WEBVTT - Is Russia Recruiting Young African Women To Work In Drone Production?

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>With glossy influencer campaigns and promises of well paid work

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<v Speaker 2>and new experiences. Young African women are being targeted for

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<v Speaker 2>jobs in Russia.

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<v Speaker 3>You know that you can view the career in a

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<v Speaker 3>large international company in Russia while you learn the Russian

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<v Speaker 3>language and end between. It's hard than sixty dollars three thousand,

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<v Speaker 3>seven eighty dollars. Oh you didn't, well, now you do.

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<v Speaker 2>But could the reality be far grimmer than what's being sold?

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<v Speaker 2>With reports of African women being forced to build drones

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<v Speaker 2>in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone under grueling and hazardous.

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<v Speaker 4>Conditions and for less money than promised.

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<v Speaker 2>On this week's Next Africa Podcast, we look at the

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<v Speaker 2>Alibuga Star program, how it's trying to recruit thousands of

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<v Speaker 2>young African women and the warnings from some that this

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<v Speaker 2>may amount to human trafficking. I'm Jennifer Zabasaja and this

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<v Speaker 2>is the Next Africa Podcast, bringing you one story each

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<v Speaker 2>week from the continent driving the future of global growth

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<v Speaker 2>with the context only Bloomberg can provide. Joining me to

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<v Speaker 2>discuss this story this week is our Bloomberg Senior Reporter

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<v Speaker 2>Anthony squisine based in Johannesburg. Anthony, thanks so much for

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<v Speaker 2>coming on the podcast and really fascinating story that you've

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<v Speaker 2>put out. Let's just start here and if you can

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<v Speaker 2>talk a bit about these outreach programs that you and

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<v Speaker 2>the team were able to uncover and what they're purporting

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<v Speaker 2>to offer to young African women.

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<v Speaker 1>What we found was is that a group called Alabuga Start,

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<v Speaker 1>which represents the Alabuga Special Economic sol and in a

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<v Speaker 1>Republic of Pakistan in Russia, is offering online registration for

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<v Speaker 1>jobs and study programs based at the economic zone and

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<v Speaker 1>they're also holding recruitment fares, one of which was in

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<v Speaker 1>Gabarone and Whatswana which we attended. Now, what they advertise

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<v Speaker 1>is a range of jobs ranging from hospitality, a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of home improvement, you know, plastering walls, things like that,

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<v Speaker 1>and generally developing a few skills and getting paid eight

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and sixty dollars a month or wall And basically

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<v Speaker 1>it's a two year program, this is what they say,

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<v Speaker 1>and they advertise it as a positive experience where you

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<v Speaker 1>may get for the job opportunities once you've completed it.

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<v Speaker 2>And just on the face of it, based on what

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<v Speaker 2>you're saying, I mean, it sounds like it could be

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<v Speaker 2>a good opportunity for some people, but you know, digging

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<v Speaker 2>under the surface, it's clearly not the picture that you found.

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<v Speaker 2>But talk about who they're targeting with these programs. Who

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<v Speaker 2>are they trying to recruit and they who have they recruited.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it's very specific. The course is only open to

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<v Speaker 1>young women between the ages of eighteen and twenty two.

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<v Speaker 1>They started in twenty twenty three when they recruited I

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<v Speaker 1>think just twenty or thirty people according to their website,

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<v Speaker 1>and another three hundred and thirty last year. But this

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<v Speaker 1>year they're trying to up it up by about a

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<v Speaker 1>good few thousand more. So it's really expanded incredibly, and

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<v Speaker 1>basically they've costed it very wide across seventy seven countries,

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<v Speaker 1>but the majority of African countries, and if you look

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<v Speaker 1>at their website and you look at who their recruits are,

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<v Speaker 1>who the testimony is a problem, it's predominantly a young

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<v Speaker 1>woman from or African countries now, but Swan is not

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<v Speaker 1>one of those. It's quite rich actually, but it does

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<v Speaker 1>have a massive youth unemployment problem.

