Africa

All Progressives Congress leadership’s preference for a consensus presidential candidate unattainable, writes Bolaji Adebiyi It is clear from the body language of the All Progressives Congress leadership that it would prefer a consensus presidential candidate for the 2023 general election. There were two indications of this. First, President Muhammadu Buhari, among other reasons, initially refused…

Menstruation is a topic handled with secrecy in many African cultures, perhaps to preserve the dignity of women and girls going through it. These cultural practices meant to protect sometimes end up doing the exact opposite. We are glad that this year’s menstrual hygiene day is tagged as “making menstruation a normal fact of life…

Cost of living protests descended in riots last month. Food and fuel prices are set to rise further. In late-April, protests against the soaring cost of living erupted in cities across Mauritius. In Beau Bassin, Rose Hill, and the capital Port Louis, large groups of frustrated residents – particularly from low-income neighbourhoods – took to…

Universities can play a vital role in shaping change in societies. They produce knowledge through research, train future decision makers, and contribute to public awareness of issues. But not all universities are rising to challenges like this. Studies have established that efforts to integrate sustainable development into African universities’ curricula and their community engagement processes…

Rocked with numbers of unresolved Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases being reported in Traditional Authority (TA) Kabunduli in Nkhatabay district, communities in the area are demanding mobile courts. Jessie Chiuza, a Child Protection Worker (CPW) in the area, said mobile courts are effective in the fight against gender based violence because most of the times…

Malawi is among the first five African countries to benefit from the Pfizer Accord for a Healthier World. Other countries to benefit from the arrangement are Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana and Uganda. The exciting news was announced on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum being held in Davos in Switzerland. The Accord aims at making available…

The Goldman Prize is awarded annually to environmental heroes from each of the world’s six inhabited continental regions. The Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Chima Williams, has been named among the seven winners of this year’s prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Other winners of the prize include Niwat Roykaew (Thailand),…

There has been an outbreak of monkeypox cases in a number of countries that are not endemic for the virus. Monkeypox is caused by an orthopoxvirus that is closely related to the virus that caused smallpox. Monkeypox is an animal virus that occasionally infects humans after they are bitten or scratched by a monkey or…

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday flew out of the country to Accra, Ghana, for a three-day working visit, where her tour is expected to boost trade, investment and tourism between Tanzania and countries from West Africa. During her visit in Ghana, the Tanzanian leader is also scheduled to receive the Africa Road Builders-Babacar Ndiaye…

The 150 basis point hike is significant as Nigeria battles rising inflation. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has jacked up benchmark interest to 13 per cent, 150 basis points above the previous rate. It is the first change since September 2020. The Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, made this known…

Geneva — Following is a letter from 80 organizations around the world to delegates attending the World Health Assembly #WHA75 calling on Member States to strengthen the World Health Organization by providing adequate financing. DearMemberStateDelegatestothe75thWorldHealth Assembly, On behalf of the undersigned non-profit organizations, civil society and community groups, philanthropies, and concerned individuals, we have an…

He noted that 15 countries have been validated for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and/or syphilis, adding that the SDG target on hepatitis B has been met. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recounted its achievements in the war against major diseases, and efforts toward improving life expectancy, especially within the last five years. At…

‘The Protected Disclosures Act is not worth the paper it’s written on,’ says Just Share director Tracey Davies. ‘It is due to the bravery of whistle-blowers that the Zuma regime came to an end, yet they are not highly regarded and continue to suffer terribly — their jobs go first, then their pensions, their houses,…

Abuja — A Nigerian high court has sentenced a Danish national, Peter Nielsen, to death by hanging. Nielsen was convicted and sentenced Friday for the murder of his Nigerian wife and their young daughter in 2018. Rights activists, who have protested the murder, praised the court’s ruling. Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile of the Lagos high court…

Avoiding the horseman of famine will take applying past lessons and quick action by governments, international organizations. The cascading global events of the 2020s seems to have no end in sight. The once-in-a-century pandemic (COVID-19) has been followed by the destructive Russian invasion in Ukraine, strong inflationary pressures around the world linked, ominously, to a…

The threat of violent extremism across West Africa has been on the rise in recent times. Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province have been active in the Lake Chad Basin region. Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and Ansarul Islam in the Sahel. The implications…

The RBM Partnership to End Malaria hosted its 33rd meeting of the Surveillance, Monitoring, and Evaluation Reference Group (SMERG) from 17 to 20 May 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda. Discussions focused on ways to streamline surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation to sustain crucial gains and fully respond to emerging priorities in malaria control and elimination, including the…

