Category: Africa

Zimbabwe: ‘Bad’ Mugabe Kept Soldiers Inside Barracks – Parties

AS the nation commemorates Robert Mugabe National Youth Day this Sunday, political parties have expressed mixed feelings towards the late strongman’s legacy with some crediting the once fierce ruler for keeping the military out of national politics. Mugabe was dethroned in a popular military assisted coup November 2017. February 21, which is the former President’s

Africa: Covid-19 – How Five Hardest Hit African Countries Are Coping

Deaths from COVID-19 in Africa have surged by 40 per cent in the past month. On February 14, 2020, Egypt became the first African country to record a COVID-19 case. The virus has since spread to the other 53 countries in the continent. In many African countries, borders were closed, confirmed cases quarantined, and curfews

SOUTH AFRICA : Covid-19 forces Airports Company South Africa to shed non-core assets

On 8 February, the South African state-owned Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) sold its 10% share of Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL), operator of the airport of India’s second largest city, to Adani Airport Holding, a subsidiary of Indian Source link

Swaziland King Admits Kingdom Fails to Be a First World Nation

King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland (eSwatini), has admitted his poverty-stricken kingdom will not attain ‘First World’ status by 2022. He had been claiming this was possible for many years. The King in a speech opening the Swazi Parliament on Friday (19 February 2021) blamed the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for the failure. He

Africa’s Indigenous Languages Vs. Colonial Tongues

African nations need to cut their reliance on colonial languages and invest in local ones. This will remove barriers to education and help the continent keep its diverse identities, says DW’s Harrison Mwilima. Ahead of International Mother Tongue Day on February 21, I want to remind fellow Africans that the threat of language disappearance is

AFRICA : AfDB banks on African economic resilience to Covid-19

African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina is due to hold an event in Abidjan in mid-March dedicated to the resilience of African economies to the Covid-19 pandemic. Source link

Zimbabwe: Soul Jah Love Was a Hero, Says Family

LATE Soul Jah Love’s family has described the talented Zimdancehall artiste as a hero whose music was therapy to his fans who experienced difficult social pressures. Soul Jah Love, real name Soul Musaka, died Tuesday at Mbuya Dorcas Hospital, Waterfalls, Harare. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, according to a doctor’s report

Africa: Many African Countries Had a Surprise Manufacturing Surge in 2010s – It Bodes Well for the Years Ahead

Gaaitzen de Vries, United Nations University; Emmanuel B Mensah, University of Groningen; Hagen Kruse, University of Groningen, and Kunal Sen, United Nations University The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy, with world output contracting at 3.5% in 2020, and no recovery likely before the fourth quarter of 2021. Similar to other developing

Zimbabwe: Late Zimbabwean Dancehall Singer Soul Jah Love Declared Liberation Hero

Award winning Zimdancehall musician Soul Jah Love (Soul Muzavazi Musaka) has been declared a liberation hero. Zanu PF Secretary for Administration Dr Obert Mpofu announced the latest development. Soul Jah Love who died on Tuesday at Mbuya Dorcas Hospital in Harare after a short illness. He will be buried on Saturday at Warren Hills at

Africa: Angola Defends UN Activities Adjustment

Luanda — Angola defended Monday in New York the adjustment of the UN-Women activities, in order to help the member states, mainly Africans, to reach “relevant tangible results” for the current Covid-19 context. This standing was expressed by Angola’s permanent representative to the United Nations, during a speech, on behalf of the African Group accredited

Africa: Nautic Africa Launches New 35metre Flagship Vessel

Paramount Maritime Holdings subsidiary, Nautic Africa has announced the launch of its flagship 35m Sentinel vessel, the second of the new enhanced class. The latest development is a major milestone for the company and the wider African shipbuilding industry, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 restrictions across the globe. Following the successful completion of sea

Africa: Operation Vulindlela – Why South Africa’s Structural Reforms Have Been So Slow

Unlocking the potential of the South African economy to create much-needed employment and tax revenue is one of the urgent tasks identified in the recently delivered State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Growing the economy, however, requires business investment. Business confidence has been very low in South Africa since the pre-Covid period

AFRICA : France, Turkey, China and EU: the world war of Africa-themed summits

On 18 May, Paris will host a major summit on investment in Africa. French President Emmanuel Macron intends to invite Source link

Africa: Privately-Owned Regional Airline Adds More Flights On the South Africa-Namibia Route

Privately-owned regional airline, Airlink will launch a new direct service between Cape Town and Walvis Bay, commencing on 02 March 2021. The Cape Town – Walvis Bay route will be Airlink’s fourth South Africa-Namibia route. The other routes are: Johannesburg – Windhoek, Cape Town – Windhoek and Johannesburg – Walvis Bay. “This new service is

Africa: WHO Lists Two Additional COVID-19 Vaccines for Emergency Use and COVAX Roll-out

Geneva — AstraZeneca/Oxford-developed vaccines to reach countries in the coming weeks The World Health Organization (WHO) today listed two versions of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for these vaccines to be rolled out globally through COVAX.The vaccines are produced by AstraZeneca-SKBio (Republic of Korea) and the Serum Institute of

