CNBC Africa, the only Pan-African business and financial news channel will break from regular broadcasting to bring you live coverage of South Africa’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday, February 9th 2017 in Cape Town. President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address is one of the biggest events on the country’s calendar to watch.
Almost 21 years after the signing of the country’s Constitution, South Africans are eager to learn what the future of South Africa could look like.
Tune into CNBC Africa, DStv channel 410 at 18h30 CAT for all the action from parliament and to find out how it will impact the economy and businesses. Alternatively, visit CNBC Africa’s YouTube channel to livestream SONA 2017.
Twitter: SONAon410
-ENDS-
For further media information, contact:
Monique Vanek
CNBC Africa News Editor
+27 11 384 0300
<a href="mailto:Monique.Vanek@abn360.com">Monique.Vanek@abn360.com</a>
Twitter: @CNBCAfrica
 
Upcoming events on CNBC Africa
Budget Day 2017: February 22nd
World Economic Forum Africa 2017: May 3rd – 5th﻿

CNBC Africa brings you South Africa’s SONA 2017

CNBC Africa, first in business worldwide, brings you a brand new Pan-African television show, ‘A Place in Africa’, dedicated to the property market across Africa.
On the show we meet Africa’s city builders, discuss the mixed-use concept, feature young people and female moguls making waves in Africa’s property world; look at architectural masterpieces; find out about container architecture and look into real estate investment in the hospitality and tourism sector.
‘A Place in Africa’ creates a platform for investors to navigate property investment on the continent by showcasing new, existing and upcoming real estate development projects. The show also features game-changers within the African property space by featuring their spectacular, luxury real estate.
Destined to be Africa’s premier lifestyle programme, viewers can expect to learn everything they need to know about property investment and purchasing overseas.
Attractions and venues featured on the show will be brought to the attention of the rest of the world by showcasing their wealth, culture and beauty, often left unseen.
Watch the 26-minute property investment and tourism show on CNBC Africa, the leader in Pan-African business news coverage:
Everylast Fridayof the month at 12:00 WAT/13:00 CAT/14:00 EAT
Online at <a href="/">www.cnbcafrica.com</a>
Presented byDidi Akinyelure
&#8220;A Place in Africa&#8221; is sponsored by Landmark Africa, an Africa-focused real estate and property development company.﻿

Discover game changers in Africa’s property world on CNBC Africa’s "A Place In Africa"

Separatist rebels have called on Angola&#8217;s oil region to boycott parliamentary elections in August that are likely to be the most closely watched in decades as President Jose Eduardo dos Santos ends 38 years in power.
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), which fought a low-level insurgency for four decades in the thin enclave sandwiched between Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, said it would not participate in a &#8220;foreign&#8221; election.
&#8220;The FLEC does not accept the permanence of a foreign power on our territory, but does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of Angola,&#8221; the group said in a statement received by Reuters late on Tuesday.
&#8220;For this reason, FLEC urges all the people of Cabinda to not participate in presidential elections in Angola,&#8221; it said.
Dos Santos, 74, confirmed last week he would not run as the presidential candidate for the ruling People&#8217;s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which has nominated 62-year-old Defence Minister Joao Lourenco.
FLEC&#8217;s planned boycott of the vote comes after a flare-up in violence in August and September last year in which FLEC said it had killed more than 50 soldiers. Angola&#8217;s government denies there have been clashes.
FLEC has stepped up activities since the death of its 88-year-old founder Nzita Tiago in June and reported three clashes with government troops in August.
It grabbed world headlines in January 2010 for a deadly attack on a bus carrying the Togo national soccer team during the African Nations Cup held in Angola but has not carried out a recent high-profile strike.
Oil output from Angola, which rivals Nigeria as Africa&#8217;s largest producer, has never been seriously threatened by the rebels because the crude is drilled offshore.﻿

