Sylvestre Mudacumura, commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), was “definitively neutralised” in DRC’s North Kivu province on Tuesday night, General Leon-Richard Kasonga said.

Mudacumura, wanted for charges including rape, torture, and pillage, was killed about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the capital of the province Goma.

Neighbouring Rwanda welcomed the news, saying it proved DRC President Felix Tshisekedi’s commitment to fighting “negative forces”.

“The death of Sylvestre Mudacumura is good news for peace and security in the region,” Rwandan state minister for regional affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe told AFP.

“With his genocide group, the FDLR, he was destabilising DRC, killing Congolese and Rwandans.”

The FDLR was created by Rwandan Hutu refugees in eastern DRC after the genocide of Tutsis by majority Hutus in Rwanda in 1994.

According to the United Nations, the force numbers between 500 and 600 active fighters.

They are scattered across the mineral-rich eastern Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu as well as in southern Katanga, and the group is regularly accused of committing atrocities against civilians in the zones it controls.

“His death confirms the commitment of President Felix Tshisekedi in fighting negative forces and will open a new era of good and peaceful cooperation between DRC and countries in the region,” Nduhungirehe said.

The FDLR, opposed to the current Rwandan government, has not launched any large-scale offensive in Rwanda since 2001.

– Warning to other warlords –
Eastern DRC has been torn for more than two decades by armed conflicts fed by ethnic and land disputes, competition for control of a wealth of mineral resources and regional rivalries.

Mudacumura’s death “is a strong signal for other rebels,” said General Richard Kasonga, spokesman of the Congolese army, calling it a “big step” in the fight against insecurity and terrorism.

He called on “all armed groups to lay down their arms, or face the same fate as Mudacumura.”

During a visit to the region early this month, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also called on the rebels to disarm.

US researcher Jason Stearn said the death was “an extremely important event”, telling AFP that the FDLR is “one of the biggest armed groups in the region, even if they have diminished in capacity.”

However, Stearn, of New York University’s Congo Research Group, held out little hope for peace in a region where around 130 armed groups remain active.

“We have seen a lot of commanders die without the groups necessarily disappearing or diminishing in force,” he said.

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The admission of conspiracy by Callixte Nsabimana, the spokesperson for the National Liberation Front (FLN), risks further escalating tensions between Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his immediate neighbours, whom he has accused of spying. Nsabimana was arrested last month for his involvement with FLN, an insurgent movement blamed for attacks inside Rwanda from a forested area near Burundi and the DRC.

Nsabimana plead guilty to 16 charges including terrorism and murder, and offered an unconditional apology for his crimes. “I apologise for all things I did,” he said. “I want to declare that my work with FLN is over, and anything else they do from now on is their business, not mine. I would like to apologise to the president, those that we injured and the families of those who died. I apologise to all Rwandans.”

His lawyer requested bail, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The prosecution opposed bail, declaring Nsabimana a flight risk.

– AFP

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Africa’s young people are key to achieving the continent’s sustainable development, but realizing this great potential requires creating more jobs for them, including in the increasingly digitalized agriculture sectors, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, said on Wednesday.

“We need to take action to make agriculture more attractive to young people. They must perceive agriculture as a remunerative and profitable sector and the dissemination of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in rural areas play an important role in this regard,” Graziano da Silva said.

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His remarks came at the opening of the international conference, Youth Employment in Agriculture as a Solid Solution to ending Hunger and Poverty in Africa in Kigali. The two-day event, which is co-organized by the Government of Rwanda, the African Union and FAO, has a special focus on youth employment, ICTs and entrepreneurship.

Other keynote speakers included Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Geraldine Mukeshimana, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Director-General, Li Yong.

As Africa’s population grows, so will the demand for food

Graziano da Silva noted that food demand in Africa is projected to grow by more than 50 percent in the coming years due to continued population growth, rapid urbanization, and dietary changes as household incomes rise. The World Bank expects African agribusinesses to create a market worth $1 trillion by 2030.

The agricultural sectors have thus “an invaluable and untapped potential to address the youth unemployment challenge, but it is well-known that young people seeking to gain a decent livelihood from agriculture face numerous constraints,” Graziano da Silva said.

He noted how young people are usually employed on a casual or seasonal basis, with limited access to relevant education and technical training; limited access to finance, information and markets; and low involvement in decision-making processes.

