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He co-founded the African Heritage Gallery with Kenya’s first vice-president Joseph Murumbi
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
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[Africa Check] Claim - Trade between Africa and China has grown rapidly, reaching US$166 billion in 2011.Source: Mail & Guardian newspaper (19 October 2020)
MTN has rolled out a new feature of its Mobile Money service that will allow South African consumers to make purchases online using their MoMo wallets, doing away with the need for a credit card for Internet shopping.
“We expect the overall list of partners to grow to over 30 000 websites over the next several months,” MTN South Africa chief officer for mobile financial services Felix Kamenga said.
Even those with credit cards, who do not trust online payments due to safety concerns, can now use MoMo instead, MTN said.
Both MTN and rival Vodacom had previously launched mobile money services in South Africa – the latter using the M-Pesa brand – but the companies exited the market citing disappointing uptake.
Relaunched
MTN, which has much success with MoMo in some other markets in Africa, decided to relaunch the product in South Africa.
As coronavirus cases accelerate in Africa, many patients who have recovered from the virus are facing stigmatization and discrimination.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, survivors battle against people’s denial of the virus and stigmatisation against the sick.
And I will ask people who still have doubts to be very careful, because I can confirm that I suffered.”
According to reports, people battling the virus have been threatened and ostracised in their communities.
Dieunit Kanyinda, is also a survivor: “There’s the stigma, when you know it’s COVID, you’re stigmatised.
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was formally launched just over a year ago in a blaze of optimism.
It aims to phase out all tariffs on commerce on the continent of 1.2 billion people, a goal that backers say could give trade a mega-jolt as only 15 percent of trade by African nations is with continental neighbours compared to 70 percent with Europe.
\"Everybody can see, objectively, nothing can be done on the 1st of July,\" AfCFTA's brand-new secretary general, Wamkele Mene of South Africa, told AFP.
Then there is the task of figuring out how AfCFTA should dovetail with eight existing regional organisations in Africa, such as ECOWAS and the six-nation East African Community (EAC).
\"The regional economic communities remain, including the customs unions in Africa such as the EAC, ECOWAS and so on,\" said Mene.
Telkom Group CEO Sipho Maseko
Telkom is looking at ways to generate more value from its mobile tower business, including a potential sale or spin-off.
South Africa’s former landline monopoly is “actively exploring” tower deals, CEO Sipho Maseko said after the company reported full-year earnings on Monday.
Telkom shares declined 3.4% to R26.58 as of 10.09am in Johannesburg, extending a 12-month slump to 73%
The company suspended dividend payments for three years and scrapped all medium-term targets, while about 2 300 employees have accepted voluntary redundancy packages.
Demand for towers in South Africa may be on the rise as the country starts to build out 5G capabilities, Maseko said.
Telkom shares declined 3.4% to R26.58 as of 10.09am in Johannesburg, extending a 12-month slump to 73%.
Many in the country are struggling to find work because of the ongoing pandemic, and when they can find work, a nationwide transport ban due to COVID-19 made it even more it difficult for those with albinism—a genetic condition where the body doesn’t produce melanin, a pigment found in skin, eyes and hair—to get the sun protection factor 50-plus sunscreen they need.
Activist Pat Robert Larubi, who advocates for those with albinism and disabilities, has traveled more then 800 kilometers, nearly 500 miles, on a motorbike across Uganda to provide three units each of sunscreen to hundreds of people with albinism.
Many people with albinism in Uganda labor outdoors, under the hot sub-Saharan Africa sun.
“Most of the people with albinism generally come from poor backgrounds,” said Larubi, who wants to see public officials make sunscreen an essential and accessible product.
But those problems caused by the ongoing pandemic form just the tip of the iceberg for people with albinism in the country, where there is a stigma against those with the condition.
Analysis - The problem isn't the system of government but poor leadership that opens the door to despots and coup plotters.
[East African] The current Covid-19 surge in Africa is proving to be the most brutal in the continent, warn the World Health Organisation's Regional Office for Africa and the Africa CDC, even as the vaccine supply crunch persists.
South African shares are about to round off their strongest quarter in almost two decades, and the influence of the coronavirus pandemic is clear to see in the shares most responsible for driving the market higher.
The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index has climbed 22% since the start of April, its best performance over any quarter since 2001.
Quite a few shares were at depressed levels, so there were a lot of opportunities there
“If the global economy continues to recover, combined with the money printing that is happening and with central banks cutting interest rates in most markets, there is a lot of stimulus that should support higher valuations,” said Peter Takaendesa, head of equities at Mergence Investment Managers in Cape Town.
