BURUNDI AND EAST AFIRCA WEEKLY BRIEFING N°10 ECONOMY

JUNE 22th 2019 $ 3.50 www.regionweek.com

Rwanda has built its first-ever gold refinery

NEWS

Egypt’s former p resident, Mohamed Morsi dies incourt

SPORT

The US recommends the ‘EAC-led process to reach an agreement ahead of Burundi’s 2020 elections’. On the sidelines of the United Nations Security Council Ndikumana Yamini Se- on Burundi on Friday, June 14, the United States of lemani excluded from America has shown its concerns on Burundi’s current Burundi national team stability ahead of the 2020 elections. in Egypt

Chinese UN Envoy Facebook re- Guangzhou urges International veals its new Route to Boost Community to respect cryptocurrency Rwandair’s For- Burundi’s Sovereignty. tunes P. 3 P. 7 P. 6 2 RegionWeek June, 2019 N° 010 BURUNDI The US recommends the ‘EAC-led process to reach an agree- ment ahead of Burundi’s 2020 elections’. On the sidelines of the United Nations not appear that any steps have been taken Security Council on Burundi on Friday, by regional leadership since this Council’s June 14, the United States of America last meeting on Burundi in February, even has shown its concerns on Burundi’s though Burundians continue to flee the current stability ahead of the 2020 country under political pressure. elections. UNHCR reports that, although 8,253 Burundi- an refugees were assisted to return voluntarily from January to April of this year, during that same time period another 2,569 people fled Burundi for the first time. With this continuing displacement in mind, we call upon the EAC to reinvigorate talks. It is important that all parties commit to the EACled process and reach an agreement ahead of the 2020 elections. Civic and political space is critical to free and fair elections. Unfortunately, continued reports of human rights violations cast a shadow over Burundi and its electoral preparations. Extraju- dicial arrests, beatings, intimidation, and kid- nappings, especially by the Imbonerakure rul- ing party youth wing, pose a grave threat to the country’s peace and security. Mr. President, a free press is indispensable for democracy. We urge the Burundian government to respect freedom of expression and to allow journalists to operate independently without fear of violence or a forcible shutdown because of their reporting. We also urge the Government of Burundi to ad- dress persistent and reliable reports of illicit The US representative to the United Nations, arms transfers, combatant recruitment, and before the UN Security Council, has recom- armed group activity in eastern DRC that are mended that ‘Burundi should commit to the tied to Burundi . Now is the time for all of the EAC-led process to reach an agreement before parties to the 2013 Peace, Security, and Coop- the 2020 elections’. eration Framework to live up to their commit- ments of noninterference in the internal affairs However, Gitega has already declared that the of neighboring countries and to deny support or EAC-led dialogue has been terminated, and safe harbor to armed groups. now the focus is on the preparations of the The Great Lakes region has a chance to trans- 2020 elections. form into an interconnected hub of peace and prosperity. By resolving its domestic political Read the full statemen t of the United States crisis and strengthening its respect for human representative in the United Nations published rights, Burundi could play a central role in that on the US-UN representative website, and effort. signed by Rodney Hunter. Finally, Mr. President, we note our continuing support for Resolution 2303, in which this “Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you to Council requested that the Secretary-General all of the briefers for your remarks. The Unit- report on the situation in Burundi every three ed States is disappointed by the lack of prog- months. We are concerned by the UN’s failure ress since the East African Community (EAC) to submit timely reports as requested by this Heads-of-State Summit on February 1. It does Council”. 3 RegionWeek BURUNDI BURUNDI N° 010 June, 2019 Chinese UN Envoy urges Interna- tional Community to respect Burundi’s Sovereignty.

The Chinese UN envoy has spoken, on Friday, June 14, 2019, in behalf of Burundi and urged the International community to respect Burundi’s sovereignty in regards to its near 2020 elections and provide assistance to Burundi’ s government needs.

WHY IT MATTERS: China, which may be de- scribed as ‘gap-filler’ of Burundi, has taken all necessary measures to prevent the Western-led resolutions(sometimes condemned by Gitega) to ‘engulf Burundi’ after the Western world sus- pended their support to Burundi since 2015. China and Russia have taken all the necessary steps to ‘keep Burundi standing’ in the face of the International Community.

