TUESDAY, 8.00AM
SOUTH AFRICA will destroy 4 500 landmines, a quarter of its stockpile, in front of delegates to a three-day anti-landmine conference today (Tuesday). The conference, organised by the OAU, has drawn 250 delegates from 41 of Africa’s 52 states. But only 11 African states have signed a treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines, led by South Africa.
Africa is the most heavily mined continent, with some 9-million mines in Angola alone. It costs some R4 000 to remove each landmine. Mines continue to kill decades after a war has ended, and render large tracts of land useless for development or agriculture.