African continent - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Africa’s new online foreign exchange system will enable cross-border payments in local currencies – what you need to know

THE high cost of making cross-border payments on the African continent has driven governments on the continent to seek options of settling trade and other transactions in local currencies. This has given birth to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System which is scheduled to go live in 2024 under Kenya’s leadership. Development economist Christopher Adam, who has studied the exchange rate policies of African countries, answers some key questions. CHRISTOPHER ADAM, Professor of Development Economics, University of Oxford Why are African countries exposed in the international currency market? Three main reasons. First, African economies are small and as such are…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia-Africa relations key in the drawing of a new world order

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RELATIONS between Russia and the African continent have always been cordial and mutually beneficial. This trend has stood the test of time and continues to this day. ABBEY MAKOE Historically, Russia can pride itself in that it has never colonised Africa, not even an inch. When the West was involved in the “Scramble for Africa” between 1833 and 1914 when WWI broke out, the Soviet Union was assisting Africa’s liberation movements to win their battle against the “New Imperialism” of the time. Although in 1970 only ten percent of the African continent was under formal European control, by 1914 the…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s police are violent, unaccountable and make most citizens feel less safe – should they be abolished?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A world without the police is inconceivable to many people. The police are viewed as part of modern society’s foundation, ensuring democracy and keeping people safe. In practice, however, police around the world sometimes repress social movements, stifle democracy, and exacerbate social and racial injustice. Across the African continent, they often use force to prop up repressive regimes. And in Kenya in particular, extortion and extrajudicial killings by the police are rampant. Authors WANGUI KIMARI, Anthropologist, University of Cape Town ZOLTÁN GLÜCK, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, American University Kenya is unusual for its extensive attempts to reform the police. Reform…