Angolan rebels call on oil region to boycott election

Somali lawmakers gathered behind the blast walls of the capital&#8217;s airport on Wednesday to elect their president, after months of delays and threats from Islamist insurgents bent on derailing the process.
The protracted vote began with 14,000 elders and prominent regional figures choosing 275 members of parliament and 54 senators, who in turn now choose whether to back President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for a second term or one of 21 rivals.
The presidential vote, which was originally slated for August, is likely to take several rounds before a winner is declared. Live television images showed legislators in a hall preparing for the election.
President Mohamud, who has led the country since 2012 as it tries to rebuild after more than two decades of war and chaos, has the support of about a third of lawmakers, experts say, giving him an edge but not a guarantee of victory.
The threat from Islamist al Shabaab rebels, who regularly launch attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere, meant the government and its Western backers scrapped a plan to give each adult a vote due to the challenge of securing polling stations.
&#8220;We have tightened security and have confidence the new lawmakers will elect or re-elect a candidate they believe can save Somalia,&#8221; Major Hussein Nur, a police officer, said.
Several blasts, probably from mortar bombs, echoed across the seaside capital Mogadishu late on Tuesday. But there were no reports of casualties in the city, which had been subject to a security lock-down in the build up to the vote.
Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen stormed a hotel in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, further north up the coast, killing four guards. Al Shabaab denied it had a role.
Rival presidential candidates have accused each other of buying the loyalty of lawmakers, drawing furious denials. Anti-corruption group Marqaati says tens of thousands of dollars have been handed to individuals to secure support in the vote.
Western donors, who have often criticised President Mohamud&#8217;s government for corruption, say the vote is far from perfect but say it marks a modest step forward from 2012 when just 135 elders picked the lawmakers, who chose the president.
The airport, where the vote is taking place, is guarded by the African Union peacekeeping force AMISOM and is surrounded by high concrete barriers to protect it from attack. U.N. agencies and foreign embassies are located in the compound.
Al Shabaab, which had ruled Somalia for several years, has been slowly driven out of its major strongholds in a campaign by AMISOM and Somali troops. But its fighters continue to launch regular gun and bomb attacks in their bid to topple the government and impose their strict interpretation of Islam.﻿

Somali lawmakers gather to vote for president

South African pulp and paper maker Sappi will invest $305 million in North America and Europe to increase its packaging capacity, the firm said on Wednesday after releasing its first-quarter results.
Sappi, which makes 50 percent of its sales in Europe and 27 percent in North America, is reducing its dependence on graphic and glossy paper and is diversifying into speciality packaging paper.
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The company suffered from a fall in demand for glossy paper as tablet computers and e-readers eroded the traditional magazine industry and as retailers relied more on websites than printed catalogues.
Sappi will invest approximately $165 million in North America to upgrade a paper mill and $140 million in Europe over a three year period in a number of projects that will support its speciality packaging paper capacity.
&#8220;Our decision demonstrates our clear commitment to the consumer packaging market and our focus on maintaining our leadership in coated paper production in both North America and Europe,&#8221; Chief Executive Steve Binnie said in a statement.
Shares in Sappi were up 1.8 percent at 86.30 rand at 0712 GMT.
Sappi said first-quarter profit increased 20 percent to $90 million from $75 million a year ago due to greater sales volumes across all major divisions and higher prices for dissolving wood pulp.
Earnings per share for the period rose 23 percent higher to 16 U.S. cents from 13 U.S. cents a year earlier, while net debt fell by 23 percent to 396 million.
The firm expects to reduce net debt further this year.
&#8220;Based on current market conditions, we expect the group&#8217;s operating performance for the second quarter to be broadly in line with that of 2016&#8221;, Binnie said, citing the recent strength of the rand and further weakness in graphic paper demand and pricing in Europe and the United States.﻿

S.Africa's Sappi to invest $305 mn in North America & Europe

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone operator MTN Group expects to report a full-year loss due to a $1 billion regulatory fine in Nigeria and underperformance there and at home, it said on Wednesday, sending its shares to a two-month low.
MTN agreed in June to pay Nigeria a 330 billion naira ($1.05 billion at the time) fine for missing a deadline to cut off unregistered SIM cards from its network.
Shares in MTN, which fell more than 4 percent at market open, were 3.82 percent lower at 113.25 rand at 0733 GMT, its lowest level since December.
MTN is the largest mobile phone company in Nigeria, the continent&#8217;s biggest economy, and accounts for a third of MTN&#8217;s revenue.
It said the net effect of the Nigerian fine for the year ended December was a negative impact of 474 cents per share. MTN will issue a further trading statement on the likely range within which its headline loss is expected.
Underlying operational results for full-year 2016 were also affected by fees incurred for a planned listing in Nigeria and under performance of its unit there and in South Africa in the first half of 2016.
MTN has said it aims to list its Nigerian operations on the local bourse during 2017, subject to market conditions. However the unit has been battered by the weak economy, depreciation of the naira and the disconnection of 4.5 million subscribers in February last year.
The naira lost a third of its official value against the dollar in 2016 after the central bank scrapped its currency peg in a bid to alleviate dollar shortages.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Susan Thomas)
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MTN shares knocked as mobile operator swings to loss