It’s also been among stocks to benefit from buying by first-time mom-and-pop traders who, with an unprecedented amount of time on their hands during the national lockdown, were lured to the market by beaten-down valuations.
“We have seen an increase in appetite for stock broking type of accounts, where people have discretion to purchase shares like Sasol,” according to Renzi Thirumalai, head of investments at FNB Wealth Investments.
[African Union] The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, is extremely concerned by the dangerous escalation in violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Very few academics or policymakers are talking about the impact of climate change on heritage. Yet heritage is essential for social wellbeing, for identity creation, for safeguarding traditional knowledge and livelihoods and for sustainable development.
“We have built a business that can scale across Africa,” Mwongela says from Nairobi. “Our platform can be adapted to any market.” Ghana and Nigeria are “interesting markets” which have “tremendous growth” potential, he says. Economies in Africa are moving towards real-time payments and digital currencies as Covid-19 restrictions accelerate…
Yotam Gidron has done us all a huge service by putting Israel and Africa back on the agenda.
Sub-Saharan Africa allows Israel to triangulate its commercial, security and longer-term political interests; it can sell its specialized security technologies and consolidate links with evangelical churches that are linked to pro-Zionist churches in the United States.
African leaders are always on the lookout for more efficient technologies of repression, and insofar as the \"war on terror\" gave them a political cover story, Israel stepped in as a supplier unhindered by human rights legislation.
Israel's security strategy for Africa isn't an updated version of Cold War-style ideological alignment but rather a fusion of the principles of transactional politics--the transnational political marketplace--with specialist service provision drawn from its counter-terror assemblage.
This is where Israel steps in: in Washington's eyes, a country that recognizes Israel and cooperates with it cannot be a state sponsor of terror.
The World Health Organization warned of a third wave of coronavirus infections throughout Africa amid a massive surge of new cases.
The post WHO Warns of Third COVID Wave in Africa appeared first on The Washington Informer.
Key statistics as at June 22
\t
\t\tThe total number of confirmed cases = 101,590
\t\tThe total number of tests so far = 1,353,176
\t\tTotal death toll = 1,991
\t\tTotal recoveries = 53,444
\t\tMost impacted provinces = Guateng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwa Zulu-Natal
June 23: Africa’s 1st COVID-19 vaccine trial starting
\tResearchers in South Africa say the first COVID-19 vaccine trial on the African continent is set to get underway on Wednesday.
AP
May 12: US donates ventilators
\tThe U.S. government is donating “up to 1,000” ventilators to South Africa to help the country respond to COVID-19 as the Trump administration addresses criticism that it hasn’t done enough for countries in need.
“South Africa is the first country in the world to receive this state-of-the-art equipment” from the National Security Council and USAID, the U.S. Embassy said in a tweet.
The donation brings the total U.S. government financial support to South Africa’s COVID-19 response to more than $41 million, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, president Ramaphosa has had a busy last 24 hours with a phone call with President Donald Trump during which the American leader pledged support for South Africa in the fight against the virus.
If we've said it once, we'll say it again. Nobody does getaways like Ashanti. Her passport is full of stamps and her Instagram is packed with images from her many […]
The post Ashanti Lived Her Best Life With Giraffes In Nairobi And She Has The Photos To Prove It appeared first on Essence.
Global hospitality groups Radisson and Accor will continue with their expansion plans in Kenya and the region despite the slump in the sector due to Covid-19.
16 Things That Made African King Shaka Zulu One Of The Greatest Military Minds In History
Shaka Zulu is said to be one of the greatest military leaders in African history, and perhaps all of history.
His legacy lived on in the Zulu warriors who fought the British in 1879.
Some historians say that Shaka Zulu would make his troops go on 50-mile marches for practice over rough and hot terrain so they wouldn’t be fazed by difficult conditions during battle.
Many historians say Shaka Zulu was the first military leader to use the bull horn formation.
Younger warriors would form the “horns” and encircle the enemy, attacking from the sides, and additional warriors formed the “loins,” standing behind the “chest” with their back to the battle, protecting against any additional attackers.
Anti-graft agencies in Africa have commenced work on a draft protocol designed to halt the movement of illicit funds across the continent.
Speaking at the weekend, Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said anti-corruption agencies in Africa were working on a draft protocol as part of measures to strengthen the anti-graft campaign in Africa.
Magu, who was inducted into the 2020 Fellowship Hall of Fame of the Chartered Institute Public Resources Management and Politics (CIPRMP), Ghana for his contributions to the war against corruption, said the draft protocol would be submitted to the Heads of State of African Union (AU) for consideration.
\"We had a meeting with other anti-corruption agencies in Africa to draft a protocol for Heads of State.