Air travel in Nigeria is beset by delays caused by many factors, which include weather, breakdown of aircraft, poor airport facilities and poor scheduling. Poor scheduling is problem of airlines, which can be averted with efficient schedule arrangement and maintenance. In Nigeria there is also poor aircraft utilisation because the system and infrastructure guarantee limited…

As of May 20, 2022, confirmed cases of Covid-19 from 55 African countries reached  11,662,928 while over  298,026,398 vaccinations have been administered across the continent. Reported deaths in Africa reached  253,590 and  9,766,659 people have recovered. South Africa has the most reported cases of  3,915,258 and  100,898 people died. Other most-affected countries are Morocco ( …

Cape Town —   African National Congress Predicts Sharp Voter Loss in 2024 The ruling African National Congress’s rude awakening at the local government elections in November 2021, seems to be reason enough for them to think that they may lose over 50% of the vote in the 2024 elections. The ANC is not placing…

Listed coal producer, Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL), is set to procure equipment worth US$15 million in an effort to increase coal output. Presenting the company’s performance for the period ended December 31 2021, HCCL administrator, Engineer Dumisani Sibanda, said the company has entered into an equipment mobilisation agreement for the Underground Mine. “This will…

Gokwe Nembudziya legislator, Justice Mayor Wadyajena, has won a case in which he sued the Shingi Munyeza-chaired Borrowdale Brooke Homeowners Association (BBHOA) for deactivating his vehicle tags and relegating him to the visitors’ lane to enter and exit the plush residential area. Wadyejena is up in arms with his neighbours for driving around the serene…

Rundu — Forestry officials in Kavango West have seized about 4 000 planks from illegal timber harvesters at some recently allocated farms with no government leaseholds in the Katji-na-Katji area. A forestry patrol team discovered the illegal operation deep in the forest where planks and a timber cutting machine was confiscated. Two suspects were apprehended.…

Swapo political bureau and central committee member Tobie Aupindi has hit back at Economic Freedom Fighters’ leader Julius Malema after he called the Swapo-led government corrupt. Aupindi’s annoyance came after Malema, the fiery leftist, while condemning the arrest of the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) Epafras Mukwiilongo, labelled the ruling party-led government as corrupt during…

A ZIMBABWEAN company, Zonful Energy, is among the eight African low carbon innovators shortlisted for this year’s edition of the Ashden International Awards. The nominees were announced at the ongoing Humanitarian Energy Conference in Kigali, Rwanda Monday. The corporations are tackling climate change creating alternatives in the continent’s most marginalised communities. he initiatives include solar-powered…

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has, with immediate effect, lifted the temporary suspension on lending services by banks. In a statement, Tuesday, RBZ governor, John Mangudya, said the u-turn on the lending suspension will not apply to entities under investigation. Banks and companies had criticised the move, indicating that it threatened sustenance. Reasons for…

Maputo — The Maputo transport authorities have revived plans to establish a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which should greatly improve conditions for bus passengers in the Mozambican capital. According to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, citing the Maputo Metropolitan Transport Agency, work on the BRT could begin in…

Nyeri — The naming of Narc Kenya Chairperson Martha Karua as Azimio coalition flag bearer Raila Odinga’s running mate has been received with joy and jubilation among Kenyans living in Nyeri and Kirinyaga. At Mweiga town, Kieni constituenc,y women who had gathered together to follow the live announcement broke into songs and dance while carrying…

Proving their point, Eskom has announced load shedding until they have at least an additional 4,000MW of generation capacity to allow them the space to take some of their units off for planned maintenance. “The risk of load shedding, unfortunately, remains,” warned Jan Oberholzer, Eskom group chief operating officer at a state of the system…

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has shot down claims it harboured, until his death, indicted Rwandan war criminal, Protais Mpiranya, who committed atrocities during the 1994 genocide. The remains of Mpiranya, alias Ndume Sambao, were recently traced to a grave at Granville Cemetery in Harare, popularly known as Kumbudzi, following an arduous search for the fugitive…

Some residents of Sokoto had earlier today taken to the streets to protest the arrest of suspects made by the police in connection with the murder of the student. Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has declared a 24-hour curfew in the state with immediate effect. According to a short statement released by the governor and…

The company’s findings were confirmed from a rigorous hydrocarbon exploration campaign it conducted in the Sierra Leonean basin The Innoson Oil & Gas limited announced Saturday it is on the verge of discovering a huge deposit of 8.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and 234 MMbbl of gas and condensate in its Sierra Leonean basin. A…

