Sudan’s Burhan threatens to expel UN mission head

 Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan threatened Friday to expel UN special representative Volker Perthes over alleged “interference” in the country’s affairs.

Perthes, in an address Monday to the United Nations Security Council, said Sudan was heading towards “an economic and security collapse” unless its civilian-led transition, upended in last year’s military coup led by Burhan, was restored.

Perthes also warned of rising crime and lawlessness, killing of anti-coup protesters, violence against women “by members of the security forces” and increased targeting of activists.

Burhan warned Perthes “to stop overstepping the mandate of the UN mission and blatant interference in Sudanese affairs, as that would lead to his expulsion from the country”.

He also urged the UN and the African Union (AU) “to facilitate dialogue among Sudanese and avoid overstepping their mandate”, in a statement released by the armed forces.

On Thursday, the armed forces’ newspaper’s chief editor Ibrahim al-Houri, in an article, accused the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan headed by Perthes of “not adhering to the principle of neutrality”.

UNITAMS has rejected the charge but insisted it is “not neutral with regard to its commitment to protect human rights, freedoms and democracy”.

Regular mass protests have rocked Sudan since the coup, in the face of a violent crackdown by security forces that has so far killed 93 people, according to medics.

Perthes said UNITAMS along with the AU and regional bloc IGAD, have agreed on joint efforts to facilitate Sudanese-led talks.

The Friends of Sudan, a grouping which includes the United States, Britain and the European Union, have also thrown their weight behind latest efforts to facilitate dialogue.

The group has called for the restoration of the civilian-led transition that had followed the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir as it “would pave the way to restore economic assistance and international debt relief”.

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Malawi axes tax on sanitary pads

 Malawians no longer have to pay tax on sanitary pads – as a 16.5% levy has been axed.

“In the spirit of promoting girl child education, government has listened to the contributions that came from various stakeholders and has consequently removed duty and excise tax on sanitary pads,” Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe said earlier this week.

Girls who can’t afford sanitary pads often miss school during their periods.

The minister also announced that value added tax would no longer have to be paid on cooking oil and tap water in a bid to help Malawians with rising prices and access to drinking water.

The changes take effect from Friday 1 April.

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Angola suspends salaries of striking doctors

 Angola’s government has suspended the salaries of more than 5,000 doctors, describing their strike action as illegal.

The National Union of Angola Medical Doctors began an indefinite nationwide strike last week to press for better wages and working conditions.

The stoppage has paralysed public health services, although some medics are providing emergency services.

Doctors say that in addition to poor salaries, health facilities are woefully under-equipped with frequent shortages of supplies and medicines.

The strike is the second in four months. In December, medics took industrial action over the death of 20 children in a hospital in the capital, Luanda.

Doctors allege they died because of shortages of medicine and medical equipment.

Recent negotiations with the government broke down after the doctors rejected a 6% pay increase.

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SA Zuma riots targeted the economy – Ramaphosa

 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has told an inquiry that riots and looting in two major provinces last July were a deliberate attempt to derail the economy.

At least 350 people died in the violence in little over a week in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng after former President Jacob Zuma was jailed for contempt of court.

Mr Zuma was sentenced over his refusal to testify before a corruption commission. His supporters were demanding his release.

President Ramaphosa told the inquiry by the South African Human Rights Commission that although the initial protests were presented as political grievance, they were in fact an attempt to undermine the country’s democracy.

The deadliest unrest since the end of apartheid cost the economy $3.3bn (£2.5bn).

Months later, no major arrests have been made. Mr Ramaphosa said investigations to find the suspected masterminds were still continuing.

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