Africa press review
In the spotlight: the drama of the Perkoa mine
Audio 04:17
Location of the Perkoa mine, in Burkina Faso.
© RFI
By: Fanny Bleichner
4 mins
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Four of the eight miners who had been stuck underground for more than a month were eventually found dead.
On April 16, torrential rains had flooded the underground passages of the mine, preventing the men from coming to the surface.
Since then, search operations have been underway.
Today in Faso
believes that an "
autopsy
" of the tragedy must now be carried out and calls for a "
well-detailed investigation to locate the responsibilities
": "
we will have to start again on D-Day of the triggering of the landslide, question, examine what really happened until this irreparable observation
”, recommends
Today in Faso
.
But beyond the drama,
Le Pays
calls for going further: "
the first of the lessons to be learned is that the State must better fulfill its role of controlling mining activity by keeping an eye, and the right one, on compliance with specifications by mining companies.
The serious breaches decried at Perkoa are only the tip of the iceberg of the sprains that mining companies are making to the legislation in force in the country”.
The second lesson to be learned, according to the daily, concerns
“
the lack of a real supply of security services and logistical equipment adapted to the mining industry.
To deal with the emergency at Perkoa, we were, for example, forced to import machinery from South Africa and Ghana;
anything that necessarily impacted the rescue times for miners.
The objective, it is explained a little further down, is also to ensure that the population does not give in to anger.
Because "
The miracle of Perkoa therefore did not take place
", laments
WakatSera
in an article titled "
O rage, o despair
", recalling however with that only 4 of the 8 miners were found dead: "
the search continues to always try to find the four others missing from the Perkoa zinc mine.
Do we ever know ?
hopes the newspaper.
Also in the headlines in Burkina Faso, the bread crisis
Several media take up a press release from the Coordination of bakeries in Burkina Faso which announces the closure of all bakeries in the country, starting midnight last night.
WakatSera
sums up the facts: “
the bakers who say they buy wheat flour more expensive than usual
(…)
have decided, unilaterally, says the Burkinabè government, to raise the cost of the baguette from 150 FCFA to 200 FCFA
”.
Six bakeries practicing this price have been closed, announces the government.
Today in Faso
speaks of
the “bread file
”, explaining “
it is no longer a standoff but a game of ping-pong
”.
"
If my bakery is closed, I will encourage all the others to close
, ”said the Minister of Commerce, hoping however that the call for closure will not be followed.
A meeting is scheduled today between the various players in the case.
Concern also in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it concerns clashes in North Kivu
Le Nouvel Afrik
returns to the facts: “
Intense clashes are reported in Kibumba, in the territory of Nyiragongo, 20 km east of the city of Goma.
Triggered since Tuesday, the fighting between the M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo intensified on Wednesday
.
An army press release is quoted, referring to
his determination to "
leave no centimeter of the national territory to anyone
".
Politico
quotes the mayor of Kibumba for saying that the city is "
seriously threatened
".
Radio Okapi takes stock of the situation: “
on the southern front, in the territory of Nyiragongo, Kibumba, Buhumba, Kigarama and other surrounding localities are already completely occupied by the rebels.
In the territory of Rutshuru, the villages Kanombe, Nyesisi, Kabaya, Rumangabo, Nk-kwe, in the group of Kisi-gari are currently emptied of their inhabitants
”.
A major population movement is taking shape
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Office speaks in a statement of more than 10,000 displaced people.
Actualité.cd
has also collected the testimony of a man who fled Kibumba, a nurse who evokes exchanges of fire.
Reaction to the press of MP Singoma Mwanza Hamis, elected from Nyirangongo.
He recalls that "
talks are currently being held in Nairobi precisely to restore peace and security
".
The military authorities of the province of North Kivu demand that an investigation be carried out after suspicions of the involvement of the Rwandan army.
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