He said huge looted funds from Nigeria were stashed away in Ghana, stating that plans were afoot to effect the recovery.
Tracking his plan to decongest Dar es Salaam City, President John Magufuli yesterday inspected the ongoing construction of Ubungo flyover in Dar es Salaam, expressing his satisfaction with the pace.
Other projects in progress include the second phase of Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (Dart), which involves Kilwa Road, Mbagala depot, terminals and feeder roads and the construction of the 258.3bn/- New Selander Bridge and connecting roads which is expected to reduce traffic jams significantly, save time and increase government revenues.
Speaking on behalf of other political leaders, Ubungo District CCM Youth Wing Chairman Mr Edwin Mbena commended Dr Magufuli for a well done job in implementing the Party's election manifesto.
He said the construction of the flyover and other major projects had uplifted the country's status and the Ubungo flyover will be beneficial to all city residents.
Dr Magufuli, however, said his government was spending more than 240bn/- for the construction of Ubungo Flyover and eight lanes Kimara - Kibaha section of Morogo Road.
Nearly 90% of African countries will miss a target of vaccinating a tenth of their population by September unless they urgently receive more than 200 million jabs, the WHO warned Thursday.
June 19: UN rights body to report on racism after Floyd killing
\tThe U.N.’s top human rights body agreed unanimously Friday to commission a U.N. report on systemic racism and discrimination against black people while stopping short of ordering a more intensive investigation singling out the United States after the death of George Floyd sparked worldwide demonstrations.
Advocacy group Human Rights Watch said the measure fell far short of the level of scrutiny sought by hundreds of civil society organizations, but nonetheless set the stage for an unprecedented look at racism and police violence in the United States — over the efforts of U.S. officials to avoid the council’s attention — and showed even the most powerful countries could be held to account.
June 18: African nations backtrack on US UN probe
\tAfrican countries on Thursday backed off their call for the U.N.’s top human rights body to launch its most intense scrutiny on the hot-button issue of police brutality and systemic racism in the United States, after American officials led back-channel talks to air opposition to the idea, diplomats said.
The Africa Group was reworking a draft resolution but had already cut out language calling on the Human Rights Council to set up a commission of inquiry — its most potent tool of scrutiny — to examine issues like systemic racism and abuse against “Africans and of people of African descent” in the U.S. and beyond, said the diplomats, who were part of the talks.
June 16: African nations drag US to UN human rights council
\tAfrican nations have prepared a draft resolution at the U.N.’s top human rights body that singles out the United States and would launch intense international scrutiny of systemic racism against people of African descent in the wake of recent high-profile killings of blacks by American police.
Confirmed cases = 405,171
\t\tActive cases = 201,864
\t\tRecoveries = 193,149
\t\tNumber of deaths = 10,158
\tAfrica’s figures continue to be very low compared to other continents.
VIDEO
June 22: Cases pass 300,000 mark
\tAfrica’s case load passed the 300,000 mark late Sunday according to statistics by the John Hopkins University tracker.
Africa breached the 200,000 mark on June 10 according to the AU’s Africa Centers for Disease Control, which at the time reported that there were 203,899 cases along with 5,530 deaths and 91,398 recoveries.
The five most impacted nations were as follows:
\t\tSouth Africa: 19,137 confirmed cases
\t\tEgypt: 15,003
\t\tAlgeria: 7,728
\t\tMorocco: 7,300
\t\tNigeria: 7,016
\tSouth Africa is the most impact across the continent and in the southern African region.
Additional files on UNECA report from AP
April 17: Africa’s coronavirus deaths pass 1,000 mark as cases approach 20,000
\tAfrica’s coronavirus deaths have surpassed the 1,000 mark according to tallies by the john Hopkins University.
Fall in love with cooking all over again with a copy of Dinner at Matloha’s. Foodies relishing their time in the kitchen will cherish this recipe book.
Making himself a cult, the dictator, among other things, established the Mobutu Good Will Fund as a fundraising effort to end poverty in the country.
While Zairiens (Mobuto had renamed his country Zaire) were living in poverty, he began the shameful practice of using taxpayers’ money to live in luxury, and in transforming his rural village, Gbadolite, into a city.
By the time he was deposed in 1997, Gbadolite did not only have an airport with a runway long enough to handle supersonic Concordes, but also a nuclear bomb-proof bunker that could house more than 500 people and was believed to be the largest in Africa.
Four or five times a year, Mobuto, who did not joke with bottles of his favorite Taittinger champagne, traveled to Gbadolite to enjoy these niceties without extending them to the rest of the people in the vast central African country.
The structures of the palaces, however, remain alone in the middle of the jungle in DR Congo, including the bunker and other buildings.