The international community should prioritize efforts in creating a favorable external environment The International community has been con- for peace and stability of the country, said Wu Haitao, China’s deputy permanent representative to demning Gitega for the ongoing alleged human the United Nations, in a Security Council meeting, rights abuse since 2015. The United Nations, Chinese-state-run media Xinhua, reported. however, acknowledges that there are positive “ achievements in Burundi ahead of the 2020 Wu Haitao urged the International Community elections. to respect Burundi’s choice of how to handle their matters, especially the 2020 elections. Burundi’s envoy to the UN, Albert Shingiro has “Elections are the internal affairs of a country,” been going at length to convince the UN Secu- said the Chinese envoy. rity Council to remove Burundi on the agenda Related: The AU Commissioner recommends table a the country to follow closely because to ‘reopen interBurundian dialogue’. ‘Burundi is no longer a threat to the interna- tional peace and Security’. The Burundian government started prepara- tions for the 2020 elections through consul- tations with various political parties in the “The Burundian government has stated on many country. It has formulated a roadmap and com- occasions that its situation does not pose a mitted to raising all necessary funding for the threat to regional peace and security and that elections. the question of Burundi should not remain on the Security Council’s agenda, Wu Haitao added. “This fully demonstrated the ability and resolve The Council should listen seriously to the voice of the Burundian government and people to of“ Burundi and make timely and necessary ad- take care of their own problems,” Wu Haitao justments in light of the latest developments, he added. he added. 4 RegionWeek June, 2019 N° 010 AFRICA Tanzania launches Arusha Mineral Trading Center.

Tanzania has taken the muchawaited step to launch the Arusha Mineral Trading center. Tanzania governement had issued the last warning to Tanzanite and other mineral traders to kickstart Arusha Mineral Trading center.

As Daily News reported , the Minister for The minister said that their objective is to Minerals, Mr. Dotto Biteko ( above ) , said all see into it that the sector contributes more minerals’ businesses should be conducted to the GDP, given the fact that Tanzania is and pass at the center so that the govern- endowed with a lot and different types of ment gets its fair revenue, however, he also minerals, which should benefit the country directed that all traders get permits espe- and its people, instead of only a small sec- cially transporters. tion of individuals or foreigners.

Mr. Biteko said that the Arusha Mineral THE BIG PICTURE: Tanzania is still rising Trading Center, which was constructed by from the bottom from the poorest the order of President John Magufuli, would countries in the world, especially in the highly increase income for the government Sub-saharan countries. since the onset of and that fact is being seen, adding that the Magufuli’s rule in 2015, Tanzania is doing mining business would now be properly regulated. “what is necessary to develop the country in “ all sectors. He said that with the construction of the The minister added that after changing of the wall has sharply increased, further noting mining law as well as putting in place different that the new system would not only benefit regulations and guidance, the mining sector’s the government but also miners and dealers contribution to the government coffers has ris- who are willing to adhere to the laws of the en from 3.5 percent to 5.07 and was optimistic land. that once the laws are fully adhered to, it will further rise. 5 RegionWeek NEWS N° 010 June, 2019 ECONOMY Rwanda has built its first-ever gold refinery The Republic of Rwanda has built its first-ever gold refinery at a cost of $5 million with the capacity to process gold from all over Africa and boost efforts to ensure that the continent adds value to its minerals before exporting them.

