African press review 25 April 2013

Confusion over South Africa's role in the Central African Republic, and good news for Kenya's Central Bank from yesterday's treasury bond auction - two of the stories in today's African papers...

There seems to be some confusion about the role South Africa wants to play in the crisis in the Central African Republic.

According to this morning's edition of the Johannesburg-based financial paper, BusinessDay, Pretoria is unsure about its next move in the CAR and about whether South African troops will return there anytime soon.

Thirteen South African soldiers were killed in a clash with Seleka rebels in the capital Bangui late last month, prompting a hasty retreat, and leading to speculation over South Africa’s further role in the Central African Republic.

While Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe told Parliament unequivocally on Wednesday that the government had no plans to send troops back to the CAR, President Jacob Zuma seemed to imply the opposite just hours later.

South Africa is not planning to send more troops to the CAR, Motlanthe told the National Assembly in reply to a question from Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko.

However, in an interview with Bloomberg in Cape Town on Wednesday, President Zuma was clearly not reading from the same page as his deputy.

Zuma said he was awaiting a formal request from regional leaders in Central Africa and the Seleka alliance to send troops as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. South Africa had already received a verbal request, the president said.

Government ministers have clashed with the opposition over the reasons for the original deployment of military instructors in the CAR, in terms of a 2007 agreement, and over Zuma’s apparent determination to remain involved in the affairs of an impoverished state outside South Africa’s traditional sphere of influence. The government says South Africa supports peace and security throughout Africa. Some opposition elements have alleged the original deployment was to protect African National Congress interests in the CAR mining sector.

Also in BusinessDay, South Africa's deputy Trade and Industry Minister Elizabeth Thabethe has defended Zimbabwe’s controversial indigenisation policy, saying businesses should understand the country’s reasons before criticising the law.

Speaking to Business Day on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair underway way in Bulawayo, Thabethe likened the indigenisation law to South Africa’s own black empowerment drive.

Indigenisation requires foreign-owned companies with operations in Zimbabwe to surrender a 51 per cent stake in their enterprises to local black investors.

The law would affect South African companies, including Impala Platinum’s Zimplats, agro-processor Tongaat Hulett and several foreign-owned banks.

South Africa’s empowerment policy has been severely criticised for not benefiting poor South Africans, instead enriching a politically-connected elite.

In Kenya, the Standard reports that lawyers representing victims of the 2008 post-election violence at the International Criminal Court have opposed a request by Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto.

Ruto has asked to be tried in absentia.

The victims maintain that an accused’s presence in court during trial is a matter of legal duty.

In his request, Ruto argued that given that he is now Kenya’s Deputy President, exemption from sitting through hearings at The Hague would afford him time and space to discharge his new duties in line with the expectation and wishes of Kenyans.

A lawyer for the victims said the trial process and the court’s authority and effectiveness all stood to be undermined if the accused was not present.

There's good news for the Kenyan Central Bank on the front page of regional paper the East African. There we learn that yesterday's treasury bond auction attracted bids worth nearly 650 million euros, more than double what the Central Bank of Kenya was seeking.

The bonds, for both five- and fifteen-year periods, are expected to pay 12 per cent interest, with dividends every six months. The offer was heavily oversubscribed.

Let's hope Rwanda has the same problem when it launches a plan to borrow $400 million in the international debt market through a bond issue.

The plan is being met by positive signals, with the International Monetary Fund saying there is a big appetite for this kind of risk among international investors.

Kigali intends to use the money to bridge current funding obligations and pay off infrastructure development debts.