Africa: Gambia Chairs Africa Group At the United Nations

Botswana: Covid-19 and New Directions in Corporate Botswana Social Spend

‘Clearly, the time has come for social spend to be approached in ways that are smarter and more sustainable, delivering long-term positive Impact’ (Zim, 2018) Gobe Taziba* Corporate social spend has been ongoing in Botswana since time immemorial. Scattered documentation of such spend can be found in various annual, CSI, and project reports. This is […]

Africa: A Call to Action – Statement from the International Rescue Committee on the Generation Equality Forum Paris

New York — After three days of meetings of the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) from Paris, the international community has agreed on a Global Acceleration Plan to achieve gender equality. The GEF Paris, hosted by the Government of France from 30 June – 2 July, brought together heads of state, civil society, and activists to […]

Africa: Tracing the History of Farming Across Africa Gives Clues to Low Production Outputs

Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is under-performing, leaving 30% of people in the region food insecure. Food insecurity means that not all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs. Many reasons have been put forward for this state of […]

The US Supreme Court Just Authorized More Voter Suppression

The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) dealt several blows to the Voting Rights Act last week. In a majority conservative 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS upheld two Arizona restrictions. The first prohibits individuals other than close family members or caregivers from collecting mail-in ballots. The second requires elections officials to reject votes from people who report to incorrect precincts […]

DJIBOUTI/ETHIOPIA : Addis Ababa and Djibouti about to call for bids for a second interconnection line

State-run electric companies Electricité de Djibouti (EdD) and Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) recently began looking for a consultant to work on a project to build the second power interconnection line between Ethiopia and Djibouti. Source link

50 years since the 26th amendment

Rock the Vote?Does anyone remember this? Or this? Okay. Videos and efforts to turn out youth voters have existed for as long as I can remember, going back to my middle school age—which is before that Madonna video above. The truth is, Democratic efforts are built on young people. We know and have known for quite […]

Africa: Why Private Foreign Security Companies Are Booming in Africa

The UN Security Council accuses Russian mercenaries of human rights violations in the Central African Republic. Western mercenaries and companies also operate in Africa — often in a highly opaque manner. March 2020: A regiment of the French Foreign Legion patrols the Malian desert. The armored vehicles are moving in the dangerous border area with […]

America Is Undergoing Seismic Changes. Its Politics? Hardly.

In another age, the events of this season would have been nearly certain to produce a major shift in American politics — or at least a meaningful, discernible one.Over a period of weeks, the coronavirus death rate plunged and the country considerably eased public health restrictions. President Biden announced a bipartisan deal late last month […]

South Africa: Victory for the Rule of Law – the Warriors Leading the War Against State Capture

The Constitutional Court judgment against former president Jacob Zuma, and the strengthening of key institutions such as the South African Revenue Service and the National Prosecuting Authority, showing early signals of success in the fight against State Capture. First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper. State Capture eviscerated the very organs of state […]

Africa: Covid-19 – Africa Plans a Vaccine Revolution

Very few vaccines have found their way into the arms of Africans as they struggle with a surge in COVID-19 infections. Several countries now want to start producing vaccines on the continent. Can they succeed? The third wave of coronavirus is rolling through much of Africa — and it could be the most severe of […]

South Africa: Law and Riot, Riot and Law

The law has no absolute character and always reflects the balance of social forces at the time it was written. It is a terrain of struggle, not a replacement for struggle. Three forms of oppressive authority, all intensely patriarchal, have met significant challenges in recent weeks. The judgment that the high court in Pietermaritzburg handed […]

Africa: Delta Variant Drives Africa Covid Threat to ‘Whole New Level´ – WHO Warns – ‘Dominant’ in Europe By August

With cases now doubling in Africa every three weeks, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has spread to 16 countries and it is present in three of the five nations reporting the highest caseloads. The variant is the most contagious yet – up to 60% more transmissible than other variants. Along with Alpha and Beta, Delta […]

This Supreme Court session was bad, but wait until you see what they have on tap for the next one

The court will hear Carson v. Maine, which asks whether the Constitution requires that states spend public money on explicitly religious education. This is a First Amendment case that should be clear cut—that whole establishment clause business of prohibiting government from “unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion.” Plaintiffs are challenging Maine’s ban on […]

Mozambique: Municipal Police Condemned for Attack On Journalists

Maputo — The Mozambican chapter of the regional press freedom body MISA (Media Institute of Southern Africa) has strongly condemned the municipal police in the northern city of Nampula for a physical attack against four journalists on Tuesday. According to a MISA-Mozambique press release, the victims of the police assault all work on private television […]

Africa: Religion and Development in Africa – Blessing or Curse?

