SPECIAL FEATURES - The African Mirror

Jul

13

2023

Gold fraud: The Goldenberg scam that cost Kenya billions of dollars in the 1990s – and no one was jailed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE Goldenberg scandal in the early 1990s is Kenya’s largest documented gold fraud. The scheme involved Goldenberg International Limited, which pretended to export gold and diamonds, and in exchange received substantial subsidies from the government for “earning” foreign exchange. Kenyan businessman Kamlesh Pattni – who was at the centre of the scandal and was charged with fraud but eventually acquitted – was recently named in a new investigation into gold fraud. This time his operation is allegedly being run through Zimbabwe from his base in Dubai. Economists Roman Grynberg and Fwasa Singogo, who have researched the Goldenberg case, and the…

Jul

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Mitsubishi empowers Basadi Automotive Group

MOTORING NEWS

MITSUBISHI Motors South Africa have bolstered their partnership with the Basadi Automotive Group through the sponsorship of a Mitsubishi Xpander. The keys to the branded Mitsubishi Xpander were handed over to Basadi Automotive Group founder Josephine Malakoane at Mitsubishi Bedfordview. Basadi Automotive Group was established by Josephine Malakoane in 2018 and is 100 percent black female owned. The company specialises in vehicle transfers, vehicle carrier movements, de-fleet inspections and collections as well as new vehicle deliveries nationwide. “Mitsubishi Motors SA has an existing partnership with Basadi Automotive Group through the Motus Enterprise and Supplier Development programme and we are delighted…

Jul

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Newest Ford Mustangs ready to run wild

MOTORING

FORD is set to release the reins on the hottest new road and race variants from its iconic Mustang family as the company heads back to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023. The new Mustang GT3 racecar – first revealed ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month, and the new Mustang Dark Horse 1 – the road-legal, track-ready precursor to a new family of racecars including Mustang GT3 and Mustang GT4, will make dynamic debuts while belting out their V8 soundtracks to crowds at the event near Chichester, UK, July 13-16. The world-famous Goodwood Hillclimb delivers…

Jul

05

2023

By LIBBY GEORGE

Analysis: Caught between riots and debt crises, African countries cut fuel subsidies

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ABDOULAYE Diallo is paying over 50% more to fill up his "thiak-thiak" motorbike taxi in Keur Mbaye Fall, a suburb of Senegal's capital Dakar, than he was before the government began lifting fuel subsidies in January. Diallo, 25, is already navigating punishing inflation and deadly political riots, but his biggest problem is he cannot pass on the cost of filling his fuel tank, which has risen to 3,500 CFA ($5.82), from 2,000 CFA last year. "The customers...don't realize how difficult it is," Diallo said. "That's the kind of thing we need to protest against." Senegal, like Nigeria and Angola, is removing costly…

Jul

01

2023

By The African Mirror

What does the Wagner Group do? Operations in Africa and the rest of the world explained

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE abortive mutiny by Russia's Wagner group last week calls into question the fate of the group's wide network of military and commercial operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This factbox shows what Wagner is doing and where. UKRAINE Wagner deployed in Ukraine soon after the invasion began early last year and by the summer it was enlisting thousands of prisoners to fight for it on the front lines. By December, as it took a central role in the battle for Bakhmut, U.S. intelligence estimated it had 40,000 prisoner recruits fighting in Ukraine, though Wagner itself has not commented on…

Jun

29

2023

By The African Mirror

Migrant numbers are rising: conflict, climate and harassment are forcing tens of millions to leave their homes

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE number of forcibly displaced people increased to 108 million in 2022 and is expected to reach 117 million by the end of 2023, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Of these, just over 60 million were internally displaced – people who have been forced to leave their homes but have not crossed their (internationally recognised) borders. Almost 30 million were refugees outside their country of origin. The remainder were asylum seekers, stateless persons, returnees and persons in need of international protection. BORJA SANTOS PORRAS, Director Ejecutivo - IE School of Global and Public Affairs, IE University UNHCR…

Jun

28

2023

By The African Mirror

Ford Castrol Team scores a double victory in the Botswana

MOTORING NEWS

THE Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Castrol Team scored an emphatic one-two finish in the EcoBoost V6-powered T1+ Ford Rangers at Round 3 of the South African Rally Raid Championship (SARRC), which was held in Jwaneng, Botswana, from 23-25 June 2023. As the longest and toughest event of the year, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race is a three-day marathon event which covers almost 1 000km of racing through semi-arid terrain, characterised by unforgiving thorn bushes and lots of soft sand. Despite the punishing conditions destroying bodywork on all the competitor cars and pushing the crews to…

Jun

28

2023

By MACDONALD DZIRUTWE

Analysis: Nigeria’s Tinubu faces daunting hurdles after reform sprint

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

NEW Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has moved at lightning speed in his first month in office, implementing a raft of radical changes aimed at finally unleashing the full potential of Africa's sluggish economic giant. But while his rapid headway on reforms has wowed investors, some analysts, observers and business leaders warn that bigger challenges await and question whether the 71-year-old - viewed by many as part of Nigeria's old guard - is really the man to take them on. "There has been a big policy shift (but) I think there are things that investors would like to see happening to really be convinced…

Jun

27

2023

By The African Mirror

The all-new Renault Rafale: Conquering new Horizons

MOTORING

NOW that the campaign to reconquer the C-segment – one of the main goals in the Renaulution strategic plan – is well underway with the Megane E-Tech electric, Arkana and Austral success stories, it’s time for Renault to make its next move on the D-segment. The first one was a reboot of the family-friendly All-new Espace; the second is a completely new and daring model: The All-new Rafale. Now that Renault has revamped its arsenal of technology for hybrid powertrains, chassis, and electronic equipment, it could no longer deprive its customers of a vehicle born and bred for driving pleasure…

Jun

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Sierra Leone has been at peace for 20 years after a brutal civil war – what went right

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SIERRA Leone’s June 2023 parliamentary elections are the fifth since the end of the civil war in 2002. They also mark a decade since the closure of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The court prosecuted high-level commanders deemed responsible for the suffering experienced during the war. CHRISTINA MAMMONE, Early Careers Researcher in Peace and Conflict Studies, Flinders University The 11-year-long civil war (1991-2002) was estimated to have killed over 50,000 people. Thousands were maimed and their limbs amputated. Half of the population was displaced. Almost all the people of Sierra Leone were affected by the war, leaving an enduring…