President Ramaphosa vowed on June 14 to serve all and work with all in SA. Market watchers will be eyeing the state of the nation address for clear signs of accelerating reforms. Mining companies that fail to grasp the complexity of the new era risk being caught in the crossfire. This week the international community finally woke up from the unfolding nightmare in the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC , urging both the DRC and Rwanda to return to talks and iron out issues related the violence.
In the past week, M23, the Rwanda-backed rebel group, launched one of its most brutal assaults on the eastern part of the DRC. SA, which is part of the regional peacekeeping force, lost 14 soldiers. As the rebels advanced towards Goma, which they took over for a few hours, the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting and condemned the invasion.
Both men are known to have agreed to press for a ceasefire. All these steps are important and welcome. It matters that the global community cares about this long-running conflict. But these strong words are insufficient to end the misery the Congolese have endured for years. They will not bring back the dead civilians and peacekeepers who have been slaughtered by the rebels. He is right to be concerned about the security of his country.
After all, nearly 1-million Tutsis and Hutu moderates were killed in 90 days during a genocide that the world turned a blind eye to. He deserves credit for both putting a stop to this and helping to reconstruct his country.
However, he has used this human tragedy to manipulate world opinion and to justify his interfere nce in the affairs of the DRC.