Brimstone plans to list Sea Harvest. This will be the JSE&#8217;s second fish listing of the year. Last week African Equity Empowerment Investments revealed it will list its fishing and food unit on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on March 2.
A capital raising of up to R1.5 billion by private placement will be undertaken by Sea Harvest simultaneously with the proposed listing.
Brimstone first invested in 53-year old Sea Harvest in 1998 with an initial 10.76% interest and today holds 85% of the company, with management and staff holding the remaining 15%.  Sea Harvest has demonstrated strong growth in the last five years with 59% of its revenues generated in hard currencies, Europe and Australia are its largest international markets.
Since taking control in 2009, Brimstone has invested c.R776 million in Sea Harvest through additional capital and reinvested profits. Sea Harvest has invested considerably in new vessels and plant efficiencies, and also used capital to acquire control (56%) of Australian listed Mareterram Limited in 2016.
Brimstone foresees significant growth potential from Sea Harvest and capital raised through the listing will help accelerate its growth trajectory.
“The listing will add further impetus to transformation in South Africa, and is strongly aligned with government’s strategy to increase the number of black industrialists,” says Fred Robertson, Chairman of both Brimstone and Sea Harvest.
“Sea Harvest will retain its black ownership credentials with Brimstone continuing to own more than 50% of the company post-listing. Our long-term partnership approach has worked well and this will remain a cornerstone of our investment philosophy.”
“Capital-raising will strengthen Sea Harvest’s balance sheet by repaying all company debt and providing the company with the additional capital to support growth both organically and acquisitively. Organic growth will come from margin enhancements by improving efficiencies and investing further in the business. Over the past two years alone, investments of some R300 million have been made in vessels and infrastructure with a corresponding increase in margins. This has also contributed directly to the creation of new jobs.”
“Importantly, the listing will allow Sea Harvest to attract and retain management and staff through the use of tradeable instruments. This will ensure that the interests of management and staff are aligned with those of Sea Harvest’s shareholders.”
“Sea Harvest has been a strong performer in our group and we expect the company, under the leadership of Felix Ratheb, to stretch capacity and capability. The company is energised and poised for growth.”
“Brimstone has established a track record of creating value in various ways for its shareholders over the years. Our role in the listing of Life Healthcare on the JSE and the significant value it created to all stakeholders is a fine example,” says Mustaq Brey, Brimstone CEO.
The listing will be subject to approvals by the majority of Brimstone shareholders, regulatory approval by the JSE and any other regulatory consents that may be required. A general meeting of Brimstone shareholders will take place on 9 March to seek their approval for the listing.﻿

JSE prepares for second fish listing this year as Brimstone prepares to list Sea Harvest