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“These constraints become a bottleneck that also impede young people to start an agricultural business of their own. As a result, young rural people are migrating,” he said.

Preparing young people to enter the job market

“In the coming years, more and more of the agricultural activities and employment will require digital skills,” he said. Cooperatives or other forms of association represent “the best way to provide family farmers and young professionals with technical assistance, capacity building, and access to modern technologies”.

The FAO Director-General also said that there is a need to “think beyond farm jobs,” and to explore employment opportunities across the agri-food chain. The increasing demand for high-value products in urban areas also offer multiple employment opportunities in processing, distribution, marketing and retailing of food products.

Achieving this requires “a new kind of rural transformation,” which is means equipping rural areas with basic services such as education, health, electricity, internet access and so on. “These services are themselves another important source for employment, especially for women and young people,” Graziano da Silva said.

FAO’s role

The Director-General told conference participants that FAO will continue to strengthen its activities to support countries in realizing the potential of agriculture and food systems to create more job opportunities for youth.

In particular, the FAO can help countries to develop and implement legal and regulatory frameworks and services for youth’s inclusion as well as trainings to young people in  financial literacy, business development and management, as well as in innovative digital finance solutions.

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By training youth in demand-driven Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curriculum and matching graduates directly with ICT employers, this new Program prepares Africa’s youth for tomorrow’s jobs and unleashes the next generation of young digital innovators from the continent. Coding for Employment will create over 9 million jobs and reach 32 million youth and women across Africa.

The Coding for Employment Program is at the center of the African Development Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative , which aims to put Africa’s youth on a path to prosperity. By 2025, the Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative will equip 50 million youth with employable skills and create 25 million jobs in agriculture, information communications and technology and other key industries across Africa.

Over the last 15 years, the African Development Bank has invested US $1.64 billion in programs to prepare youth for careers in science, technology and innovation. Putting youth at the center of Africa’s inclusive economic growth agenda is at the forefront of the African Development Bank’s investments and its “High 5s” priorities —building businesses, feeding the continent, expanding power and integration, and improving the quality of life for the people across the continent by preparing youth for today’s competitive digital world.

As the world moves towards a fourth industrial revolution, the demand for digitization across health, education, and other sectors is on the rise. Digital innovations have the power to solve the continent’s development challenges and are generating new job opportunities. The youth population is rapidly growing and by 2050, is expected to double to over 830 million. Yet, the digital divide in Africa persists and critical skills gaps pose serious challenges to youth securing quality and decent work in a rapidly changing workforce.

“Coding for Employment accelerates investments in Africa’s most valuable resource – its young women and men. That’s why The Rockefeller Foundation is thrilled to join forces with the African Development Bank to help every young African reach their full potential. Our partnership with the African Development Bank will establish 130 Centers of Excellence across Africa to help bridge the gap between the digital hiring news of employers and the skills of Africa’s youth,” affirmed Mamadou Biteye, OBE, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director for Africa.

According to Ghada Khalifa, Director of Microsoft Philanthropies for the Middle East and Africa, “Digital skills are fast becoming essential for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Unfortunately, these skills are beyond the reach of too many young people in Africa. Together with our partners like the African Development Bank, we are working to change that. The partnership between Microsoft and the African Development Bank will continue to focus on increasing the participation of underserved youth and women while equipping youth across Africa with the skills needed to fill jobs now and in the future,” she said.

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“We are excited to partner with the African Development Bank on the launch of the coding for employment program in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal. Coding for Employment ensures digital skills are accessible to young people and supports youth with securing meaningful opportunities where they can apply their talents, ideas and expertise to advance the continent’s economic and social development,” said Sherry Dzinoreva, Head of Policy Programs at Facebook.

“By working together with the private sector, donors, policy-makers, and other stakeholders, we can secure a brighter future for young African women and men. As part of this new Program, we seek to cultivate the next generation of innovators and to empower young women to lead the continent’s digital revolution. Investments in youth through programs like Coding for Employment can stimulate inclusive economic growth, put Africa and its youth on the cutting edge of technological innovations and ensure the digital transformation of Africa is led and managed by young Africans for the benefit of the people of Africa,” said Oley Dibba-Wadda, Director of Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development at the African Development Bank.

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