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- Electrifying rural Africa: The role of decentralized power generation
- As oil booms, is Africa ready for renewable energy revolution?
- US sanctions strike Hemedti and RSF companies over Sudan war
- Amnesty International pressures Tshisekedi to halt execution of 170 prisoners
- Tourism and hospitality: Handy tips to soar in Africa’s competitive market
- Future Finance Awards to spotlight trailblazers in innovation, sustainability
- Startup funding in Africa drops by 25 per cent to $2.2 billion
Author: James Ndwaru
I am a writer based in Kenya with over 10 years of experience in business, economics, technology, law, and environmental studies.
- Ghana’s president-elect, John Dramani Mahama, will take office on January 7 for his second term after his tenure from 2012 to 2016.
- Mahama has outlined an ambitious agenda to stabilise the economy, improve governance, and create opportunities for all Ghanaians.
- Mahama’s administration must balance fiscal discipline with the urgent need for economic relief and social reforms.
Ghana’s president-elect, John Dramani Mahama, will take office on January 7, returning to leadership after his tenure from 2012 to 2016. With a decisive victory, securing 56.55 per cent of the vote, Mahama inherits a nation grappling with economic hardships, inflation, and challenges in critical sectors like cocoa and gold. In response, he has outlined an ambitious agenda to stabilise the economy, improve governance, and create opportunities for all Ghanaians.
Economic Stability and Growth
Mahama has emphasised that he will not abandon Ghana’s $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package, initiated by outgoing …
- Ethiopia and Somalia had been building momentum towards a potential conflict for some time.
- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s stance on regaining sea access as a key matter has made people in East Africa and beyond uneasy.
- Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to collaborate to address their disputes in a Turkey-brokered deal.
Ethiopia and Somalia Dispute
Ethiopia and Somalia had been building momentum towards a potential conflict for some time. Somalia, a country slowly emerging from decades of instability and extremism, is especially sensitive to catalysts of chaos. On the other hand, Ethiopia is already experiencing economic turbulence and major disputes between the central authority and the Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali ethnic groups.
The two countries’ longstanding history of conflict is rooted in socio-economic and political factors. Numerous parties and interests have been involved in the evolution of the conflict over the years, which has significantly influenced the …
- Ghana’s former President, John Mahama, has won the country’s presidential elections.
- Mahama’s main competitor, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded an early defeat.
- Mahama’s anticipated return to the presidency marks a new chapter in Ghana’s political landscape.
Ghana’s former President John Mahama has won the country’s presidential elections after his main competitor, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat. Bawumia said he had called John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to congratulate him. Mahama confirmed on his X (formerly Twitter) profile that he had received Bawumia’s congratulatory call over his “emphatic victory.”
Blaring horns and jubilation, John Mahama’s supporters were already convening and celebrating outside NDC’s campaign headquarters in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
“The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time, and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference on Sunday. The vice president also said Mahama had “decisively” …
- Nigeria’s food security has deepened even as more people face hunger in the coming year.
- Economic hardship, combined with record-high inflation, a record increase in food prices, and record-high transportation costs, has made life unbearable for the majority of Nigerians.
- To combat hunger in the West African nation, the Nigerian Senate has approved a bill that would criminalise the export of significant amounts of unprocessed maize.
Economic Hardship and Cost of Living Crisis
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is grappling with a cost of living crisis that led to deadly protests in August. The West African nation is experiencing one of its most significant hunger crises, with over 33 million people anticipated to be food insecure next year, a one-third increase from this year owing to economic difficulties. Never before have there been so many people in Nigeria without food, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
Since President Bola …
- Ghana’s economy is in its worst condition before the country elects a successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo on December 7.
- The December elections come amid an increasingly polarized atmosphere and a challenging economic landscape precipitated by the nation’s first-ever sovereign debt default.
- According to the most recent Afrobarometer survey, 40 per cent of Ghanaians identified unemployment as the dominant issue facing the nation that requires governmental intervention.
Ghanaians will vote for a new president and 276 lawmakers on December 7, 2024, in the ninth election since the West African country transitioned to a democratic system in January 1993. Voters will elect a successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose two-term mandate ends in January.