Armed pastoralist groups have, over the past few months, <a style="font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/01/31/invaders-burn-down-remaining-buildings-at-suyian-lodge-in-laikipia_c1497724">forcefully moved</a> their livestock herds onto ranches or conservancies in Laikipia, central Kenya. Property has been destroyed, wildlife killed and <a style="font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/01/02/dutch-tourists-escape-unhurt-as-youths-stone-their-vehicle-in-laikipia_c1480697">tourists</a>have been caught up in the clashes.
There is a simplistic assumption that this is due to an ongoing drought or that the cattle raids are part of traditional pastoral conflict. It’s true that the pastoralist march on private land is in part for grazing and water. But in fact their actions are also a form of resistance to an unequal distribution of resources.
Laikipia is an area characterised by valuable resources and diverse communities. This has created a complex <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/01/30/mp-lempurkel-denies-involvement-in-suyian-ranch-invasion_c1496907">political</a> story with its roots in <a href="http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/kenia/09859.pdf">resource and land grabbing</a>, political wrangling and human-wildlife conflict.
<h2>Land distribution</h2>
Land-based grievances are what could have triggered these recent invasions. 2017 is an election year in Kenya and these are often used in political campaigns. They have already been witnessed in <a href="https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/191933/isiolo-conflict-analysis.pdf">Isiolo</a> &#8211; an area that neighbours Laikipia &#8211; where, conservancies are also being invaded by pastoralists, spurred on by local <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a089c4ed915d3cfd000408/FAC_Working_Paper_095.pdf">politicians</a>. This political dynamic can also be seen in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/02/armed-herders-elephant-kenya-wildlife-laikipia">Laikipia</a>.
These grievances are an easy rallying cry as many pastoralists in the area lost access to their ancestral pasture lands in the early 20th century when British imperialists <a href="http://www.conservationandsociety.org/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2007;volume=5;issue=3;spage=307;epage=330;aulast=Hughes">forcibly removed</a> the Maasai pastoralist community from the Rift Valley and Laikipia. They were moved to the area now known as the Maasai Mara, near the border of Tanzania.
What ensued created a mosaic of land tenure arrangements. The Maasai’s relocation enabled European settlement and agricultural production in the favourable ecological conditions of the Rift Valley – an area which came to be known as part of the “White Highlands”. Africans were restricted to certain areas, largely based on ethnicity.
When independence came, it signalled the move towards individual land rights and redistribution schemes. But these <a href="https://www.macalester.edu/academics/geography/agr/journals/1964_2_4.pdf">schemes</a> were criticised for putting land into the hands of a few <a href="https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/9138/asc_1268319_017.pdf?sequence=1">political elites</a>. In Laikipia, the majority of Kenyans were settled on smallholdings in the west, or remained landless. Group ranches, where a group of people collectively own freehold title to land, were set up predominantly in the north while some private ranches from the colonial period kept their land.
<h2>Human-wildlife conflict</h2>
Over time conservation areas – or <a href="http://kwcakenya.com/primary/what-is">conservancies</a> were set up. These were either former ranches that moved into wildlife management or were set up by a community. Laikipia has an abundance of wildlife and these areas act as a form of public private partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service. They are mandated to manage Kenya’s wildlife and offer tourism opportunities which can attract premium prices.
But the conservancies have created conflict with some surrounding communities. There is deep <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/world/africa/masai-whites-and-wildlife-no-peaceable-kingdom.html">inequality</a> within Laikipia between those who reap the benefits of wildlife and those who bear the costs.
Due to the land arrangements, many smallholders in Laikipia are situated outside the conservancies or within wildlife migratory corridors. As a result, they suffer both livestock or crop destruction. For privately-run conservancies there are concerns that this is a legitimate way to concentrate large tracts of land and valuable wildlife-related economic activities in the hands of a few individuals.
Also troubling is the use of <a href="http://www.nscpeace.go.ke/resource-library/downloads/category/15-acts-regulations.html?download=87:npr-policy-framework-15-july-2013">National Police Reservists</a> by private conservancies. These <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35503077">scouts</a> are private employees. But they are armed by the government through the national police reservists initiative for the purpose of maintaining “wildlife security”.
The scouts are empowered to use violence to stop poaching, but also act in security matters beyond the conservancy of their employment, such as tracking raided cattle. This has the potential to escalate <a href="http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/F-Working-papers/SAS-WP15-Kenya-Policing-the-Periphery.pdf">conflict</a> between private and public interests.
<h2>Political dimensions</h2>
Today the conflicts are also overlaid with <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000223576/the-most-corrupt-departments-in-laikipia">corruption</a> – particularly the misappropriation of funds that could have been used for rural development. Instead they serve <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000227218/laikipia-samburu-ranchers-cry-foul-as-land-sharks-invade-their-farms">political interests</a> with some benefiting financially from the raids.
The raids have become a political tool for those looking for <a href="http://www.academia.edu/3340458/Guns_Land_and_Votes_Cattle_Rustling_and_the_Politics_of_Boundary-_Re_Making_in_Northern_Kenya">votes</a> in exchange for water and pasture. And so, fuelled by the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/12/kenya-cattle-raids-deadlier-161212152024718.html">proliferation</a> of arms within pastoral communities, some politicians reportedly use their positions to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Bond2/publication/263703899_Conflict_Development_and_Security_at_the_Agro-Pastoral-Wildlife_Nexus_A_Case_of_Laikipia_County_Kenya/links/548a26090cf214269f1ac2c7.pdf">incite their constituents</a> to take up arms and lay blame for the lack of resources elsewhere. Cattle raids are therefore often perpetrated by <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201701190320.html">criminal gangs</a> with links to corrupt government or <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report/99846/cattle-rustling-and-politics-business-kenya">political actors</a>.
Previous <a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/samburu/Samburu-women-accuse-police-of-torture/3444866-3454936-3c93nf/index.html">disarmament</a> programs have sought to address the arms problem but have been criticised for the excessive use of force by police or military. They have also been criticised for leaving disarmed communities vulnerable to attack by those communities that haven’t been disarmed.
<h2>A solution?</h2>
This is not a new issue. There have been many incidents of invasions throughout the past few decades. However, the continual framing of these invasions as responses to drought fail to address the underlying dimensions of resource distribution. Short-term programs to address famine and drought do not guard against future invasions.
They will continue to occur in the absence of genuine conversations about issues of governance, the sharing of benefits and resource management in Kenya. Rainfall and ecological conditions simply act to exacerbate the tensions.
Until governance issues such as corruption, policy, security, management of resources and development within rural areas are addressed, the conflict will continue.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/72423/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" height="1" alt="The Conversation"/>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-bond-321608">Jennifer Bond</a>, Lecturer in Human Geography, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kennedy-mkutu-335526">Kennedy Mkutu</a>, Associate Professor, International Relations, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/united-states-international-university-2815">United States International University</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/behind-the-conflict-in-central-kenya-thats-costing-lives-and-hitting-tourism-72423">original article</a>.

