Note from Publisher
Without peace, there is no security.
Without security, there is no investment.
Without investment, there is no development.
Without development, there is no growth.
Without growth, there is no nation building and country branding.
Without nation building and country branding, there is no “New Version of Africa”.
Between Silence of the Guns and foreign military presence in Africa, terrorism and civil conflicts keeps resurging on the African continent and that makes the security issues pivotal for all African stakeholders. In fact, country as well as Continent branding has to include security branding as a major aspect for 21st century Africa.
Branding is not only about logo and colors, it is intrinsically about mindset and perception as they say “Branding is the process of creating a strong, positive perception of a company, its products or services in the customer’s mind by combining such elements as logo, design, mission statement, and a consistent theme throughout all marketing communications.” The goal is to consistently enter the multicultural marketplace of ideas and products into the psyche of consumers and various stakeholders.
A country brand that evokes positive experience and memories will make the negative storyline irrelevant. A country and continent image as well as narrative should encompass the various aspects of building a country/region/continent able to maintain stability to ensure private sector confidence and nation well-being, establish peace whereby oppositions does not equate enemies while enforcing a solid security infrastructure, and lastly, have a government that focuses on institutional-building as well as structures to ease the business engagement.
This newsletter highlights the importance of What Security means in Africa?
In hopes of stability, Africa needs a trained public service in addition to a combination of private security and government military facilities that businesses can play an integral role in developing the country's private sector and SMEs. African countries need to create regional and sub-regional forces equipped to deal with security issues including transnational organized crime, terrorism and election related violence, in addition to the extractives discoveries.
Enjoy our newsletter about Branding Africa’s security.
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, feel free to contact us.
Rahel G.
Food Security - Agrifrica DigiMag
Agrifrica.com is a news and content publishing platform focusing on agriculture, energy and environment and these sectors are part of the SDGs and imperative for the #FutureofEarth. If you want to receive our Agrifrica Newsletter, subscribe at agrifrica.com and to work with us contact us. In this issue you will find:
- Exclusive Article from Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity and Water to Thrive organization.
- Country Profiles [ Ethiopia, Columbia and Vietnam] + Continental view.
- Interview with an Entrepreneur in Antigua selling Coffee brands in CARICOM.
- Interview with filmmakers from Caffeinated.
- Interview with Artist from Israel who transitioned from Medicine to Arts.
US-Africa Engagement
USAID Administrator Power weekly recap
DIGITAL PRESS BRIEFING ON US-AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT THROUGH PROSPER AFRICA
The United States stands ready to partner with African nations as well as its vibrant civil society and young leaders to achieve this future. Our commitment to achieving Africa’s potential also means working with African nations to combat the threats posed by violent extremism, by climate change, and undue foreign influence. And as we pursue our shared affirmative agenda, we also – we will also work with African leaders to address conflicts and humanitarian crises that are costing lives around the continent. And as President Biden said in the opening weeks of this administration, the United States stands ready to partner with Africa in solidarity, in support, and in mutual respect. Read more
USAID ADVANCES THE PROSPER AFRICA BUILD TOGETHER CAMPAIGN
USAID will play a leading role in the Prosper Africa Build Together Campaign, joining 17 U.S. Government agencies—and working hand-in-hand with the private sector, African governments, and multilateral organizations—to bolster trade and investment in key sectors such as clean energy and climate smart solutions, health, and digital technology. Through this next chapter of the Prosper Africa initiative, USAID is committed to driving billions of dollars of investment in Africa and supporting thousands of jobs for both African and American workers. Read more.
MCC COMMITS MORE THAN $1 BILLION IN NEW PROGRAMS FOR AFRICA
MCC currently has a total of $4.5 billion of investments slated for Africa—$3.1 billion in active compact and threshold programs and $1.4 billion of planned future programs. These potential new programs in Africa include:
- A proposed compact with Lesotho, focused on improving capital investments planning and execution and strengthen health systems.
- A proposed compact with Malawi, focused on developing accelerated growth corridors and improving land productivity.
- A proposed compact with Tunisia, which MCC’s Board of Directors approved in June 2021. The compact is designed to strengthen Tunisia’s transportation, trade, and water sectors.Read more.
USAID ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER TRAVELS TO SUDAN, ETHIOPIA
Administrator Samantha Power will travel to Sudan and Ethiopia July 31–August 4 to strengthen the U.S. Government’s partnership with Sudan’s transitional leaders and citizens, explore how to expand USAID’s support for Sudan’s transition to a civilian-led democracy, and continue to press the Government of Ethiopia to allow full and unhindered humanitarian access to prevent famine in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Read more.
Private Security in Africa
Interesting Articles
U.S., MOROCCAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES FURTHER STRENGTHEN SECURITY COOPERATION
Our U.S. and Moroccan special operations teams put together an exceptional training plan that executed operations in the air, on the ground, and at sea,” said U.S. Army Col. Brian Hughes, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa deputy commander, during the closing ceremonies. "The high level of readiness and interoperability we collectively achieved is a testament to the professionalism of the teams, the interoperability of U.S. and Moroccan forces, and our strong enduring partnership." Read more
LEADERS COMMITTED TO TRANSPARENCY WITH AFRICAN PARTNERS
China has done much investment in Africa on infrastructure. Townsend said while the U.S. is not going to compete with Chinese investment in infrastructure, it does have its own benefits to offer.
What the U.S. does offer, he said, is always tied with democratic values and transparency — just like what is offered by the European Union.