Although the Electoral Commission has approved twelve candidates for the presidential race, technically, the election is a contest between the two opposing parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The December …
- The Lobito railway project is central to Biden’s inaugural visit to Africa.
- President Biden seeks to enhance United States influence through the establishment of an additional rail connection to Zambia.
- A primary reason for the investment is to secure access to Africa’s abundant mineral resources.
Lobito Railway Central to Biden’s Africa Visit
President Biden, undertaking the inaugural visit to Africa by a sitting U.S. president in nearly a decade, considers the trip as an opportunity to mitigate Chinese influence in the continent and gain access to essential minerals that are vital for transitioning the global economy away from carbon-based fuels.
Central to this initiative is the 1,100-mile Lobito railway, which historically facilitated the transportation of uranium from the Congo for the Manhattan Project. A $866 million upgrade is being implemented, with the objective of facilitating the transportation of minerals, including copper and cobalt, from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of …
- Namibia elections on Wednesday might be the most competitive election yet for the ruling SWAPO party.
- SWAPO has seen its popularity dwindle in Namibia as the populace grows increasingly frustrated with corruption, excessive inequality, and a lack of employment opportunities.
- Namibia’s election system allocates the 96 elected seats in the National Assembly based on the percentage of the votes won by each party.
Socioeconomic Political Dynamics in Namibia Elections
According to the World Bank, Namibia is an upper-middle-income country with high levels of poverty and inequality. According to a government study in 2021, 43 percent of the population lives in “multidimensional poverty,” which includes income and access to education and public services. Moreover, Namibia ranks second in the world for income disparity, after only neighboring South Africa. Both nations endured decades of white minority domination.
Namibians go to the polls on Wednesday in what many predict will be the most …
- Zimbabwe hosted creditors, partners, and finance executives to discuss an ambitious move to pay off $12.7 billion in foreign debt.
- Zimbabwe, once a regional breadbasket but now struggling to feed its people, must get back on track with bilateral creditors to access finance.
- Zimbabwe aims eventually to again tap international capital markets.
Zimbabwe debt repayment plan
In a long-anticipated move, Zimbabwe’s president met with creditors and financial executives on Monday in Harare to discuss ambitious plans to pay off $12.7 billion in foreign debt and get the country back on track to access international capital markets.
With a debt-to-GDP ratio of 97 per cent, Zimbabwe’s total public debt as of August 2024 was projected to be around $21 billion, limiting the nation’s financial ability to meet its development demands. Out of the $21 billion, $12.3 billion in foreign debt is owed to multilateral and bilateral creditors.
Development partners, including the …
- More than 200 countries agreed upon the COP29 climate deal despite the chaos.
- The deal would provide $300 billion yearly by 2035, increasing rich nations’ earlier pledge to provide $100 billion annually in climate finance by 2020.
- Rising inflation and geopolitics like Russia’s war in Ukraine and growing turmoil in the Middle East have caused Western countries to view global warming slide down their list of national concerns.
A $300 Billion COP29 Climate Deal
On Sunday, countries attending COP29 in Baku set a $300 billion annual global financing target to assist less developed countries in dealing with the effects of climate change, an agreement their intended receivers denounced as woefully inadequate.
Conceded in overtime at the two-week summit in Azerbaijan’s capital, the deal was expected to give impetus for global initiatives to slow global warming in a year likely to be the hottest on record.
In the COP 29 plenary …
- The Adani Group indictment points to serious irregularities, including corruption, financial misconduct, and possible violations of international trade laws.
- Kenya’s president William Ruto has cancelled the deeply unpopular Adani’s multimillion-dollar deals for power transmission and airport modernisation projects.
- The indictment against the Adani Group marks a turning point, not just for the conglomerate but for its stakeholders globally.
The Adani Group, headquartered in India, is a multinational conglomerate with varied interests in ports, energy, logistics, and agriculture. Known for its aggressive expansion approach, the company has been crucial in developing critical infrastructure projects globally.
The multi-billion empire, now faces one of its most significant challenges following an indictment that has sent ripples through its vast multinational business empire.
Details of the Adani Group Indictment
Prosecutors in the United States have charged one of Asia’s wealthiest men, Gautam Adani, with securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities, and wire fraud. The bribery …