Behind the conflict in central Kenya that's costing lives and hitting tourism

South Africa&#8217;s President Jacob Zuma has authorised more than 400 soldiers to join the security team at his annual state of the nation speech this week, drawing outrage from opponents who called it &#8220;militarisation&#8221;.
Since the radical left wing Economic Freedom Fighters&#8217; (EFF) won seats in parliament at 2014 elections, Zuma&#8217;s speech to open parliament has been a chaotic affair with EFF lawmakers chanting and jeering at the president over corruption scandals.
At Zuma&#8217;s address in 2015, parliamentary security guards disguised as waiters physically removed EFF members from the chamber, but this is the first time soldiers will be deployed as security rather than a ceremonial role.
&#8220;President Jacob Zuma has authorised the employment of members of the South African National Defence Force for service in cooperation with the South African Police Service to maintain law and order,&#8221; a presidency statement said late on Tuesday.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said it condemned the decision and would be asking the Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete for an explanation.
&#8220;This announcement is deeply concerning,&#8221; the DA said in a statement on Wednesday.
&#8220;President Zuma’s deliberate use of the words &#8216;law and order&#8217; in his statement points to an excessive use of the army outside of their ceremonial role in the annual fanfare.&#8221;﻿

South Africa's Zuma to deploy over 400 soldiers at state address

Refugees in the United States fearing a worsening climate of xenophobia in the wake of a divisive U.S. presidential campaign are flocking to Canada in growing numbers.
Manitoba&#8217;s Welcome Place refugee agency helped 91 claimants between Nov. 1 and Jan. 25 &#8211; more than the agency normally sees in a year. Most braved the freezing prairie winter to walk into Canada.
&#8220;We haven&#8217;t had something before like this,&#8221; said Maggie Yeboah, president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba, which has helped refugees get medical attention and housing. &#8220;We don&#8217;t know what to do.&#8221;
A temporary restraining order by a U.S. judge of President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order that blocked nationwide the implementation of key parts of the travel ban has provided a reprieve for refugees trying to come to the United States.
But Canadian advocacy organizations are bracing for a greater influx of asylum-seekers, driven in part by the contrast between the ruling Liberal government&#8217;s acceptance of Syrian refugees in Canada with Trump&#8217;s anti-foreigner rhetoric.
&#8220;They will make a dash for Canada, whether they are going to go through cold weather to die or not,&#8221; said Abdikheir Ahmed, a Somali immigrant in Manitoba&#8217;s capital Winnipeg who helps refugees make claims.
Since late summer, 27 men from Ghana walked to Manitoba from the United States, Yeboah said. Two lost all their fingers to frostbite in December and nearly froze to death.
More than 7,000 refugee applicants entered Canada in 2016 through land ports of entry from the United States, up 63 percent from the previous year, according to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Over 2,000 more entered &#8220;irregularly&#8221; during a similar time period, without official authorization, such as across unmonitored fields.
Four hundred and thirty asylum seekers crossed Manitoba&#8217;s border irregularly in the first nine months of 2016-17, up from 340 the entire previous year, CBSA said.
&#8220;The U.S. presidential campaign, putting undocumented immigrants and refugees in the spotlight, terrified them,&#8221; said Ghezae Hagos, counselor at Welcome Place. &#8220;The election and inauguration of Mr. Trump appears to be the final reason for those who came mostly last month.&#8221;
In Quebec, 1,280 refugee claimants irregularly entered between April 2016 and January 2017, triple the previous year&#8217;s total.
In British Columbia and Yukon, 652 people entered Canada irregularly in 2016, more than double the previous year.
More of these people would enter at border crossings, advocates say, if Canada didn&#8217;t have a policy of turning many of them away when they do. The 2004 Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement requires people to apply for asylum in the first of the two countries they arrive in. Advocates argue the agreement inadvertently encourages people to dangerously sneak into Canada and make a claim rather than be rebuffed at the border.
