DON'T MISS : Talking Africa Podcast – Ethiopia: Looming famine in Tigray is the making of 'starvation crimes' says report by WPF

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Formal introduction

DRC: Gécamines takes over the artisanal cobalt mining sector

Officially launched on 31 March, EGC - a new subsidiary of Gécamines - is intended to formalise and clean up a previously opaque artisanal mining ... sector. It will partner with Swiss commodities giant Trafigura, the US NGO Pact, and the UK auditors Kumi, using blockchain technology to track minerals as they pass through the system.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a news conference in Rabat

new rules

IMF/Georgieva: After austerity, it’s ‘spend, spend, spend’ at the Fund

As governments and international financial institutions throw off the constraints of austerity policies and economic orthodoxy, there are hard ... questions about how Africa could benefit from this change in strategy. Much will depend on how fast its economies can raise finance for post-Covid recovery efforts.

Virus Outbreak South Africa Liquor Sales Resume

drink up

China’s growing thirst helps South Africa’s wines cope with Covid downturn

Whilst Covid-19 disrupted trade flows across the globe and pushed industries into financial trouble, the South African wine sector has, somewhat ... remarkably, been spared.

No dam compromise

GERD: DRC’s Tshisekedi does not get the hoped-for dam agreement

For his first mediation in his new role as chairman of the African Union (AU), Félix Tshisekedi chose to tackle a complex diplomatic issue: ... the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Kristalina Georgieva

Keynes returns

‘Vaccine policy is economic policy’ – IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva

The International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva says the IMF spent nearly $300bn in resuscitating the global economy when ... Covid-19 struck. There are unorthodox noises being made at the top of the institution best known for austerity in public spending. What comes next as rich countries bounce back and poor countries stay on the mat? And will the IMF run out of money? An exclusive interview with the head of the IMF.

Some old and new faces

Côte d’Ivoire: President Ouattara unveils his new government

The new Ivorian government led by prime minister Patrick Achi was unveiled on 6 April. It demonstrates Côte d'Ivoire’s President Alassane ... Ouattara’s focus on continuity.

Ethiopia Elections

turning point

Ethiopia: As election nears, parties seek unity of varying identities

After being postponed twice, Ethiopia’s general elections will finally take place on 5 June. Indeed, since 2018, the country’s political ... transition has had its security and economic challenges further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. With 49 parties currently registered, the upcoming ballot promises to be highly decisive in shaping Ethiopia’s future.

More top stories

Cosying up to the US

Egypt / US: It will take more than glossy propaganda to win over the Biden administration

STARVATION CRIME

Ethiopia: Looming famine in Tigray is the making of ‘starvation crimes’ says report by WPF

kora for the 21st century

Mali: Ballaké Sissoko, the kora’s discreet champion

Cosying up to the US

Egypt / US: It will take more than glossy propaganda to win over the Biden administration

STARVATION CRIME

Ethiopia: Looming famine in Tigray is the making of ‘starvation crimes’ says report by WPF

kora for the 21st century

Mali: Ballaké Sissoko, the kora’s discreet champion

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Inner circle of the AfDB

A who’s who of AfDB’s president Akinwumi Adesina’s network of allies

Unanimously re-elected to a second term in August 2020 after a difficult year, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina ... has a largely reshuffled staff and a streamlined, though no doubt stronger, network of allies.

France Rwanda Genocide

rwandan genocide

Vincent Duclert: ‘In Rwanda, France dismissed reality’

27 years ago today, 7 April, the Rwandan genocide erupted following the plane crash of then President Juvenal Habyarimana. For the next 100 days, ... armed militias engaged in a killing spree against the ethnic minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. In total, some 800,000 people died. The French, who were allies of the Hutu government under Habyarimana, had sent a special force to evacuate their citizens and set up safe zones. Although they witnessed the horror all around them, to this day, they are accused of having done very little to stop the killing.

Nowhere but up

Cameroon: Njong Eric Njong, a boss on the rise

He does not have the international prestige of Danpullo, Colin Mukete or Kate Fotso. And yet, Njong Eric Njong is the most prominent Anglophone ... entrepreneur in Cameroon today.

Spectrum of Possibility

Telecoms: Africa needs 5G regulation overhaul, Nokia says

African regulators need to upgrade their rulebooks to accelerate the adoption of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks, says Alpin Verlet, Nokia’s ... CEO for West and Central Africa.

Love me tender

Angola: As Dubai Port takes over Luanda port, railway concessions are on the agenda

Angola’s poor infrastructure is a major bottleneck for the economy, and the debt-troubled government is now launching a round of concession ... deals to bring in the private sector and increase investment.

questionable track record

Has ECOWAS made West Africa a safer place?

In an article published in 1994 titled 'The Coming Anarchy', the American journalist Robert Kaplan predicted an impending Armageddon for West ... Africa due to what he considered its notoriety for breeding crime, coups and tyrannical regimes. 26 years later, it bears examining whether the region has measured up to this grim forecast.

"Mama Sarah" tribute

Kenya: Obama celebrates his grandmother Sarah, who bridged the gap to his African identity

Sarah Obama, former US President Barack Obama’s ‘Granny’, died on 29 March in Kenya at the age of 99. She was one of his most ardent supporters, ... who helped him understand his African identity.

Coalition for 2022 election

Is the new One Kenya Alliance a breath of fresh air for Kenyan politics ?

Kenya's newest coalition, the One Kenya Alliance brings together seasoned politicians who, for a decade now, have been in opposition. In a country ... that loves to form alliances and parties ahead of elections, could this new coalition also reintroduce the possibility of two political rivals -- Odinga Raila and William Ruto -- coming together as they did back in 2007?

final countdown?

Libya: Is Haftar losing control of his forces in Benghazi?

The explosion of violence in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi marks Khalifa Haftar's loss of control over the Libyan National Army (LNA). ... Made up of tribal alliances and militias, the LNA is falling apart while its boss continues to lose power.

ghana

Bouncing Back

Ghana confounds sceptics by raising $3bn in eurobond sale

Ghana proved it can still access international debt markets by raising $3bn in late March. ...

A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia.

war without end

Ethiopia: Tigray, Sudan, Amhara… The multiple crises of Abiy Ahmed

Despite a promise from Nobel laureate Abiy Ahmed that Eritrean troops will leave the region, it is likely the war will continue unabated until ... at least the start of the rainy season in June.

Sudan protests

successful activism

Africa’s growing activism: Taking down the autocrats, one at a time

Some politicians on the continent can seem eternal. But from the #EndSARS movement, to the Arab Spring, to Bobi Wine, there is an endless drive ... for change, too. Africa has a long history of protests and activism in support of better governance, fairer economic systems and development.

flight report

BOOK REVIEW Nigeria: Leaving the Tarmac, by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede

Too often, founders and executives of businesses in Nigeria do not leave a trace of what they have done. In this review of 'Leaving the Tarmac. ... Buying a Bank in Africa' by the founder of Coronation Capital, and Managing Director of Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Folahanmi Fagbule celebrates the transparency delivered by biography.