Egypt’s former president, Mohamed Morsi dies incourt Former Egyptian president Mohamed The new refinery conducted by Aldango Company is lo- Morsi died on Monday, 17 June 2019 after cated at the Kigali Special Economic Zone in Gasabo fainting while in court. District. Aldango which was previously running as a busi- ness dealing in gold is a joint venture between two firms The 67 years old was attending a session in his – Hilly Metals Company, a local company, and Aldabra. “We have built an advanced factory with enough capacity trial on espionage charges when he collapsed in to process large quantities of gold from all around Afri- a cage and then died, according to the Egyptian ca.” Jean de Dieu Mutunzi, the company’s chairman told state newspaper al-Ahram. media on Tuesday 19 June 2019. “What we are doing “He was speaking before the judge for 20 min- is not new but people have been used to taking gold to utes then became very animated and fainted. He Europe, Dubai, Turkey, Switzerland, and Belgium. Now we was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later have the same factory with the standards as those in died,” a judicial source said. Europe and Asia, “For so long we had no factories that process what is Morsi was elected as president in 2012, follow- being mined on the continent,” he added. ing Egypt’s first and only free elections after the The company’s initiative is to buy gold from all Africa dictator Hosni Mubarak was forced from power. and process it to get 99.99% of quality. It says that it He won 51.7% of the vote and his rule marked has already access to the international market. Aldan- the peak of power for Egypt’s Muslim Brother- go is said to have a capacity to refine 6 tonnes of gold hood, which had functioned for decades as an a month, or about 220 kilograms a day with Officials underground political organization. issued to be working to expand its capacity as demand increases. The company’s officials believe that the new Morsi was Egypt’s first democratically elected refinery can help minimize security or life threats of deal- president but he spent just one year in office af- ers as they will not need to travel long distances looking ter the 2011 uprising before the army toppled Refinery as they are used. him in 2013. Egypt’s military seized power in a coup days lat- er on 3 July 2013. Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, defence minister who is now the president was brought to power. Mohamad Morsi, the head of Islamists has been in prison since his ouster on trial for several cas- es including for spying for Iran, Qatar and militant groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He was also accused of plotting terror acts. He received multiple long sentences, including a life sentence for spying for Qatar and a 20-year The Government acknowledges the initiative sentence for killing protesters. A death sentence The government of Rwanda says this is an important de- for charges relating to a mass jailbreak during velopment Touring the refinery together with other offi- cials on Tuesday, June 19, Rwanda Minister of Trade and the revolution was overturned in a retrial in No- Industry, Soraya Hakuziyaremye said, “This is a critical vember 2016. investment for our country.” Morsi was issued to have serious health prob- “It is a signal of the fact that Rwanda was moving on to lems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, the next phase of adding value to its minerals. but was not receiving medical treatment and “This is also to showcase that we can add value to raw that he was being held under constant solitary materials and investments that have been made,” she added, pointing out that the African continent loses a lot confinement. when it exports its resources raw.

6 RegionWeek June, 2019 N° 010 ECONOMY Guangzhou Route to Boost Rwandair’s Fortunes Rwandair launched its long-awaited flights to the Chinese city of Guangzhou on Monday 17th June 2019 with the expectation to boost its fortunes.

dair aircraft,” the Minister said, with just 1hr28’’ left on the clock, before the aircraft could touch down at Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Air- port. With China, stated as one of Rwanda’s big- gest trading partners, Rwandair is expected to benefit more from the new route, with the first flight already being overbooked. “This route is an important milestone to Rwan- dair but also the Rwandan Aviation industry. It is the first longest route we are doing. It con- nects better the African regions we serve with China and India,” Minister Uwihanganye The inaugural flight on the new KigaliGuang- zhou route had been fully booked by mid-day “China is one of the biggest trading partners of Monday. It had 234 passengers onboard, in- Rwanda and the region. The imports to Rwanda cluding State Minister for Transport, Jean de have been growing at 13 % annually and it is Dieu Uwihanganye and RwandAir’s chief execu- now around $400m per year the same as ex- tive Yvonne Makolo. ports almost $6m, growing at 11%,” he added. Rwanda Minister in Charge of Transport, Jean According to Minister Uwihanganye, the Guang- de Dieu Uwihanganye said that the lucrative zhou route will ease transport and significant- Guangzhou route, with a stopover at Mumbai’s ly reduce transport costs and time which will Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, is ex- have an impact on the Rwandan economy. pected to boost Rwandair’s fortunes by tapping into existing booming trade between Rwanda He added that the route will greatly contribute and China. to Rwanda’s plan to be a regional aviation hub not only for passenger traffic but also cargo. Minister Jean de Dieu said this while respond- ing to questions from one of the Rwandan lo- Officials acknowledged that the Guangzhou cal media about the national carrier’s maiden route, targeted by major airlines from Africa flight to the Southern China commercial city of and the middle east, is expected to be a com- Guangzhou. petitive one, with Rwandair tapping into its central and west African markets to cash in on ‘We are still in the air,’ Uwihanganye said. the route, considered a ‘hot cake’ for global “We have Wi-Fi onboard on all our new Rwan- airlines. Minister Uwihanganye indicated that the Guang- zhou route to Rwanda is depicted to be a stra- tegic and efficient line of operation for the local business community. “China is now being the factory of the world. There are more imports coming from China into the region, and the majority of products come from Guangzhou, which is one of the biggest trade hubs in China,” Minister Uwihanganye ex- plained. 7 RegionWeek SPORTS N° 010 June, 2019 Kenya: Harambee Stars touch TECHNEWS down in Egypt for AFCON Facebook reveals its new cryptocurrency Facebook has finally announced its long-awaited cryptocurrency namely Libra and set up a digital wallet subsidiary called Calibra to let people spend and save the currency.