If the government doesn&#8217;t abandon this agreement, they say, it could find itself in court.
The number of refugee applicants crossing the land border under exceptions to the Safe Third Country Agreement has risen by 16 percent in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same time period the year before.
In Buffalo, New York, hundreds of people are streaming through Vive, a shelter that helps refugee applicants to Canada.
Vive’s client numbers, including long-time U.S. residents and refugees, spiked last summer and have stayed consistently high since – two or three times what they’d normally see a year or two ago. Vive&#8217;s Canadian service manager Mariah Walker expects to see even more.
&#8220;Clients are definitely spooked by (Trump&#8217;s) executive orders,&#8221; said Walker.
 
CANADIAN WELCOME
Prime Minister Trudeau took office in 2015 on a commitment to admit tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.
&#8220;While the majority of the world is turning their backs and building walls, the fact that Trudeau took this bold humanitarian goal put [Canada] on the map,&#8221; said Chris Friesen, director of settlement services at Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia.
But this year, Canada plans to take only 7,500 government-assisted refugees &#8211; less than half last year&#8217;s number. People eager to sponsor refugees find themselves waiting years to do so.
Anisa Hussein, 20, and Lyaan Mohammed, 19, hired a smuggler to take them from Somalia to Minneapolis in August, where they planned to settle in a large Somali community. But Trump&#8217;s anti-refugee rhetoric frightened them into traveling to Manitoba days later.
&#8220;(Trump) said he would turn away the refugees and we would go back to Somalia,&#8221; said Mohammed, peeking timidly from behind the hood of a thick parka she received in Canada for winter. &#8220;We were so scared. We just wanted to be [in] a safe place.&#8221;
They rode a bus and taxi to North Dakota, then walked for hours into Emerson, Manitoba and filed refugee claims.
They might have been able to cross at a port of entry if Canada&#8217;s policies were different, says Canadian Council for Refugees executive director Janet Dench.
Her organization, as well as Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, are demanding Canada abandon the Safe Third Country Agreement: Trump&#8217;s United States is no safe haven, they argue.
The government is standing by the agreement, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the House of Commons last week.
If the government doesn&#8217;t act, Dench said, her group will sue.
&#8220;We are talking about people’s charter rights. … So, yes, we would expect to see something in the courts.&#8221;﻿

Worried about Trump, asylum seekers walk cold road to Canada

A Ugandan tribal leader accused of leading a secessionist movement in the country&#8217;s western region was released on bail on Monday after more than two months in jail on charges including treason and terrorism, an official told Reuters.
Security forces detained Charles Wesley Mumbere in November after his royal guards clashed with military and police who accused them of refusing an order to disarm and surrender.
He was subsequently charged with treason, murder, terrorism and other offences alongside dozens of his guards detained in the aftermath of fighting that left more than 60 people dead.
Government officials accuse Mumbere, a traditional leader of the Bakonzo people in Uganda&#8217;s Rwenzori region near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, of seeking to create a separate state.
Judiciary spokesman Solomon Muyita said as part of bail conditions Mumbere was barred from travelling to the region and must stay in the capital Kampala and its vicinity. He is also barred from travelling abroad.
The Rwenzori area heavily favours the opposition in Uganda and in last year&#8217;s presidential elections, incumbent President Yoweri Museveni was defeated by his main oppoennt, Kizza Besigye in the region.
Critics of the government accuse Museveni of using security forces to unleash violence in the region in retaliation for its rejection of the ruling party.
Officials have repeatedly denied those accusations.
Rights group Amnesty International said security forces had carried out extrajudicial killings in its clashes with the guards. Those charges were denied, too.﻿

