Blog - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire look to reshape the world’s cocoa industry

GHANAIAN cocoa supply chain expert and co-founder, Gazali Halidu, believes a new alliance between Africa's two biggest cocoa producers “holds the potential to transform the cocoa sector.” “It has the potential to address revenue imbalances, support farmer livelihoods, and promote sustainable practices,” Halidu shared in an interview with bird story agency. The alliance between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world’s top two producers of cocoa, comes as a sharp decline in production volumes and a deterioration of producer prices hits the market. The countries recently commissioned the Cote d’Ivore-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CGCI) Secretariat building in Accra as the two countries…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenyan military deployed as East Africa floods kill dozens

NEWS

KENYA'S military was deployed to rescue victims of heavy rains that have killed dozens of people across East Africa over the past month. At least 45 people have died in the floods in Kenya since March, including 10 since Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said. Large parts of the capital Nairobi and other major towns are underwater, forcing thousands of residents to leave their homes. Collins Obondo, 38, lost at least four relatives in the flooding on Wednesday in Nairobi's densely-populated Mathare neighbourhood, which lies along the Nairobi River. "The body of my mother's neighbour was trapped right across here…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

South Africa extends troop deployment in Mozambique and Congo

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's military will extend the deployment of its troops in conflict-hit Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement. The extension, for an unspecified amount of time, will keep 1,198 personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo, where they are part of a U.N. peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups. The statement also said that 1,495 SANDF members would continue their operations in Mozambique, where they have been supporting the government's fight against violent extremism in northern areas since 2021. South Africa's military deployments abroad have come…

Apr

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Surge in service sector investments globally to bolster intra-African services sector

BUSINESS

A global shift in foreign direct investment (FDI) dynamics, with investors globally increasingly favouring the service sector over traditional manufacturing, could favour Africa, according to Tanzanian-based analyst, Musila Muoki. According to a new report by the UN Trade and Development Organization, the global FDI shift is being shaped by “trends in global value chains, technological advancements, geopolitical dynamics and environmental concerns.” “From 2004 to 2023, the share of cross-border greenfield projects in the services sector jumped from 66% to 81%,” the authors of the report released on April 23 explain. The trend has been echoed in Africa, where greenfield service…

Apr

2024

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria revokes 924 dormant mining titles, seeks new investors

BUSINESS

NIGERIA has revoked 924 dormant mining titles immediately and invites investors to freely apply for the affected licences which will be offered on a "first come, first served" basis, its minister of mines said. The affected titles include 528 exploration licences, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licences, and 273 small-scale mining licences, Mines Minister Dele Alake said in a statement. In November, more than 1,600 mining titles were revoked for non-payment of statutory fees as part of sweeping reforms in the sector. Alake said the action was taken to curb "licence racketeering" where companies or individuals secure titles that hold…

Apr

2024

By SUSAN GOLDSTEIN

Sugar in baby food: why Nestlé needs to be held to account in Africa

HEALTH

NESTLÉ has been criticised for adding sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries. The Swiss food giant controls 20% of the baby food market, valued at nearly US$70 billion. Nadine Dreyer asked public health academic Susan Goldstein why extra sugar is particularly bad for babies and how multinationals targeting low-income countries with sweeter products get away with it. Why has Nestlé been criticised? Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent samples of Nestlé baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America to a Belgian laboratory for testing. The laboratory found in many…

Apr

2024

By MEELAN THONDOO

Africa’s megacities threatened by heat, floods and disease – urgent action is needed to start greening and adapt to climate change

ENVIRONMENT

CITIES cover just 3% of the planet. But they emit 78% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, absorb 80% of final global energy (what consumers use) and consume 60% of clean drinking water. African megacities like Lagos, Nigeria (with 21 million residents) and Cairo, Egypt (with 10 million residents) are experiencing significant temperature increases due to the urban heat island effect and climate change. Meelan Thondoo is a medical anthropologist and environmental epidemiologist who researches the health impacts of climate change in cities of fast-developing countries. She explains what cities in Africa are doing to mitigate climate change, and what…

Apr

2024

By NITA BHALLA and LIN TAYLOR

UK’s Rwanda plan: Which other nations send asylum seekers abroad?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE British parliament has passed a divisive law to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promising that flights will take off by July, but legal hurdles could yet hold up or delay the policy. The "Safety of Rwanda" bill aims to cut immigration by deterring migrants from arriving without permission, but refugee rights groups say it criminalises genuine asylum seekers, and Britain's Supreme Court ruled last year that the East African nation was not a safe country to send people. Sunak has invested huge political capital in the Rwanda scheme, promising that it will stop tens of thousands of people arriving without…

Apr

2024

By ED ELSON

MeerKAT: the South African radio telescope that’s transformed our understanding of the cosmos

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

SOUTH Africa’s Karoo region is a vast semi-arid area that stretches across four of the country’s provinces. It is sparsely populated and renowned for its wide open spaces. In the heart of this landscape, near the small Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory operates a technological marvel that has transformed our understanding of the cosmos. The MeerKAT radio telescope has unlocked cosmic mysteries. It’s fostered scientific collaboration. It is also nurturing local talent. MeerKAT, which is among South Africa’s largest scientific infrastructure projects of the 30 year period since democracy, has emerged as a beacon…

Apr

2024

By NANCY J. JACOBS

South Africa’s first election was saved by a Kenyan: the fascinating story of Washington Okumu, the accidental mediator

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WHAT'S sometimes forgotten about the 26-29 April 1994 vote that installed the African National Congress (ANC) government in South Africa is that, until the last minute, it looked like violence would consume the voting process. An 11th-hour agreement on 19 April brought the Zulu-majority Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) into the contest. Inkatha had been boycotting the process and challenging the ANC in violent street protests. The peaceful election brought enormous relief to the country and the world. A Kenyan, Washington Okumu, alternately described as a professor or a diplomat, was credited with the negotiation. But few observers knew who he…