Kafrican
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 26, 2015
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Kama ulikua hujui, Tangazo hili lilifanywa huko DRC Congo, Rais wa Kenya amekua DRC kwa ziara rasmi kutokana na mwaliko wa rais wa DRC ambapo tume sign deals za usalama na biashara. Pia tume sign deal kwamba DRC itaongeza utumizi wake wa bandari ya Mombasa, lakini kwa sasa routes ambazo Kenya inatumia kupeleka mizigo DRC zengine zimeingia mikononi mwa wanamgambo... Kwahivyo hili la kupeleka vikosi DRC ni jambo ambalo Kenya inaangalia maslahi yake ya kibiashara mbali na kusaidia mwafrika mwenzake.
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...... Officials, however, said it was a response to secure business links, especially in the east where armed groups have made trading difficult. Long-distance truck drivers say there is great potential in the DRC but need guarantees on security.
"Nobody can deny the role of truck drivers and we thank the President for seeking to address these issues of trade and security," said David Masinde, Chairman of the Kenya Drivers Association.
"We have always pleaded to governments to look into security across the region, including safety of drivers and treatment at weighbridges."
The Southern Africa Development Community - the regional bloc to which DRC belongs and who formed the Rapid Intervention Brigade (FIB) under Monusco seven years ago - had always resisted non-members.
The force was formed to provide a quick response to frequent rebel attacks, a departure from the blue helmets of the UN restricted to protection of civilians.
Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania initially contributed troops to target the rebel group M23. The rebels later signed a peace agreement with then-President Kabila in Kenya and were amalgamated in the army, FARDC.
Insurgency
The brigade shifted its focus to the Alliance of Democratic Forces and Hutu rebels based in the DRC as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Critics charge that the brigade failed to end the insurgency, with rebels splintering up to launch more attacks, besides looking like a club force of SADC funded by the UN.
"The FIB has not managed to neutralise these other forces. Compared to the M23 which was a conventional armed group, the ADF is mobile, operates across a wide expanse and lacks unified command and control," says a paper published by the Institute of Security Studies in South Africa.
"The FIB is not equipped to tackle these kinds of armed groups, which raises questions about its mission in the first place."
The debate has continued at the UN Security Council, even though President Tshisekedi prefers reaching agreements with neighbours to secure the restive eastern DRC.
More than 70 per cent of goods imported from Kenya or through the Port of Mombasa end up in the east. Of the Sh1.8 billion volume of trade between Kenya and DRC last year, the port handled less than 10 per cent of those goods.
George Masafu, Kenya's Ambassador to the DRC, said Kenya's volume could go higher if both countries addressed non-tariff barriers, such as a mismatch in customs security and infrastructure.
"DRC is landlocked and depends on foreign ports for trade: Mombasa, Dar es salaam, Durban and Beira in Mozambique. Mombasa handles less than five per cent of the total business to DRC although it is ideally positioned to serve the eastern region of north and south Kivu and oriental provinces almost exclusively," said Mr Masafu.
"President Tshisekedi is expected to form an effective government with the vision and capacity to implement policies that will meaningfully improve security, governance, and the socio-economic living conditions of the people."
Kenya: KDF Heads to DR Congo, One of Most Dangerous Places On Earth
Kenya will deploy troops in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the most dangerous places in the world.