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<v Speaker 2>And the programs, then what is it that is being

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<v Speaker 2>sold to them because you mentioned a lot of the

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<v Speaker 2>recruits are coming from poorer countries, but Tswana not included.

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<v Speaker 2>But what is it that they're trying to get away

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<v Speaker 2>from and being offered?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, in many of these countries, there are very few

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities for employment. And in many of them as well,

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<v Speaker 1>woman you get even less opportunity than young men would get.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's perceived as a good way of getting training.

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<v Speaker 1>All you have to do is have a little of

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<v Speaker 1>high school education and it's pretty unclear as to what

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<v Speaker 1>you'll exactly be doing. We've seen a lot of reporting

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<v Speaker 1>that people actually end up doing quite different jobs from

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<v Speaker 1>what they had anticipated.

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<v Speaker 2>Dig into that a bit more, if you can, Anthony

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<v Speaker 2>quite different meaning what Well, there's.

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<v Speaker 1>Been a lot of reporting in Russia's in the bed

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<v Speaker 1>and Press and even in the Associated Press last year

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<v Speaker 1>that a lot of the young African women actually end up

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<v Speaker 1>making well helping to assemble drones at a factory on

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<v Speaker 1>the site and especially on economic zone, and those drones

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<v Speaker 1>are used in Russia's war effort against Ukraine. Now that's

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<v Speaker 1>not the work they signed up for. In fact, the

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<v Speaker 1>organizers specifically deny that why they're being sent there. And

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<v Speaker 1>you know the event we went to. They told parents

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<v Speaker 1>that there was no way that people being recruits to

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<v Speaker 1>work in munitions factories or in drone factories, but there

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<v Speaker 1>is overwhelming evidence that that is the case, that they

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<v Speaker 1>do end up working in these factories as cheap labor,

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<v Speaker 1>and those factories are actually a military target for Ukrainian attacks.

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<v Speaker 1>As you know, we ran the story last week and

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<v Speaker 1>only two days before we ran the story, and there

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<v Speaker 1>was an attack on that site where Ukrainian drones bombed

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<v Speaker 1>the factory and that's happened I think eleven times as

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<v Speaker 1>far as we can see. So it does make them

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<v Speaker 1>in the awards. One analyst, we spoke to legitimate targets

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<v Speaker 1>of the Ukrainian conflict.

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<v Speaker 2>So, Anthony, you mentioned the event that the team went to,

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<v Speaker 2>can you just describe more about what you saw and

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<v Speaker 2>also some of the people that you heard from.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, it was quite hard to speak to a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people. It's quite a secretive event. It was at

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Botswana. There were about sixty people there,

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<v Speaker 1>that's both young women and their parents and presenting to them.

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<v Speaker 1>We're a local organizer. A youth leader who was working

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<v Speaker 1>for Alabugie start as well as the head of a

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<v Speaker 1>youth employment program in Botswana, and there were also two

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<v Speaker 1>representatives from the Russian program who had flown out for

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<v Speaker 1>that program, and they basically, you know, encouragedly and wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to take up the opportunity. Spoke a lot about female

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<v Speaker 1>empowerment and how this was a good opportunity and how

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<v Speaker 1>you would learn lots of skills and then possibly after

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<v Speaker 1>the two years you could possibly get a work permit

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<v Speaker 1>and get an even higher pay job in Russia itself,

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<v Speaker 1>or alternatively, you could work your return home with all

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<v Speaker 1>of those skills and set yourself up for a prosperous future.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's the vision they were selling. Now, they got

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<v Speaker 1>asked a lot of questions by parents, especially, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>about what they've seen on social media about drone making,

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<v Speaker 1>and they denied all of it. In fact, Christopher Sigating,

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<v Speaker 1>the head of a nonprofit called BW Jobs for Gratz,

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<v Speaker 1>which is trying to find employment for Partswanans, said that

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<v Speaker 1>he'd be to Russia, saw no problem and people should

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<v Speaker 1>take a leap of faith and take up the program.

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<v Speaker 4>Sick with us, Anthony.

