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.