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OMG: At 34, Burkina’s new junta chief is world’s youngest leader

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2 years ago

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Just two weeks ago, 34-year-old Ibrahim Traore was an unknown, even in his native Burkina Faso.

But in the space of a weekend, he catapulted himself from army captain to the world’s youngest leader — an ascent that has stoked hopes but also fears for a poor and chronically troubled country.

Traore, at the head of a core of disgruntled junior officers, ousted Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had seized power just in January.

The motive for the latest coup — as in January — was anger at failures to stem a seven-year jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven nearly two million people from their homes.

A few days after the September 30 coup, Traore was declared president and “guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity… and continuity of the State.”

At that lofty moment, Traore became the world’s youngest leader, wresting the title from Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a whole two years older.

Ibrahim Traore: Burkina Faso's new leader is Africa's youngest at 34 years

And on Friday, a national forum made up of about 300 delegates named Traore interim president until elections are held in July 2024, two members of the ruling junta told AFP.

Traore’s previously unknown face is now plastered on portraits around the capital Ouagadougou.

His photo is even on sale in the main market, alongside portraits of Burkina’s revered radical leader Thomas Sankara, assassinated in 1987, and of Jesus.

– Military career –

Traore was born in Bondokuy, in western Burkina Faso, and studied geology in Ouagadougou before joining the army in 2010.

He graduated as an officer from the Georges Namonao Military School — a second-tier institution compared to the prestigious Kadiogo Military Academy (PMK) of which Damiba and others in the elite are alumni.

Traore emerged second in his class, a contemporary told AFP, describing him as “disciplined and brave.”

After graduation, he gained years of experience in the fight against the jihadists.

He served in the badly-hit north and centre of the country before heading to a posting in neighbouring Mali in 2018 in the UN’s MINUSMA peacekeeping mission.

He was appointed captain in 2020.

A former superior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, recounted an incident that occurred in 2020 when the town of Barsalogho in central Burkina was on the verge of falling to the jihadists.

The highway into Barsalogho was believed to have been mined, so Traore led his men on a “commando trek” across the countryside, arriving in time to free the town, he said.

When Damiba took power in January, ousting elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Traore became a member of the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (MPSR), as the junta chose to call itself.

– Discontent –

In March, Damiba promoted Traore to head of artillery in the Kaya regiment in the centre of the country.

But it was a move that ironically would sow the seeds of Damiba’s own downfall.

The regiment became a cradle of discontent, and Traore, tasked by his colleagues with channelling their frustrations, made several trips to Ouagadougou to plead their case with Damiba.

Disillusionment at the response turned into anger, which appears to have crystallised into resolve to seize power after an attack on a convoy in northern Burkina last month that left 27 soldiers and 10 civilians dead.

“Captain Traore symbolises the exasperation of junior officers and the rank and file,” said security consultant Mahamoudou Savadogo.

The new president faces a daunting task in regaining the upper hand over the jihadist groups, some affiliated with Al-Qaeda and others with the Islamic State group. They have steadily gained ground since they launched their attacks from Mali in 2015.

Yet Traore has promised to do “within three months” what “should have been done in the past eight months,” making a direct criticism of his predecessor.

Savadogo warned that one soldier overthrowing another illustrates “the deteriorating state of the army, which hardly exists any more and which has just torn itself apart with this umpteenth coup d’etat”.

Traore’s takeover comes during a struggle for influence between France and Russia in French-speaking Africa, where former French colonies are increasingly turning to Moscow.

Demonstrators who rallied for him in Ouagadougou during the standoff with Damiba waved Russian flags and chanted anti-France slogans.

Traore seems — for now — to bring hope to many in a country sinking steadily in the quagmire.

“He embodies renewal, a generational renewal, a break with old practices,” said Monique Yeli Kam, who came to the national forum representing her party, the Movement for Burkina’s Renaissance, in order to “support and defend the vision of national unity”.

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Africa

Sudan: Major cholera outbreak as heavy rains hit displacement camps and no end to fighting

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3 hours ago

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September 8, 2024

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Thousands of children in eastern Sudan are at risk of cholera following a major outbreak caused by widespread flooding, contaminated water and with a decimated health system after 16 months of conflict, Save the Children said.

Nearly 2900 cases of cholera and 112 deaths have been reported between July 22 and the beginning of September with Sudan’s Ministry of Health officially declared the outbreak on August 12. However, the actual numbers may be higher as limited access to health facilities and delayed community referrals are leading to a significant underreporting, according to the latest report from Sudan’s Health Cluster— a partnership including the UN, the Federal Ministry of Health, and NGOs including Save the Children.

In El Damer in River Nile State and in Gedarif in Gedarif State, Save the Children teams are reporting a huge spike in cholera cases among children under five, who account for nearly 15% of the confirmed cases and deaths across the country.