African countries are seen as being both deeply religious and underdeveloped. Could religion be the underlying problem? Or is the misrepresentation of faith a hindrance to greater development? Africa is host to the highest number of religious countries in the world, according to a recent Gallop poll. The survey appears to support the prevailing narrative […]

GUINEA : Conakry finds builder for southern bauxite export corridor

ANAIM, which coordinates the construction of transport infrastructure for mining projects in Guinea, has chosen a firm to develop the Source link

Africa: How Technology Can Help Combat Africa’s Brain-Drain!

For the first time, Africa-focused startup funding has crossed the $1 billion mark. Last year, African startups received a total of $1.3 billion, with over half of the total funnelled into fintech businesses. From banking to health care provision, startups are proving that technology can provide the solutions to the most challenging of problems. Brain […]

Africa: Is the International Criminal Court Going After the Wrong People?

Many of the ICC’s greatest triumphs have been in prosecuting war criminals in the eastern Congo. Yet relentless violence there continues. The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a region fabled for its verdant rainforests and rare wildlife. Unfortunately, it is equally notorious for being the theatre of some of the country’s fiercest violence, […]

Africa: Joint Communiqué by Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Rome — The following statement was released by United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and the Foreign Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS following today’s meeting. Begin text: The Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS, reconvening in-person after two years, met today in Rome at the invitation of Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and […]

Puff piece on Barr shows once again what an amoral, power-hungry snake Mitch McConnell is

According to Barr—and confirmed by McConnell himself—McConnell repeatedly urged him to publicly dump cold water on Trump’s claims that the election had been stolen. As McConnell was asking Barr to speak out, he himself stayed silent about the outcome of the election even after Joe Biden had widely been called as the winner. Why wouldn’t McConnell […]

South Africa: Over 185 000 Educators, Staff Vaccinated

More than 185 000 educators and staff have been vaccinated in the basic education sector, as the sector continues the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Basic Education said 30 000 teachers and support staff in Limpopo, were vaccinated on Friday and Saturday. “The province has managed to administer the […]

Africa: President Cyril Ramaphosa – South Africa’s Response to Coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic

Fellow South Africans, Our former President Nelson Mandela once wrote: “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. “But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb”. As […]

South Africa: Study Shows a Huge Burden of Undiagnosed Disease in a Rural South African District

South Africa’s massive effort over the years to test and treat people for HIV has drastically improved public health. But in that process, other diseases that are highly prevalent may have been neglected. The country has been reporting lower rates HIV-related deaths. But more South Africans are presenting with noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and […]

ETHIOPIA : The final obstacles on the road to Ethio Telecom's privatisation

On 14 June, the Ethiopian government kick-started the tendering process for the future partial privatisation of the state-owned telephone operator Ethio Telecom. Source link

Zimbabwe: RBZ Facility Enables U.S.$22.5 Million Afdis Debt Settlement

A FACILITY provided by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has enabled African Distillers Limited (Afdis) to pay US$22.5 million to the South Africa based partner, Distell Limited. Details contained in the Independent Auditor’s report to Afdis shareholders for the period ended March 31 2021 show that the central bank facility enabled the company to […]

Africa: National Assembly Approves Ratification of African Continental Free Trade Area, Opening Door Between Seychelles and 1.2 Billion Customers

Businesses in Seychelles will be able to access a market of 1.2 billion people after the National Assembly approved the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a top government official said on Friday. This agreement aims to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people […]

Zimbabwe: Chinamasa Says Zanu-PF Won’t Surrender Bond With Military

ZANU PF acting political commissar Patrick Chinamasa says the ruling party was not ready yet to surrender what he said was an unbreakable bond with the country’s military. He was addressing the media at the party headquarters in Harare Thursday. “Always be mindful that there is this unbreakable continuity between the liberation struggle and Zanu […]

Mitch McConnell Says Voter Suppression Doesn’t Exist in Any US State

At this point in time, Republicans have realized that their platform is not very popular. There is a clear reason why they have stopped talking ideas and have gone all the way in on the culture war. No leader has ever tried to suppress the vote quite like Donald Trump did. He even had his […]

African Union Strategy for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

Laying the foundation for promotion of gender equality in Africa The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Constitutive Act of the African Union underscore the principle of promoting gender equality on the continent as a prerequisite for achieving inclusive and sustainable development on the continent. […]

OAN Correspondent Calls for Executions of Thousands Over Fake Voter Fraud Claims

Pearson Sharp, a correspondent for the far-right One America News (OAN), has called for the executions of thousands of Americans over fake voter fraud claims. “How many people were involved in these efforts to undermine the [2020 general] election?” Sharp said on the air, pushing conspiracy theories that the election was fraudulent. “Hundreds? Thousands? Tens […]