely-defined and volatile border demarcated as soon as within three months, a Sudanese official says, in a possible bid to ease tensions between the two former civil war foes. The demarcation, however, will not include five areas that are still disputed by the two sides, says Yahya al-Hussein, a senior government official and member of Sudan's negotiating team. South Sudan broke off from its northern neighbour in July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of conflict, but lingering issues, such as where to draw the border and how to untangle the oil industry, have continued to stoke tensions between the two sides. Tribal disputes, overlapping territorial claims, rebel fighting and the presence of economically vital oil fields have beguiled attempts to define the exact boundary. "The two parties have agreed to begin work on drawing the border immediately, and finish work within three months if operating conditions allow for it," Hussein says. The two sides have agreed on about 90% of the border since 2009, Hussein adds. They have been meeting this week in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to discuss the border and other sensitive issues, such as oil. Tensions along the boundary have made it harder for the two sides to reach a deal around how much landlocked South Sudan should pay to send its oil – vital to both economies – through northern pipelines running to an export terminal in Sudan.

CAIRO – The Muslim Brotherhood warns that Egypt may review its 1979 peace deal with Israel if the US cuts aid to the country, a move that could undermine a cornerstone of Washington's Middle East policy. Washington has said the aid is at risk due to an Egyptian probe into civil society groups, which has resulted in charges against at least 43 activists, including 19 Americans, who have been banned from leaving the country. Egypt has been one of the world's largest recipients of US aid since it signed the peace treaty with Israel, and the Brotherhood, which does not yet hold the reins of power, says any decision to cut that aid because of the investigation will raise serious questions. "We (Egypt) are a party (to the treaty) and we will be harmed so it is our right to review the matter," Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood leader, says. "The aid was one of the commitments of the parties that signed the peace agreement so, if there is a breach from one side, it gives the right of review to the parties," adds Erian, the deputy leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, the biggest group in the newly elected parliament. His remarks are likely to increase pressure on all sides to resolve one of the worst crises in US–Egyptian ties since the treaty was signed.

DUBLIN – Irish rock star Bob Geldof has raised $200-million for his ‘8 Mile’ African private-equity fund, cementing a shift in his global antipoverty crusade from rich-world debt forgiveness to promoting private enterprise. “Africa is now a continent of extraordinary business and investment opportunity,” Geldof, who has become one of Africa’s most astute and knowledgeable economic commentators, says. “Private equity is one way to support the enterprise and dynamism of the people of the continent and help provide the jobs and skills that are needed.” The fund, named after the shortest distance between Europe and Africa, will invest in companies that promise to provide jobs and long-term growth. Commercial agriculture, consumer and retail firms, health, telecommunications and financial services are among the main sectors it is looking at, the statement adds.

VIRGINIA – The White House has announced plans to help ‘Arab Spring’ countries swept by revolutions with more than $800-million in economic aid, while maintaining US military aid to Egypt. In his annual Budget message to Congress, President Barack Obama asked that military aid to Egypt be kept at the level of recent years – $1.3-billion – despite a crisis triggered by an Egyptian probe targeting American democracy activists. The proposals are part of Obama’s Budget request for fiscal year 2013, which begins October 1. His requests need the approval of Congress, where some lawmakers want to cut overseas spending to address US budget shortfalls and are particularly angry at Egypt. Obama proposes $51.6-billion in funding for the US State Department and foreign aid overall, including $8.2-billion in assistance to war zones. The “core budget” for the category will increase by 1.6 %, officials say. Most of the economic aid for the Arab Spring countries – $770-million – will go to establish a new “Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund”, Obama says. Analysts say it is difficult to tell how much of the proposal is actually new money.