"That's what we bring," he said. "We play with our cards facing out, as the saying goes. And we offer our skills. And I think that's an attractive proposition for most of our African partners." Read more
AFRICAN LION 21 CONCLUDES AFTER HONING MULTINATIONAL OPERATIONS ON LAND, IN AIR AND OVER SEA
“We are thrilled to welcome African Lion – the largest military exercise in Africa – back to Morocco after a one-year hiatus because of COVID-19. The exercise is a critical component of the close, strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States,” said Greene.
African Lion 21 culminated with a combined arms live-fire exercise displaying capabilities of the total force June 18, 2021, in Tan Tan.
“The 17th iteration of Exercise African Lion 2021 has just wrapped up, and it has been a great success at all levels, by having fulfilled all its objectives,” said Abdelfattah Louarak, Inspector General of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. Read more
WHY PRIVATE FOREIGN SECURITY COMPANIES ARE BOOMING IN AFRICA
Currently, there are two approaches at the international level to regulate the behavior of private force providers: A UN working group has long sought a convention that would generally prohibit the use of military service providers. However, Sassoli is skeptical: "It's like war. War is also prohibited. But I don't believe that you can eliminate it through a convention or the rules of international humanitarian law. The questions would rather be to create a regulatory framework."
Work is now underway on such a framework. At Switzerland's initiative, an international code of conduct was launched 10 years ago with the so-called Montreux Document. Private security providers are supposed to get certified, commit to complying with certain rules, and submit to a complaints procedure if necessary. The code involves representatives from the security sector, nongovernmental organizations and governments. So far, however, only just under a hundred companies have signed up to the code. And, according to Sassoli, Chinese and Russian companies have not even joined. Read more
PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA - SECURITY COUNCIL, 8816TH MEETING
Many also underscored the importance of holding negotiations over an African project that affects three African neighbours under the auspices of the African Union. Niger’s representative echoed others in calling upon Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to demonstrate the continued political will to engage in negotiations, while urging the three States to exercise restraint and refrain from any actions that could put a final agreement at risk. “Peaceful coexistence is priceless,” he emphasized, noting his own country’s membership of a successful nine-State water management framework — the Niger Basin Authority. Welcoming the African Union Assembly’s pledges to push forward with negotiations, he spotlighted the important principle of subsidiarity, saying it should lead the three relevant countries to resolve their own challenges. Kenya’s representative emphasized that the goal of all the peoples of the Horn of Africa is to throw off the shackles of poverty and the ills of war. Describing the concerns of Egypt and Sudan as legitimate — and Ethiopia’s use of the Nile’s waters as equally so — he declared: “Kenya stands with the three States, recognizing their equality and that all their people equally deserve development and prosperity.” Against that backdrop, the three Governments are to be commended for placing their faith and confidence in the African Union’s mediation mechanism while agreeing that the principle of subsidiarity remains critical, he said. Read more
Security Threats Facing Africa and Its Capacity to Respond
Most African militaries are ineffective because most African countries lack a strong sense of national identity and their leaders have ostentatiously eschewed self-sacrifice. The contrast between the founding presidents of Kenya and Tanzania demonstrates the long- term consequences. In Kenya, President Jomo Kenyatta behaved like most other African pres- idents, using his power to favor his own tribe over its rivals. Exceptionally, and in contrast, the Tanzanian president, Julius Nyerere, pri- oritized building national identity. He intro- duced a national language, a common school curriculum, and a neutrally sited new capital city, while requiring civil servants to work in regions other than that of their birth. Also exceptionally, Nyerere lived modestly making his narrative of a common national struggle credible, whereas Kenyatta amassed one of the largest fortunes in the world. Forty years later Eduard Miguel compared similar multi-ethnic villages on either side of the border to see whether people could cooperate to maintain a well. On the Kenyan side of the border people had not learned to cooperate across tribal lines whereas on the Tanzanian side they had. (…)The most striking exceptions to African public sector weakness are in Ethiopia and Rwanda. Not only have both got effective mil- itaries, but both have very low levels of corrup- tion and have delivered rapid, broad-based economic growth for their citizens. Neither of these political systems are a conventional democracy: while elections are held, neither government would acquiesce in a loss of polit- ical power. In consequence, they have been subject to much international criticism. In place of multi-party electoral competition, they have a mass national party: the public officials who administer government functions are members of the party. In turn, the party has emerged out of a successful rebel movement. The conditions necessary for military success were not only military patterns of command, but a set of beliefs – an ideology – in which the key tenets were personal sacrifice for the goal of national liberation and development. This ideology could only be made credible to ordinary rebel fighters if the leadership itself set an example. In both countries leaders and leadership teams lived frugally. Read more
Fun Facts
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Organized warfare began around 3000 BCE and, by about 2250BCE, the Sargon of Agade– the first great conqueror of the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia - is generally believed to have formed the first standing (permanent) army of some 100,000 soldiers. Mesopotamia, Sargon of Akkad the founder of the Akkadian Empire is believed to have formed a professional army. However, Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria (ruled 745–727 BC) created the first recorded and attested standing army.
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In 2021, China had the largest armed forces in the world by active duty military personnel, with about 2.19 active soldiers. India, the United States, North Korea, and Russia rounded out the top five largest armies respectively, each with over one million active military personnel. The United States retains its top spot as the undisputed military power in the world - both numerically and technologically. South Korea is the latest ranking of 10 countries with the most powerful military force in Africa in 2020.
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