Insects. They are what we’re told we’ll all soon be eating if we care about the planet. For Wendy Vesela-Ntimbani, born in Limpopo, the mopani worm has been a culinary favourite since she was a kid. Now she is sharing them with the world. A cash cow disguised as a caterpillar? Squeamish about what you…

Cape Town — Africa, in recent years, has become the new frontier where China and the United States, the world’s two biggest economic superpowers, are competing for influence in a key industry: telecommunications. This week, Ethiopia celebrated the launch of a 5G network powered by China’s telecom giant Huawei in Addis Ababa. Just before that,…

Ibadan — The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has berated Senate President Ahmad Lawan for asking protesting students not to use their protest to disrupt political activities. The University of Ibadan ASUU chapter chairman, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, said on Thursday in a statement that Lawan represented the class of political vipers bent on destroying…

NEWLY elected Zanu PF youth league deputy national secretary, John Paradza, has virtually confirmed the heavy infighting among the ruling party’ Young Turks. The youth league is struggling to douse flames engulfing party structures across the provinces in the aftermath of the contentious elective national conference held last week. Interestingly Paradza, in a statememt Thursday,…

PREMIUM TIMES has seen photos of the fallen walls of the prison facility. The pictures show prison officials standing on the rubbles from the broken walls. Three inmates have allegedly escaped from the Agbor Custodial Center in Delta State after a side of the prison perimeter fence collapsed due to heavy rains Tuesday morning. Insiders…

Recorded in debauchery at a French villa, Exile on Main Street has been trashed, dismissed, hailed and revered in the 50 years since its release in 1972. “It just kept going and going and getting bigger and bigger … If you don’t make bold moves, you don’t get fucking anywhere. You’ve got to push the…

In community shelters all over the eThekwini metro, kind-hearted residents who have very little themselves manage to find ways to help their stricken neighbours. For the past month, Nthathu Zungu, 31, has been waking up at 5am each day to do everything she can at home before going to the KwaSanti Community Hall near Pinetown.…

Although the appellate court, essentially, validated the controversial law, it said it would have ruled otherwise if the main suit was properly brought before it. The Court of Appeal has voided a ruling of a high court that nullified the controversial Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022. Although the appellate court, essentially, validated…

The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo yesterday advocated for a database for maritime criminals, especially pirates, given the intensity and trans-national nature of maritime crimes within the region. He posited that the fight against maritime crimes like piraczzy, crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, amongst others, require a more diligent…

Washington, DC — The United States as first COVID Summit Chair, Belize, as CARICOM Chair; Germany, holding the G7 Presidency; Indonesia, holding the G20 Presidency; and Senegal as African Union Chair, will co-host the second Global COVID-19 Summit, which will be held virtually on Thursday, May 12, 2022. We will be joined by countries, other…

Hospitals and medical service providers have been urged to always use laboratories to ensure they make evidence based diagnosis for patients. “Laboratory services are essential to delivery of quality care. They should be made available to all people in Uganda. When you have poor lab services, you subject patients to inappropriate tests, inappropriate treatment, waste…

Cape Town, South Africa — Uganda has been crowned this year’s Grand Prix and two times Gold award winner by the International Tourism Film Festival Africa for its film Explore Uganda – The Pearl of Africa. The film, premiered by Uganda Tourism Board is an invitation to the world to rediscover the beauty of the…

Did you think of trying to learn an African language online during the pandemic, only to be disappointed when you found popular apps like Duolingo didn’t offer Shona or Ndebele or Venda? Don’t despair. An all-women team of passionate young linguists is tackling the online African language learning gap, with startup Vambo Academy led by…

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has for the umpteenth time, insisted that the ninth National Assembly will not engage in any friction with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led executive arm of government. He also advanced reasons to justify why the current National Assembly stood out from the previous Assemblies. The Senate President, according to…

Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) the umbrella organisation for domestic carriers has threatened to shut down flight service over high cost of aviation fuel, as its members are finding it increasingly difficult to provide service at huge cost. The operators, who met yesterday in Lagos in response to the increase in the prices of aviation…

The British Government has not designated the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation, the British High Commission in Nigeria said yesterday. According to a statement issued by the Commission, the clarification became necessary to correct inaccurate news making the rounds in Nigeria that IPOB was listed in the UK as a terrorist…

With international tourism still in a slump, African tour companies need local visitors to stimulate tourism. But many on the continent can’t afford to travel. The Zambezi River meanders through the picturesque border region between Zambia and Zimbabwe. About midway along its course, the Zambezi’s waters thunder 110 meters (361 feet) downward at Victoria Falls…