‘SA troops in CAR over mine interests’

[iolsa]

Cape Town - US diplomats believed that mining interests in the Central African Republic "no doubt played a role" in the South African government's decision to get involved in the CAR, according to a cable leaked by WikiLeaks.

South Africa also donated $250 000 (R2.2 million) to the cash-strapped CAR government to help clear its international debt, according to the classified diplomatic cable dated December 14, 2006, and sent from the US embassy in Pretoria.

This has emerged amid emphatic denials from the government that SANDF troops were protecting South African business interests in the CAR.  

Discussing plans for South Africa to provide military training and technical assistance to the then newly installed government of Francois Bozize, the cable suggests Pretoria's primary objective was to promote stability in the region.  

The cable describes how then-defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota had travelled to the CAR earlier that month to discuss the military assistance programme.

Carol Rath, then deputy director in Foreign Affairs, informed US diplomats the assistance was in line with a framework agreement signed by Lekota and Bozize in April 2006.

That agreement – of which Independent Newspapers has a copy – says co-operation between the countries would include defence and security, transport, energy and mining and commerce and industry.  

The cable notes that South African commercial interests in the CAR included a uranium mine owned by Uramin Inc and that diamond giant De Beers held concessions there.

President Jacob Zuma and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula have maintained that the SANDF mission – initially involving only training of the CAR army – had been to promote democracy in Africa and counter the tendency for governments to be overthrown by force.

This view is supported in the WikiLeaks cable, which says: "We agree that the SA government views the proposed military training programme in the CAR, as well as its cash donation, as ways to help stabilise the fragile central African country."

It noted that Pretoria had devoted "enormous resources" to conflict resolution in the DRC and Sudan and "the last thing" it wanted was "another conflict or coup in the region".

However, it continues: "South Africa's mining interests, while not the dominant factor, no doubt played a role in the SA government decision to become involved in the CAR."

DA MP and defence spokesman David Maynier said on Tuesday that it was "very interesting that even the US thought the motivation for providing military assistance was to promote South Africa's commercial mining interests in the CAR".

"Up until now we have thought that the donations to the CAR involved only military equipment. We now hear that South Africa transferred $250 000 to the CAR in order to assist with debt relief. We are going to have to try and find out where that money really went."

Calls to Lekota's cellphone went straight to voicemail on Tuesday.

The Department of International Relations and Co-operation had not responded to requests for comment on the donation by the time of publication.

craig.dodds@inl.co.za

Political Bureau



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