Namibia: Online Store to Boost Influencer Culture

Local entrepreneur Adderley Williams wants to change the Namibian e-commerce industry and make Namibians more comfortable with shopping online. Williams and his team aim to change the e-commerce and influencer space by starting an online platform to empower businesses and social-media influencers. Thenga.com.na is a premium Namibian online store to be launched by the end

Africa: Coronavirus and Food Safety – What the Studies Say

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, not much was known about SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus) and its survival in food, on various materials and on surfaces. Since then, several food safety agencies have assessed the risk of potentially acquiring the virus from contaminated food or food packaging. The consensus is that currently, there’s no evidence it’s a

Africa: Uganda, Mozambique Step to the Pitch for Maiden Taste of U-20 Afcon

East Africans Uganda will take on Mozambique in their opening game of the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations at the Olympic Stadium on Nouakchott on Monday afternoon. This will be the first time ever that the two countries will be playing at the tournament. Uganda, the CECAFA region Under-20 champions are charged to ensure

Africa: Where ‘Charities’ May Harm

U.S. President Joseph Biden’s pledge to implement a policy of cooperation with other countries, while supporting human rights and democracy, was widely welcomed as a needed return to international collaboration. The proclamation by the new US Administration is in sharp contrast with the less obvious – but equally powerful phenomenon – the influence private donors

South Africa: Covid-19 – Remarkable Results From Blood Donor Survey

For the four provinces analysed, over half the population has likely had a SARS-CoV-2 infection 13 February 2021 By Michael Cherry and Nathan Geffen Science | South Africa Illustration: Lisa Nelson A study published on Friday, led by authors from the National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has likely already

Africa Mulls Taxing Big Tech

US tech giants — such as Amazon, Google and Facebook — pay minimal taxes abroad, despite making billions in profits. African user countries no longer want to miss out on the revenue and are discussing digital taxes. Despite the global economic crisis caused by COVID-19, US tech companies, such as Amazon and Microsoft, are making

Africa: How the Resource Curse Has Played Out in Nigeria and Angola

In weakly institutionalised contexts, natural resource wealth tends to be a curse instead of a blessing. Where citizens are relatively powerless to hold ruling elites to account, resource wealth undermines development prospects. To the contrary, where citizens are able to exert constraints on the use of executive power, resource wealth can generate development outcomes that

Africa: Pandemic Woes Seen Swelling Global Ranks of Child Soldiers

As world marks Red Hand Day, United Nations warns coronavirus could fuel child recruitment by armed groups More children could be pushed into joining armed groups in conflict zones as families face increasing poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a top U.N. official warned on Friday. The exact number of child soldiers is unknown, but

South Africa: Ramaphosa Has Failed to Protect the People, Economy and Democracy of South Africa.

This was once again a SONA of unworkable plans rooted in the failed ideology of central command and control. A SONA of “sector master plans” developed by people who’ve never started or run a business. The ANC mantra is Power to the state. The DA mantra is Power to the people. South Africa is in

Africa: Refugee Pressure Rises As Funding Dwindles

Refugee resettlements in 2020 reached historic lows despite record-high numbers of displaced people in need. At the same time, substantial funding gaps remain. This is increasing pressure on African host countries, exposing refugees to enhanced risks and driving irregular migration. In 2020, only 22 770 refugees out of 79.5 million displaced people were resettled by

MAURITANIA : BP's new Grand Tortue Ahmeyim project director pays first visit to Nouakchott

Emil Isa Oglu Ismayilov, who was quietly appointed head of BP’s operations in Mauritania and Senegal in early December, made his first field trip at the end of January. Source link

South Africa: Covid-19 Vaccine Trials Hold Key Lessons for Future Partnerships

COVID-19 vaccine supplies are available in various parts of the world. But it’s clear that distribution is not symmetrical. High-income countries have access to disproportionate quantities of limited supplies. Vaccine nationalism, stockpiling and profit-driven strategies of global pharmaceutical manufacturers have shown up global health inequities. More than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been

Africa: Cost Can Be Unbearably High for Whistle-Blowers

Exposing corruption, abuse of power and criminality pits those who take the risk against powerful vested interests in government at all levels. Whistle-blowers have a critical role to play in upholding democracy, but typically they are callously pushed to the margins of society and subjected to humiliation, ostracisation, stigma, fear and anxiety. Grassroots activists and

SOUTH SUDAN : Peace mediators shunted back and forth between Rome and Nairobi

After the latest round of talks in Rome in October (Africa Intelligence, 14/10/20), the next stage in the peace process Source link

Mozambique: Problems With Astrazeneca Vaccine Are ‘Bucket of Cold Water’

Maputo — The discovery that the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 is not effective against the South African strain of the coronavirus is a “bucket of cold water” poured over the hopes of the region, declared Mozambique’s Deputy National Director of Public Health, Benigna Matsinhe, on Monday. The South African health authorities announced on Sunday that