Biting the hand that feeds?

A South African mining company, prospecting for gold in eastern Uganda, has pledged a substantial sum of money for an ecological study of the area in a bid to improve the living standards of the inhabitants. But the altruistic gesture has raised controversy.

The South African mining company, Branch Energy, engaged in prospecting for gold in the distinct of karamoja, has pledged UShs 25m to an ecological study of the nearby Kidepo Valley National Park.

The study aims to make the park East Africa's most popular eco-tourist destination and improve the living standards of the locals. Nevertheless controversy continued to dog the process.

Branch Energy seeks to increase the biodiversity and improve the management of the game park, and thus create employment opportunities, through craft work and tourist entertainment, in Karamoja.

The leader of the research team, Professor Wouter van Hoven, reported that the vegetation would be mapped and certain species of game will be re-introduced to the park. These include the Rothchild's giraffe of which only five remain. Further recommendations have been proposed concerning infrastructure development, especially road construction.

"This should be looked at not only as financially beneficial and uplifting for the people but also as a forum for spiritual growth," stresses the Professor. "By allowing the local people to participate in the management and running of the park, the project will instil a sense of ownership of the conservation area within the community."

However, despite what appear to be above-board intentions, the South African company's plans for Kidepo have sparked off considerable heat within Uganda's circle of domestic politics.

A campaign against the company was mounted recently by the fundamental Christian insurgents in northern Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) which is led by Major General Joseph Kony. A statement, released by the LRA's wing, the Lord's Resistance Army Movement (LRA-M), alleged that President Yoweri Museveni's Government has recruited 3,000 troops from neighbouring Tanzania and has hired mercenaries from Executive Outcome, the South African-based security consultant organisation, to enter Kidepo Park and enter into combat with LRA fighters.

Branch Energy itself has also been accused of foul play by a number of Parliamentary sessional committee reports. Allegations that the company has been smuggling gold out of Uganda do little for the company's public relations, be the accusations true or false.

Mr Bryan Westwood, Branch Energy Project Manager, admits: "We have been disturbed by these ridiculous allegations. If the committee wants to get its facts correct, it must get them from the relevant people. It must not base its reports on rumour mongers."

In Uganda, rumour can sometimes be stronger than fact - a sobering truth that the South African company is only slowly beginning to realise. Meanwhile, much need work on the park remains uncompleted.

Cane couple sign contract

A Kenyan sugar mill, owned and operated by South Nyazi Sugar Company Limited (Sony), is on target for rehabilitation thanks to a R21 in contract that was recently signed with Illovo Sugar of South Africa. Situated in the Nyanza province near the eastern fringes of Lake Victoria, the mill is in one of the best sugar-cane producing areas of the region.

"The contract covers the project management for the rehabilitation and interim expansion of the mill which will bring it up to a crushing capacity of 125 tonnes of cane an hour, as well as increase factory efficiency and overall recovery of sugar from cane," explains Mr Don MacLeod, Illovo's Managing Director.

Illovo have already installed a project management team and operations are underway. The initial decision to upgrade the mill comes as a direct result of small scale farmers in the region who have increased cane supplies to over 15,000 tonnes, according to current estimates.

As one of seven mills operating in Kenya, Sony opened in 1980 and produced 68,700 tonnes of cane last year. The first phase of the new programme aims to increase this capacity to 78,000 tonnes in 1997 while the second phase is aiming at 124,000 tonnes, almost double the current production rate.

Looking a gift horse..?

Given the South African Government's current aim to modernise the country's naval defence, its Ministry of Defence might not be able to refuse a timely offer from the British Government to purchase four barely-used British Upholder diesel-electric submarines at a snip of R2bn to be paid over a period of 10 years.

At present the vessels are gathering mothballs in VSEL's Barrow yard as new owners are sought. Less than five-years old, they have seen only brief service since they were built by VSEL for the Royal Navy for about [pounds]1bn (R7.2bn) with the capacity to be upgraded to nuclear power level.

The offer, almost something of a gift-horse, could prove irresistible to the South African Cabinet which has been considering restoring its naval defence, including the replacement or modernisation of its French-built Daphne class vessels and the purchase of four patrol corvettes.

Although the Government has scheduled its defence review for March 1997, a decision on the UK submarines might be made before that date according to Mr Tony Yengeni, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. "The question is whether we should wait until the review process is finished, in which case these subs would have been sold to someone else," he explains, "or whether we should go ahead now." That, indeed is the question.