Ugandan bails traditional leader detained on terrorism charges

Nigeria&#8217;s absentee president is in good health and is expected to return home soon, his deputy said on Monday, after mounting unease about the leader&#8217;s well-being spilled over into street protests.
President Muhammadu Buhari has been in Britain since mid-January for unspecified medical checks and many Nigerians suspect his health is worse than officials admit.
Hundreds marched through Lagos on Monday calling for a change of government, a rare show of public dissent reflecting worry over Buhari&#8217;s absence and a sputtering economy.
Some fear a rerun of the unstable three months in 2010 when then-president Umaru Yar&#8217;Adua&#8217;s illness was shrouded in secrecy before he died, after which Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in.
Current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, acting leader in Buhari&#8217;s absence, told reporters in Abuja the president was &#8220;hale and hearty&#8221; when they spoke on Monday afternoon.
Buhari asked after progress of his proposed budget for 2017, which has not yet been approved by parliament, and plans for economic recovery. Nigeria is mired in its first recession in 25 years.
Osinbajo acknowledged Monday&#8217;s protests, saying: &#8220;I informed (Buhari) about the protest march and feedback about what people are saying about the economy,&#8221; without giving details of the president&#8217;s response.
The president needed to go for more tests, as outlined in a letter to parliament on Sunday requesting extended medical leave.
&#8220;Once he sees the test results and gets medical advice, we expect him very soon,&#8221; Osinbajo said.﻿

Nigeria's president expected home soon says deputy

South Africa&#8217;s net foreign reserves rose to $41.373 billion in January from $40.809 billion in December, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday.
Gross reserves fell to $46.666 billion from $47.356 billion, the central bank data showed.
The forward position, which represents the central bank&#8217;s unsettled or swap transactions, rose to $2.956 billion in January from $1.771 billion in the previous month.﻿

South Africa's net foreign reserves rise in January

Engineering services company Master Drilling will next month complete a diamond mine pilot project aimed at roughly doubling the drilling rate and cutting costs, as miners turn to technology to maximise output from depleted reserves.
Although they have recovered from a deep downturn in 2015, miners face the challenge of rising exploration expenditure after the easiest resources have been extracted.
Many companies are experimenting with new ways of cutting into mineral deposits to improve profit margins.
Master Drilling, working with diamond producer Petra Diamonds at the Cullinan mine, northeast of Johannesburg, is near the end of a three-year trial that accelerates drilling by using a giant drill-cum-vacuum cleaner to power horizontally through diamond-bearing kimberlite.
It says the test-phase should end in March, offers the prospect of increasing drilling speeds from around 3 metres to up to 6 metres per day and has applications beyond mining.
&#8220;We see this trial as an opportunity to establish a reference for ourselves in getting involved in tunnelling and building knowledge and expertise,&#8221; Koos Jordaan, a director at Master Drilling, told Reuters at Cullinan, famous for producing diamonds used in Britain&#8217;s crown jewels.
The result of using a drill rather than blasting is a perfectly round tunnel, which engineers say is a more stable shape than the irregular tunnels created by blasting stone.
Safety is further improved because miners have less exposure to the pit face and, as more ground is covered more precisely, the chances of striking gem-rich ore increases.
While Master Drilling says the technology can be applied to other types of mining such as copper, using a vacuum &#8211; eliminating the need for water to douse down the dust &#8211; is particularly relevant to kimberlite, which dissolves in water.
The company declined to comment in detail on the cost impact until full analysis of the pilot is completed.  
Other miners are also using new methods and seeking to replace traditional blasting.
Anglo American Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani said at the Indaba mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday that the modern mine would be one &#8220;where continuous rock-cutting machines safely extract the targeted ore &#8211; deep underground &#8211; without the need for explosive blasting&#8221;.
The company says the shift has safety benefits, cuts the amount of time needed for extraction and improves the ability to accurately target mineral-bearing ore, rather than waste rock.﻿

