West Africa - The African Mirror

Apr

2023

West Africa edges East Africa as mobile money hotspot

EAST Africa has lost its mantle as the engine of growth for Africa's dynamic mobile money sector to West Africa, according to GSMA State of the Industry Report (SOTIR) 2023. East Africa - where the continent's mobile money behemoth, M-PESA, is domiciled - boasted the highest activity rate in the region as recently as 2020 but it has since declined for two consecutive years. In contrast, West Africa's activity rates have risen consistently since 2018 and active mobile money accounts grew by 25% between 2021 and 2022. "Not only are more people registering for mobile money accounts, but many who…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Togo’s new container terminal biggest in West Africa, signals country’s larger logistics ambitions

NEWS

BIRD STORY AGENCY TOGO'S maritime economy is poised for growth with the newly commissioned container terminal at the Autonomous Port of Lomé. On March 20, the Togolese government commissioned the Lome Container Terminal (LCT), which allows the port to clear at least 2.2 million containers annually, up from the 1.6 million it cleared in 2022. The extension solidifies Togo's position as a vital hub for maritime trade in West Africa. The port of Lomé now has two terminals, the new LCT and Bollore, with LCT operating on a 53 hectares site with a 1050-meter quay. "The port of Lomé is…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

French, US hostages released after years of captivity in West Africa

NEWS

BOUREIMA BALIMA and HUMEYRA PAMUK FRENCH journalist Olivier Dubois was hugged by emotional reporters at a briefing in Niger announcing the release of him and U.S. aid worker Jeffery Woodke who had been held hostage in West Africa for years by Islamist militants. Dubois was kidnapped in Mali in 2021, while Woodke was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger in 2016. Dubois had appeared in a video last August urging authorities to do everything they could to free him from his captors. Some journalists embraced him upon arrival at the briefing at the airport in the capital Niamey, moved by the sight…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

France eyes Ivory Coast after Burkina Faso boots out French troops

NEWS

ANGE ABOA and THIAM NDIAGA FRANCE'S defence minister pledged to boost military support to Ivory Coast, as Paris adjusts its strategy in West Africa after neighbouring Burkina Faso ordered French troops to leave and vowed to curb a worsening Islamist insurgency solo. Burkina Faso said on Sunday that France's military operations on its soil had officially ended - marking the start of a new chapter in the Sahel region's battle with Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The two jihadist groups have taken over swathes of land and displaced millions of people in Burkina, Mali and Niger. It is…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s new Lekki port has doubled cargo capacity, but must not repeat previous failures

AFRICITIES

THREE-QUARTERS of the world is covered by water and up to 90% of world trade is seaborne. Seaports and shipping are critical to the conduct of global trade. Africa has relatively few natural harbours that offer shelter and are deep enough to take big vessels. Along the Atlantic coastline of West Africa, for instance, natural harbours exist only at Freetown and Lagos. Consequently, artificial ports have been carved out of lagoon and river ports, which dot the coastline from Morocco to South Africa. Considerable capital and engineering know-how have been applied since the late nineteenth century to make African ports…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Uganda declares itself Ebola-free

NEWS

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA UGANDA declared the end of a nearly four-month Ebola outbreak that it briefly struggled to contain but was then able to swiftly bring under control despite the absence of a proven vaccine against the viral strain in question. "We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda," Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said during a ceremony to mark the outbreak's end. Aceng said this was Uganda's eighth Ebola outbreak since 2000 when the country recorded its first and most deadly one that killed more than half of the 425 people it infected. The latest outbreak killed 55…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

West Africa has experienced a wave of coups – superficial democracy is to blame

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WEST Africa has seen coups and military takeovers in three countries in 2022. Like those of the past, they came with promises of a quick return to civilian regimes once socio-economic and political challenges had been met. The challenges are usually listed as inept governance, corruption, rising insecurity and popular revolts amid economic hardship. One view of governance on the African continent is that liberal democracy has spread since the 2000s, bringing an end to dictatorships. Most African countries, it’s argued, have multiparty democracies with elected governments. Author TEMITOPE J. LANIRAN, Research Associate, University of Bradford My own view is…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Torrential floods in West Africa hurt food security

NEWS

DESIRE DANGA and MAHAMAT RAMADANE SOULOUKNA Mourga plodded through his flooded millet and cotton field in northern Cameroon and uprooted soggy stems that had a few bolls on them. All six hectares of mostly dead crops were under water. The 50-year-old father of 12 is one of an estimated 4 million people, many of them small subsistence farmers, in over a dozen countries in West and Central Africa that have seen their crops decimated by unusually heavy flooding. The floods have destroyed harvest for this season, while nearly 1 million hectares of farmland across the region remain under water, with…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Explainer: Why are West and Central Africa’s floods so devastating this year?

NEWS

ALESSANDRA PRENTICE UNUSUALLY intense seasonal rains have drenched swathes of West and Central Africa since June, unleashing deadly floods that have affected millions and submerged farmland in 19 countries. Below are factors that are making the floods worse and data on the scale of their impact. WHERE IS THE WATER COMING FROM? Most years, West and Central Africa see floods of varying severity between June and September when seasonal rains sweep through the Sahel belt of countries along the southern fringes of the Sahara desert. This season, a La Niña weather pattern caused above-average rainfall in parts of the region…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

The 5 biggest threats to West Africa’s oceans – and what to do about them

ENVIRONMENT

THE natural resources that form ocean ecosystems can play a significant role in the socio-economic growth and development of nations. West Africa has a variety of marine and coastal ecosystems, found within the Atlantic Ocean. This is one of the most diverse and economically important fishing zones in the world and provides an income for many through fishing, shipping, logistics and mining. But unregulated and unsustainable exploitation has degraded the ecosystems severely. Threats have come from land-based sources of pollution, insecurity and piracy, illegal and harmful fishing practices, and climate change. Author ADERONKE OMOLARA LAWAL-ARE, Professor of Marine Sciences, University…