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<v Speaker 2>After the break, we're going to talk more about some

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<v Speaker 2>of these programs and what the international fallout could be

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<v Speaker 2>as more as uncovered about them, will be right back,

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome back.

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<v Speaker 4>Today.

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<v Speaker 2>We're looking into a Russian global outreach program active in

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<v Speaker 2>Africa that's being accused of trafficking young African women to

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<v Speaker 2>Russia to work in dangerous conditions. We have Anthony's cuisine

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<v Speaker 2>still with us. Anthony, Let's talk more about You talked

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<v Speaker 2>about the drones that are potentially being used.

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<v Speaker 4>In Russia's war effort.

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<v Speaker 2>How much evidence is there that there's a correlation between

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<v Speaker 2>the two.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's a fair amount of evidence. It's been

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<v Speaker 1>reported extensively by both Russian media. There's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>testimony and small obscure African newspapers from people who've returned

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<v Speaker 1>from these projects who said they didn't really experience what

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<v Speaker 1>they had been told they would be doing and that

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<v Speaker 1>actually ended up working in these factories. The organization itself

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<v Speaker 1>declined to answer any of our questions, as did the

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<v Speaker 1>regional government in Takastan. This has been building up quite

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<v Speaker 1>some time, and I think but there's realtinal evidence they're

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<v Speaker 1>doing much else aside from tronmaking.

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<v Speaker 2>So then if that is truly the case, shouldn't the

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<v Speaker 2>government in Botswana and some of the other countries where

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<v Speaker 2>these young people are being recruited, shouldn't they step in?

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<v Speaker 2>Shouldn't they also be taking some of these accusations quite seriously.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we spoke to the Botswana and Foreign minisot and

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<v Speaker 1>he wasn't aware of the program, and we did the

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<v Speaker 1>same in Uganda, they had very limited information. Same in

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<v Speaker 1>Zimbabwe with young women have being recruited from those countries

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<v Speaker 1>because we've seen them on the website and we've spoken

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<v Speaker 1>to a few of them as well as Ethiopia. But

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<v Speaker 1>what we do find is that in SEPOL, which has

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<v Speaker 1>an office in Botswana, had seen the social media posts

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<v Speaker 1>or they'd been pointed out to them, and on suspicion

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<v Speaker 1>of there might be some human trafficking going on, they

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<v Speaker 1>had actually interviewed one of the local organizers for Alabugi

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<v Speaker 1>Start and they are conducting an investigation. So we'll need

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<v Speaker 1>to see if anything comes of that.

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<v Speaker 4>What would come of it?

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<v Speaker 2>If anything, I mean you mentioned interpot people are very

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<v Speaker 2>familiar with that. Could Could the governments in Russia potentially

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<v Speaker 2>be implicated.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I'm sure they could be because the program organizers

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<v Speaker 1>who came out from Russia to Botswana did meet with

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<v Speaker 1>the ambassadors, so there is a connection with the Russian state.

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<v Speaker 1>Now what action Interval could take is unclear. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>they could close down a program prevented from operating in Botswana,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm sure if there was some more information that

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<v Speaker 1>would know basically raise awareness in other African countries who

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<v Speaker 1>I am, I'm sure will also be concerned that their

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<v Speaker 1>citizens were being misled into going to a program which

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<v Speaker 1>or no resemblance to what was being advertised.

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<v Speaker 2>Have we seen that and some of these accusations though

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<v Speaker 2>affecting the interest of young people wanting to go and

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<v Speaker 2>work on these jobs.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I think that it's quite new. As I said,

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<v Speaker 1>they recruited twenty or thirty people in the first year,

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<v Speaker 1>a few hundred last year. Now they I think the

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<v Speaker 1>target they said was to eight thy five hundred for

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<v Speaker 1>this year, so it's a massive expansion. What we did

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<v Speaker 1>see is that Russian reports things said that people who

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<v Speaker 1>work in these drone factories have to sign massive confidentiality

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<v Speaker 1>agreements and if they break those, they get you know,

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<v Speaker 1>large fines and leaded upon them. We don't know what

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<v Speaker 1>other pressure might be put upon them. So across the continent.

