S. Sudan to woo investors, donors at reconstruction forum in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 31, 2005 (PANA) — The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and
a travel and logistics firm, Bread of Life Africa (BOLA) are preparing to
organise the first ever investment conference to mobilise potential
investors for the war-ravaged Southern Sudan.

A man cycles past a sattelite dish, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 of Network of the World, the first cellphone operator in Rumbek in southern Sudan. (AP).

BOLA Managing Director Andrew Muigai said here Thursday the meeting
planned for 12 May will give East African business people an opportunity
to interact with SPLM officials and listen to possible investment
opportunities available in the country.

“The expectations is that people would learn about trade and investment
in Southern Sudan, the country is coming out of war and people need to
know what to expect in the future,” Muigai told PANA in a telephone
interview.

The travel and logistics company with a clear working knowledge of the
situation in the war-scarred Southern Sudan, a vast region the size of
the three East African nations of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, has been
mobilising volunteers to work in the region.

John Garang’s former rebel SPLA/M and the Islamic-dominated Northern
government in Khartoum signed a peace agreement in Nairobi 9 January to
end a 21-year long civil war.

The investment conference will discuss the key points of the peace deal,
which gives the Southerners semi-autonomy in running their state affairs
and a huge stake in the control of the oil-wells also found in the
region.

“We would discuss investment and trade opportunities in Southern Sudan
and the challenges facing businesses in the south,” Muigai said.

The meeting will also consolidate pledges expected to be made at a donors
conference in Oslo, Norway, where authorities in northern and the
southern Sudan would be tabling a plea for US$7 billion to support peace
building activities.

“The donors are necessary for this meeting’s success, there are things
which businesses need to effectively operate such as roads, electricity
and water, all these cannot be provided by anybody except a government,
which is why we want the donors,” Muigai explained.

BOLA was approached by the SPLM to organize the conference to be convened
by the Africa Point. Recently, Southern Sudan has been attracting several
investors, mainly from Germany although World Bank officials say
stability is crucial to investment sustainability.

“We will discuss the role to be played by regional investors in promoting
economic development in Sudan, participants will interact with key
decision-makers,” Muigai said.

SPLM Commissioner for Commerce and Supply Turban Deng would lead a team
of powerful decision-makers from the former separatists. The United
States Agency for International Development (USAID), is among the leading
donors expected at the conference.