NEWS - The African Mirror

Apr

27

2024

Malawi gets $57.6 mln World Bank grant to address food crisis

NEWS

THE World Bank said that it was providing $57.6 million in "quick release" grant financing to Malawi to help the country respond to a food crisis. "This support comes in the context of the severe food crisis the country is suffering due to El Niño conditions in the wider southern Africa region," the World Bank said in a statement. "A series of intense disaster events over the last few years has left almost no time for the country to recover and has resulted in a severe erosion of food security at the national level."

Apr

25

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

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

NEWS

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

26

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

26

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

26

2024

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenyan government recommends regulating, not banning, TikTok

NEWS

KENYA'S government has advised lawmakers against banning TikTok over concerns about content shared on the platform and instead recommended stricter oversight by regulators. A panel in parliament has been considering a petition from a Kenyan citizen to ban the Chinese-owned platform. The recommendation follows accusations from the interior ministry that the platform has been used to spread propaganda, carry out fraud and distribute sexual content. "Rather than imposing a ban on TikTok, the ministry proposes adoption of a co-regulation model," the information and communication ministry said in an advisory to the panel, which was shared with Reuters on Thursday. The ministry proposed…

Apr

25

2024

By CATARINA DEMONY

Portugal must ‘pay costs’ of slavery and colonial crimes, president says

NEWS

PRESIDENT Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that Portugal was responsible for crimes committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, and suggested there was a need for reparations. For over four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported long distances by mainly European ships and merchants, and sold into slavery. Those who survived the voyage ended up toiling on plantations in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while others profited from their labour. Portugal trafficked nearly 6 million Africans, more than any other European nation, but has failed so far to confront its past and…

Apr

25

2024

By NUZULACK DAUSEN

World Bank suspends Tanzania tourism fund over abuse allegations

NEWS

THE World Bank has suspended new disbursements from a $150 million fund to expand a national park in southern Tanzania, a spokesperson said, after the lender received allegations of killings and evictions by rangers last year. Two anonymous complainants have accused rangers from the Ruaha National Park of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, evictions, torture and cattle seizures perpetrated against local villagers, according to the World Bank's independent complaints mechanism. "The World Bank is deeply concerned about the allegations of abuse and injustice related to the... project in Tanzania," a spokesperson said in a statement. "We have therefore decided to suspend…

Apr

24

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African cities with the most millionaires

NEWS

GROWING private wealth in Africa is transforming the continent's major cities into hubs for millionaires and billionaires, according to the latest Henley & Partners Africa Wealth Report. Collectively, these urban centres are home to 135,200 millionaires, 342 centi-millionaires with fortunes exceeding US$100 million, and 21 billionaires. With the number of high-net-worth individuals projected to jump by 65% over the next decade, these cities are not only expanding economically but are also setting the stage for a new era of prosperity and influence. bird TenX lists the top ten cities and regions for private wealth in Africa:1. Johannesburg, South Africa: 12,300…

Apr

25

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Cheaper calls ring in Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya

NEWS

MOBILE phone users in Ethiopia and South Africa will enjoy lower calling rates between operators from May while Kenyans are already seeing savings, as African communication regulators move to adopt pricing models that benefit customers. The Ethiopia Communications Authority (ECA) has adopted a top-down pricing model that will ensure uniformity for all players, while the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is looking at a wholesale model with rates charged depending on a telco's size. While these models differ, these regulators have a common goal - to bolster competition among operators and offer consumers more choice and competitive prices on off-net calls. According to a statement by…

Apr

24

2024

By The African Mirror

Malian group asks Supreme Court to annul junta’s ban on political activities

NEWS

THE Malian Supreme Court should annul the ruling junta's order to suspend political activities, a group of Malian political parties and civil society organisations said in an appeal. The West African country has been under military rule since a coup in 2020. Tensions have risen in recent weeks over the authorities' failure to organise promised elections and their subsequent decree that limits political life in the name of maintaining public order. The allied political and civil society groups opposed to the April 10 order said they had turned jointly to Mali's top court "with the aim of annulling the decree which they consider…