African leaders - The African Mirror

Jan

2023

$30-billion plan to help Africa feed itself

BATE FELIX DEVELOPMENT partners have committed $30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than one in five Africans – a record 278 million people – facing hunger, according to United Nations estimates. A major theme of the three-day summit in the Senegalese capital Dakar was that African countries need to boost their food production capacity rather than relying on imports that have left them…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

US-Africa summit: four things African leaders should try to get out of it

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

US president Joe Biden will be hosting African leaders at this week’s summit, as a group. This has its advantages. The 50 African leaders have the opportunity to articulate their common interests and adopt common positions at the gathering in Washington, DC. The priorities they should be focusing on are the following. African Union membership of the G20 group of the world’s largest economies. It is important for Africa to be represented in international conversations that concern the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health and security. Author CHRISTOPHER ISIKE, Director, African Centre for the Study of the United…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Burning waste must end: African leaders look to recycling for better health and value

ENVIRONMENT

WHEN African environment ministers met in Senegal in mid-September, they made one of the most important decisions in the history of waste management in Africa. The ministers laid the foundation to end the open dumping and burning of waste. Putting this decision into action will have multiple economic, environmental and social implications. It could save millions of lives on the continent. Author DESTA MEBRATU, Professor and United Nations High Level Champions (UNHLC) Lead on Waste, Stellenbosch University One hundred and eighty million tons of waste, about 9% of the global total, was generated in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016. Only about…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Strong commitments from African leaders at COP27 as Kenya, UK ink new green investment deal

NEWS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY GREEN was the colour of the day as heads of state from Kenya, Ghana and Zambia laid out strong climate-related commitments at what’s been termed “Africa’s COP” in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Kenyan President Dr William Ruto was among those hosted by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the launch of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership. Ruto reaffirmed his country’s commitment to accelerating reafforestation, telling delegates: “We remain committed to being in the frontline in sustainable land use and the conservation, protection, management and restoration of forests.” Kenya and the UK have also agreed to fast-track…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Restricting digital media is a gamble for African leaders

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MANY leaders seem threatened by the way digital media make it possible to share information and organise. Research shows that 2020 saw 156 full or partial shutdowns of the internet or social media like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. South Asia accounts for almost three-quarters of these shutdowns, with India leading the way. JEFFREY CONROY-KRUTZ, Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University Africa was the next most affected region, with 20 shutdowns affecting 12 countries. Disruptions lasted from as short as a day or less, in Burundi, Egypt, and Togo, to nearly 90 days in parts of Ethiopia’s Oromia Region.…