The Kenya National Team, Harambee Stars has arrived in Cairo, Egypt, ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations that kicks off on Friday, June 21, 2019. The Kenya National Team jetted to Cairo from France where they had spent about 19 days to prepare for the continental showpiece. Kenya Harambee Stars will be contesting in the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations for the second The social media giant said on Tuesday, 18th, June 2019 time after 15 years. it will launch the new Libra cryptocurrency as part of its Read also: Uganda Cranes arrived safely in Egypt blockchain-powered Calibra digital wallet. Calibra will be The team arrived safely in Cairo on Tuesday, June connected to Facebook messaging platforms such as 19, 2019, and is set to hold a light training session Messenger and WhatsApp to provide financial services on Wednesday. to billions of “unbanked” people around the world. Harambee Stars will play their opening game of AF- CON against Algeria on Sunday, June 23, 2019. The whole system is scheduled to launch in the first half Kenya played two friendly matches in Europe, win- of 2020. ning 1-0 over Madagascar and sharing the spoils in The social networking giant officially revealed what its buzzy and secretive blockchain team has been working a 1-1 draw with DR Congo. on for the last year or so: Harambee Stars are placed in Group C alongside Facebook’s new cryptocurrency aims to provide fast, Algeria, Senegal, and Tanzania. cheap, and secure online payments via smartphones Kenya will play its first match against Algeria on across the globe, sidestepping the traditional financial June 23 before facing neighbor Tanzania Taifa Stars system. on June 27, the last game of Group will be against Senegal on July 1, 2019. The social networking giant is partnering with 28 world firms including Mastercard, eBay, Spotify, PayPal, Uber, as well as venture capital firms, and non-profit groups to form Libra Association, a Geneva-based entity governing the new digital coin, but no banks are yet part of the group, according to marketing materials, and executives. The name “Libra” comes from Roman weight measure- ments, the astrological sign for justice and the French word for freedom, said David Marcus, who heads the project for Facebook. “Freedom, justice, and money, which is exactly what we’re trying to do here,” Marcus added. Libra will be “a stable currency built on a secure and sta- ble open-source blockchain, backed by a reserve of real Harambee Stars squad for AFCON assets, and governed by an independent association,” Here is Kenya Harambee Stars final AFCON Squad its white paper reads. Goalkeepers Patrick Matasi, John Oyemba, Faruk Shikalo “Our hope is to create more access to better, cheap- er, and open financial services no matter who you are, Defenders where you live, what you do, or how much you have.” , Abud Omar, , “Libra’s mission is to enable a simple global currency Musa Mohammed, , , and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of , people,” Dante Disparte, head of policy and communica- Midfielders tions at the Libra Association, said in an interview. , , Erick Johanna, Ayub Timbe, Francis Kahata, Ismael Gonzalez, Ovel- In practice, that means a digital currency that will be la Ochieng, , Johanna Omollo available to use via a smartphone app to make easy pay- Forwards ments and send cash across borders without the kind of Masud Juma, , John Avire fees that the financial industry is notorious for. 8 RegionWeek June, 2019 N° 010 SPORTS Uganda Cranes delegation Ndikumana Yamini Selemani exclud- arrives in Egypt for AFCON ed from Burundi national team in The Uganda Cranes delegation arrived Egypt safely in Cairo on Monday evening 17th June 2019 for the TOTAL Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2019 finals.