The spike in cholera comes with no end to the fighting that started in April last year and has devastated the country’s health and sanitation systems. Cholera spreads rapidly due to inadequate sewage treatment, flooding, and unsafe drinking water—conditions worsened by relentless heavy rains that have battered much of the country for the past three months.

The flooding has already claimed at least 173 lives and injured 505 people since June, according to the National Council for Civil Defence. The downpour has also caused the collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Red Sea state on 24 August, which is the main source of drinking water for the coastal city of Port Sudan, a vital humanitarian hub.

Heavy rains and flooding have also displaced 4,300 people from displacement camps in North Darfur State, including the Zamzam camp, where famine was recently declared. The flooding has destroyed around 900 tents and washed away latrines within these camps, severely disrupting humanitarian aid efforts.

With more than 25.6 million people across the country in need of aid, the crisis has escalated food scarcity, putting children at heightened risk of malnutrition.

Mohamed Abdiladif, Interim Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:

“Children in Sudan have gone from horror to horror. Even before the conflict erupted last year the country was home to one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, with existing localised conflicts, natural disasters, disease outbreaks and economic degradation leaving 15.8 million people in need. That figure has now escalated to 25.6 million people, and diseases like cholera will only trigger a greater increase. Conflict is not just about immediate violence but is also a slow but deadly drip-feed of other grave threats to children’s lives, such as malnutrition and disease.

“We are working to ensure access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion activities to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as a cholera in conflict-affected areas. However, we urgently need a huge injection of funds to deliver the treatment needed for cholera.”

Save the Children is conducting daily water quality testing, monitoring and chlorination at 35 water sources within the Sawakin locality, Red Sea state, and has disposed of 125 tons of solid waste at designated dumping sites.

In Gedaref state, Save the Children is supporting with treatment and management of cholera cases and providing safe drinking water to cholera treatment centres. The aid agency is also providing cash assistance to vulnerable families to enable them buy basics such as food, water, and afford health care.

Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983 and is currently supporting children and their families across Sudan providing health, nutrition, education, child protection and food security and livelihoods support. Save the Children is also supporting refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan.

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Africa

Nigeria tears down Benin 3 – 0 in Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers – Highlights

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4 hours ago

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September 8, 2024

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In a bittersweet first half, Nigeria took the lead in stoppage time through Ademola Lookman and went into the break on top. Benítez’s side improved in the second half, but it was not enough. Nigeria stepped on the gas in the final half and Victor Osimhen made it 2-0 in the 78th minute before Ademola Lookman doubled the advantage in the 83rd minute. Nothing else happened in the match and Nigeria ran out 3-0 winners in the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

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Could South Africa be the first-ever country to provide a no-strings-attached universal basic income?

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3 months ago

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June 9, 2024

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South Africa suffers from severe income inequality — one of the worst anywhere in the world. Its unemployment rate, meanwhile, is over 30%.

But its government thinks it has a solution: a universal basic income .

The idea has broad political support and the country’s largest political party, the African National Congress, said recently it is committed to implementing a universal basic income within two years.

Once the figment of ideological dreamers, a universal basic income — regular direct cash payments to a population with no strings attached — has grown in legitimacy, especially after the success of COVID-era stimulus checks. Tech visionaries racing to develop ever-more advanced artificial intelligence have also suggested implementing a universal basic income. They say it would help mitigate the job losses from AI .

Several other countries have experimented with versions of a universal basic income. Kenya, for instance, offers unconditional payments to about 20,000 people in 200 different towns.

In the United States, numerous cities and some states are experimenting on a small scale with guaranteed basic incomes , which offer no-strings-attached payments but only to select groups of people in need. While studies have shown these American programs to be successful, they have also run up against significant political opposition .

But in South Africa, most political parties are all for it. They just need to work out the details.

“The ANC is committed to finalizing a comprehensive policy on the basic income support grant within two years of the new ANC administration, ensuring broad consultation and expedited action,” South Africa’s ruling party said in a statement .

That statement came a week before hotly contested general elections on May 29, which saw the ANC lose its majority in parliament. The ANC is now working to form a unity government and a commitment to implementing a universal basic income will almost certainly come up in negotiations.

According to the party, a study at the University of Johannesburg showed that a majority of South African citizens “fully support the introduction of a basic income support grant.”

While South Africa provides payments to certain groups living below the poverty line through its Social Relief Distress grant program, the ANC plan would open eligibility to all South African adults, the Guardian reported .

The ANC said it is “exploring” options, like new tax measures and a new social-security tax, to fund the program. The party also says its goal for the program is not to replace existing social-security programs, but to complement them.

If it follows through, the ANC plan would make South Africa the first country to provide a universal basic income.

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