African press review 12 October 2016

Sudan's president yesterday offered an olive brance to opposition figures and rebel groups but does he intend to beat them with it? What will happen to the South African economy if the finance minister is put in jail? Are Eritrea and Egypt behind the violence in Ethiopia? And are Nigeria's state governors doing a good job?

The main story in regional paper the East African reports that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has extended an olive branch to opposition parties and rebel groups which failed to sign the 10 October national dialogue agreement.

Yesterday the president said that the national dialogue agreement would remain open to opposition groups that were still opposed to his approach to the political crisis.

A total of 90 political parties and 34 armed movements participated in the national dialogue that started in 2014 and was officially closed yesterday.

Former prime minister and leader of the National Umma party Sadique al-Mahdi is one of the opposition members who refused to join the dialogue, saying he did not trust the government to respect the decisions ratified by the national conference.

The authorities in Khartoum still face rebellion in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

Rebel groups who have rejected the outcome of the national dialogue include the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement-North, the Sudan Liberation Movement, and the Sudan Liberation Army.

The Sudan Tribune takes a slightly different view of the president's olive branch, reporting that al-Bashir did say the national document would remain open for the holdout opposition to sign but noting that he also vowed to defeat rebel armed groups militarily.

"Those who come for peace are welcome, those who don’t come will be pursued into the jungle," the president is quoted as saying.

Zuma calls for calm as Gordhan called to account

BusinessDay in South Africa reports that President Jacob Zuma yesterday called on the National Prosecuting Authority to conduct the case against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with the "necessary dignity and respect". The president went on to reaffirm his confidence in his finance minister.

Gordhan and two former South African Revenue Service officials are facing fraud charges and have been summoned to appear in the Pretoria Regional Court on 2 November. The charges relate to a retirement top-up paid to one of the officials.

Zuma said South African society was anchored in the rule of law, in fair and just judicial processes, stressing that the minister was innocent until and unless proven otherwise.

The decision to prosecute Gordhan came a day after he returned from a trip to New York and Washington, where he led a delegation in an attempt to ensure the country avoided a sovereign credit downgrade. The announcement of his prosecution caused the value of the rand to drop four percent.

The finance minister is due to announce his mid-term budget at the end of the month.

Ethiopia claims Eritrea, Egypt fanning anti-government violence 

On the front page of the Cairo-based Egypt Independent, news that Ethiopia has accused elements in Eritrea, Egypt and other states of arming, training and funding groups that it blames for the recent wave of protests and violence.

The government in Addis Ababa declared a state of emergency on Sunday after more than a year of unrest in the Oromia and Amhara regions, where protesters say the government has trampled on their rights in pursuit of industrial development.

Rights groups say more than 500 people have died in clashes with police and other confrontations. The violence has damaged around a dozen factories and equipment mostly belonging to foreign firms, accused by protesters of purchasing leases for seized land.

Obasanjo says Nigeria's state governors are not up to the job

Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo has accused state governors of being the major encumbrance to the effectiveness of local council administration.

Speaking at a conference on local democracy, reported by the Guardian, Obasanjo said that, despite the recommendations of the 2003 Local Government Reform Act, state governors have through their dubious tendencies been responsible for the diversion of the councils’ share of federal money, leaving them to manage whatever remains.

The former president alleged that only a handful of states have conducted proper council elections with most governors appointing committee members from among their associates.