South African mine tries faster drilling technique to cut costs

Zambian born, London-based, economist Dambisa Moyo painted a gloomy picture for the world economy as she took the stage at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
Moyo, the author of several books who studied at Oxford University and Harvard, believes the United States could see three interest rate hikes this year and could be heading to recession by the end of 2018.
A bearish Moyo also believes that a growth in protectionism by the United States could hurt Africa and the rest of the world. The US has recently put up 144 trade protection instruments.
READ: <a href="/news/mining/2017/02/06/chamber-of-mines-complaint/">Chamber of Mines complain about foot dragging by government over mining laws﻿</a>
&#8220;In the 1930s the US put up 3,200 tariffs to block trade and this saw a decline in the economy and unemployment that it took a long time to come out of,&#8221; Moyo told more than 6,000 delegates in Cape Town.
Moyo also dismissed US President Donald Trump&#8217;s fiscal stimulus spending plans on infrastructure of $1 trillion.
&#8220;Japan spent $6.3 trillion on infrastructure but it did nothing for the economy either,&#8221; says Moyo, who believes that African mining is looking at tough times ahead.
&#8220;To quote Mark Twain: I believe when it comes to African mining reports of its demise are grossly exaggerated,&#8221; says Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American. 
&#8221; The last year has brought some reprive.  We have emerged stronger than where we were before. If it&#8217;s not grown it&#8217;s mined. The world needs to be reminded this is an industry that contributes 45% of global economy. This week Cape Town is the centre of the world.&#8221;         ﻿

Economist Dambisa Moyo bearish on world growth, African mining

Former Springbok scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen (45) has died. Van der Westhuizen was the scrumhalf for the South African rugby side that triumphed at the 1995 World Cup,﻿
He was admitted to hospital on Saturday morning in a critical condition, and on Monday afternoon passed away.
In 2011 at the age of 40, Van der Westhuizen was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND), which many experts believe was caused by a mixture of damaging genetic and environmental factors.
He was given only two and a half years to live, however he held on for many more years with an unflagging purpose he always showed in the field while playing for the Springboks.
The disease left Van der Westhuizen restricted to a wheel chair using a computer to communicate; during his illness he founded the J9 foundation which seeks to inform people about the disease.
&#8220;It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of Joost. He passed away in his home surrounded by his loved ones,&#8221; read a statement from the J9 Foundation, a charity the rugby player founded to help motor neurone disease sufferers.﻿
He played 89 tests for the Springboks, scoring 38 tries before being surpassed by Bryan Habana.﻿

Former Springbok scrum half Joost van der Westhuizen has died

Anglo American&#8217;s diamond unit De Beers will keep its diamond exploration budget steady at $35 million in 2017, the company said, although it has turned to new technology to try to improve the rate of discoveries.
Many mining companies cut exploration spending because of a slump in commodity prices in 2015, as well as a widening gap between expenditure and the value of resources found as the best quality ores are depleted.
&#8220;Our exploration spend this year is likely to be in line with last year&#8217;s, around $35 million,&#8221; De Beers said in an email.
De Beers, however, is employing a high-tech detection method that measures the tiny magnetic field shifts that indicate the presence of a kimberlite pipe, where diamonds are found, well below the surface of the earth.
The industry as a whole invested around $7 billion on exploration between 2000 and 2013, De Beers figures show.
The results of this spending have been meagre. De Beers says only one diamond deposit of significant size has been discovered – Bunder in India, which Rio Tinto found in 2004.
Last year De Beers also brought on a new mine in Canada, saying it was the world&#8217;s largest new diamond mine but would not result in a supply surge because it was only helping to replace diamonds that have been sold.
Some analysts talk about peak diamonds and De Beers has a policy of balancing production and demand to maintain its position as the biggest producer by value. Russia&#8217;s Alrosa is the biggest diamond producer by volume.
Anglo American has placed diamonds, along with copper and platinum, at the core of a business it wants to focus on increased margins rather than bulk.
Diamond sales recovered in 2016 as the entire industry bounced back from a slump in 2015.
Sales of smaller grades, however, were hit late last year by India&#8217;s decision to phase out higher denomination bank notes, constraining consumer spending in a largely cash economy.﻿

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Nigeria's president expected home soon says deputy

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Former Springbok scrum half Joost van der Westhuizen has died

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