“The delegation of 23 players and 12 officials was warmly received by the CAF protocol team at Cairo International Airport and the FUFA Advance party led by the leader of the delegation, Hon Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi.” According to the Football of Ugan- da Federation The Cranes took their flight to Egypt after beat- Burundi striker, Ndikumana Yamini ing Ivory Coast (1-0) in a friendly match played at Sheikh Zayed Sports City on Saturday, 15 June Selemani has been excluded from the 2019 counting for the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Na- national team in Egypt following his tions in Egypt. misbehavior. The national team of Uganda reached Cairo at 7:30 PM aboard Egypt Air from Abu Dhabi. They checked in at Radisson Blu Hotel in Cairo City. The decision was taken on staff have agreed to defend Uganda Cranes are placed in Group A together with Thursday, June 20, 2019, the national colors from This Egypt (host nation), DR Congo, and Zimbabwe. by the technical staff of the June 22, 2019. Uganda Cranes are set to play their first match Football Federation of Burun- “All the other 22 players are against DR Congo on June 22, 2019, before facing di which is currently in Egypt in shape with a good spirit Zimbabwe on June 26, 2019, and Egypt on June 30, 2019. for the Total Africa Cup of to challenge Nigeria from Uganda 23-man squad for AFCON Nations that is going to kick the first entry to the AFCON Here is Uganda Cranes official 23-man squad for off on Friday, June 21, 2019. contestation on Saturday in the Total Africa Cup of Nations A statement on the Football Alexandria.” Goalkeepers: (Mamelodi Sun- downs, South Africa), (Al Hilal-Sudan), Federation of Burundi Face- No other player has been an- Robert Odongkara (Adama City, Ethiopia). book page read as follow, nounced to replace him. Defenders: Nico Wakiro Wadada (Azam, Tanza- “The player ndikumana yami- The Burundi Striker was nia), Brian Ronald Ddungu Mukiibi (Ostersunds, ni is no longer part of the Bu- among the 23man final Sweden), Murushid Jjuuko (Simba, Tanzania), Bev- rundi national team players squad for Swallows that jet- is Mugabi (Yeovil Town, England), Isaac Muleme (FK Viktoria Zizkov, Czech Republic), Hassan Was- who are going to take part in ted Wednesday in Alexan- swa Mawanda (Un-attached), (TP the CAN 2019 scheduled in dria- Egypt, and he was on Mazembe, DR Congo), Timothy Denis Awanyi (KCCA Egypt from June 21 to July the final list submitted to FC, Uganda), Godfrey Walusimbi (Un-attached). 19, 2019. CAF. Midfielders: Mike Azira (Montreal Impact, Can- ada), Allan Kateregga (Maritzburg, South Africa), William Kizito Luwagga (Shakhter Karagandy, Ka- “The decision of the return Burundi Swallows are set to zakhstan), (Church Hill Brothers, of this player was taken make their debut at AFCON India), Faruku Miya (HNK Gorica, Croatia), Abdul today (Thursday, June 20, on Saturday 22 June 2019 Lumala (Syrianska, Sweden), Tadeo Lwanga (Vipers 2019) by the technical staff, against Nigeria. SC-Uganda). Strikers: Patrick Henry Kaddu (KCCA FC, Uganda), after misbehavior shown by Derrick Nsibambi (Smouha, Egypt), Allan Kyambad- this player, thus violating the de (KCCA FC Uganda), Emmanuel Arnold Okwi (Sim- rules of conduct and soli- ba, Tanzania). darity that the players and

RegionWEEK is a Weekly News Briefing about Brurundi and East Africa. Publisher: RegionWeek Ltd Editor in chief: Fabrice Iranzi Head of Africa Bureau: John Nshimirimana 11, Avenue du Gouvernement, Rohero Bujumbura-Burundi Tél: +257 79 43 28 86 P.O Box 6402 Bujumbura