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<v Speaker 1>People we spoke to, people other newspapers are spoken to

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<v Speaker 1>have not wanted to disclose their identity because they are

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<v Speaker 1>concerned and frightened and therefore have wanted to, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>at least keep your anonymity. So I think it's taken

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<v Speaker 1>a while for this mess to get up. And we

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<v Speaker 1>also need to realize when you're recruiting from countries like

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<v Speaker 1>serial Leone, if you appear some of the poorest countries

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<v Speaker 1>on Earth, people are pretty desperate and are likely to

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<v Speaker 1>take up opportunities even if they do have sudden misgivings.

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<v Speaker 4>Which is the sad reality of it, right Anthony.

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<v Speaker 2>Finally, I mean, does this say something more about the

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<v Speaker 2>relationship that we're still seeing between Africa and Russia to

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<v Speaker 2>a certain extent, I mean, how much how much did

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<v Speaker 2>that feed into the story that you and the team

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<v Speaker 2>were trying to uncover.

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<v Speaker 1>Russia has made a concerted air in recent years to

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<v Speaker 1>rekindle the influence that had during the Soviet Union era

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<v Speaker 1>in Africa. You know, we've seen that with the deployments

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<v Speaker 1>of mercenaries and wagoner operatives in many African countries. We

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<v Speaker 1>see the Russian Orthodox Church establish itself across the continent,

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<v Speaker 1>which is an example of soft power. And we've seen

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<v Speaker 1>frequent visits by Russian officials and politicians to Africa and

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<v Speaker 1>even the holding of Africa Leader summits in Russia which

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<v Speaker 1>are as entered by President Vladimir Putin. So I think

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that they've managed to expand the net across

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<v Speaker 1>Africa has allowed groups like Alabuga Star to kind of

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<v Speaker 1>piggyback on that diplomatic reach and to try and attract

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<v Speaker 1>the young workers. I think they're not coming into these

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<v Speaker 1>situations called there is an existing link between the embassies

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<v Speaker 1>and the governments of the African countries. And also they're

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<v Speaker 1>operating in Southern Stasia as well, and have said that

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<v Speaker 1>they will be looking into Latin America and I'm sure

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<v Speaker 1>it's pretty similar there.

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<v Speaker 2>And you can read more of Antony's reporting on Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 2>platforms right now. Will put a link to that in

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<v Speaker 2>the show notes. Here's some of the other stories from

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<v Speaker 2>the region that we've been following. South African Finance Minister

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<v Speaker 2>Ino Godongwana will return to Parliament on May twenty first

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<v Speaker 2>to present his third attempt this year at getting a

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<v Speaker 2>budget passed. Godogwana is revising his fending plans after a

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<v Speaker 2>dispute within the governing coalition over a proposed tax increase

0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.800
<v Speaker 2>forced him to backtrack. That left the national treasury with

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<v Speaker 2>the seventy five billion Rand or four billion dollars shortfall

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<v Speaker 2>to plug over the next three years. And Kenya's annual

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<v Speaker 2>inflation rate climbed to an eight month high in April

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<v Speaker 2>on the tight supply of food items including corn, potatoes

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<v Speaker 2>and green vegetables. Official figures show consumer prices rose four

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<v Speaker 2>point one percent compared with three point six percent in March.

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<v Speaker 2>The nation's Monetary Policy Committee had projected inflation at four.

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<v Speaker 4>Point two percent in April.

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<v Speaker 2>And you can follow these stories across Bloomberg, including the

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<v Speaker 2>Next African Newsletter. We'll put a link to that in

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<v Speaker 2>the show notes. This program was produced by Adrian Bradley.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't forget to follow and review the show wherever you

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<v Speaker 2>usually get your podcasts. I'm Jennifer's Abisaja. Thanks as always

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<v Speaker 2>for listening.

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<v Speaker 4>We'll see you next time.