Author: Joseph Kangethe

In March 2022, while trying to clarify the power situation in Nigeria, TCN reiterated that out of 23 gas-powered stations with a combined capacity of more than 10,000 MW, at least 14 were either shut down or operated at reduced capacity. Two in three power stations have either halted operations or operating below par. It is projected that Nigerians privately generate up to 40,000 MW to address the grid deficit.

According to TCN spokeswoman Ndidi Mbah, the power companies attribute this trend to various factors, including scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, faults in generating units of generating companies, and poor gas supply. However, all these factors cause power generating companies to limit their generating capacities or halt generation altogether. However, the challenges appear to run deeper.             

All Progressives Congress Party, after assuming office in 2015, alleged that many of the power companies had been sold by the former People’s Democratic Party …

“Concerning the management of the mineral resources sector, the Partner States agree, among other things, to promote joint exploration, efficient exploitation and sustainable utilization of shared mineral resources,” the treaty reads in part. The World Bank notes that DRC’s natural resources are diverse and immense in its country report. The country has the world’s second-largest primary humid tropical rainforest endowment and carbon sink globally. 

“However, forest loss rates have accelerated in recent years, and in 2020, the DRC lost 1.31 million ha of natural forest, equivalent to 854 million tonnes of CO₂ of emissions. This has had deleterious environmental impacts (including rainfall patterns, biodiversity, and climate change) and is threatening the livelihoods of the 35 million people who depend on forest resources,” World Bank says in the report.

World Bank’s collaborations in energy sector investments have been intended to rehabilitate transmission networks and hydropower plants, raise Inga’s electricity production by …

A way to improve opportunities favoured by small and large scale cultivators would be freeing up the African markets for local consumption. Many Southern African countries legalize medical use, with none entirely permitting recreational use. Therefore, the legal environment in Africa remains one of the most restrictive in the world.

South Africa, however, may be an indication of things to come. Gabriel Theron, CEO of South African cultivator Cilo Cybin and founder of Africa’s first cannabis-focused particular purpose acquisition company, which is due to list on the JSE, says that there is a growing realization that an export-only model is doomed to failure. According to him, an export-only model is not sustainable.

There is a need to de-schedule the THC and CBD levels to open up the recreational market and thus the medicinal market. That also has implications for foreign investment. In the case of operations in Australia, Europe, and …

Consequently, China has carefully abandoned its strong preference for bilateral dealing with problem debtors. The Chinese state avoids being a rule-taker compared to the West on debt issues. Still, it increasingly appears to recognize that multilateral approaches – ideally on an ‘a la carte’ basis – can help contain both the pressures on its African partners and its challenges.

China, therefore cautiously supported the DSSI for some African nations when it came to effect in April 2020, and similarly, the Common Framework launched in 2021. However, the slow implementation of the Common Framework brings to light four specific challenges linked to China’s role.  

First is China’s discomfort with the independent and central role played by the IMF in controlling how much a country can afford to pay through its debt sustainability analysis (DSA). Second is the alarm of privates, and public sector lenders in the West over a lack of …

At the start of the year, state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was photographed inspecting two high-speed trains purchased from the United States of America for the Red Line, which is expected to form the second spoke of the LRMT. The line runs from Marina to Agbado, 30 kilometres from Lagos.

The Blue and Red lines, when complete, are expected to move more than a million people across the expansive metropolis daily, addressing the heavy congestion that has become common within the city.

The light rail project was first contemplated a few decades ago, the initial projections indicating that the Blue Line would be completed in 2011. However, the project was weighed down by a myriad of challenges, including bureaucracy, corruption, mismanagement, and funding.

The light rail project is one of the numerous long-delayed plans to connect Nigeria by rail that has been invigorated by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.…

• Nissan has opened a new state-of-the-art Navara assembly plant in Ghana
• This marks the second Nissan assembly plant after the Nissan plant in Rosslyn, South Africa
• Ghana imports over 100,000 vehicles yearly; 90 per cent of these are used vehicles, with an estimated value of US$1.14 billion annually

Nissan and Japan Motors have grown a keen interest in the automotive industry in countries among the largest economies in Africa.

The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, officially opened the brand-new state-of-the-art Nissan Navara assembly plant in Tema, Accra, on March 31, 2022.

This marks the second Nissan assembly plant after the Nissan plant in Rosslyn, South Africa.

Ghana and Nissan started their partnership together in 2018 when the latter became the first mover in the West African country to sign an MoU with the state to work towards creating the Ghana Automotive Development Policy.

Read: Faze Banks Net Worth …

• AfDB aims to assist 40 million farmers in raising their production of heat-resistant wheat varieties, soybeans, and rice, among other crops, to feed around 200 million people
• In Africa, climate change threatens to eat into 15 per cent of Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030
• Sanctions against Russia have dealt a blow to grain shipments at a period when universal stockpiles were already experiencing a stretch

War victims are sometimes found away from the battlefield. This is the case with Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Even as the fighting there causes immeasurable destruction and suffering, it also threatens a silent crisis in Africa.

The conflict has sent the food prices in Africa over the roof, making life further complicated for the 283 million already threatened by hunger within the continent. The war in Ukraine has also laid bare Africa’s unending reliance on food imports. Wheat imports represent about 90 …

• The human-wildlife conflict has cost the Kenyan government KSh1.2 billion ($120 million) in the last five years alone and the figure is set to shoot upwards
• While the headlines have raised the status of Kenya as a conservation hub, there has been a crisis brewing in the sector
• In the period under review, KSh569 million ($5.69 million) was used to pay off 163 families whose kin were killed by wildlife in various parts of the country

Kenya has always been at the centre of wildlife conservation due to its world-renowned national parks and an active conservation movement. Drawn by the large economic benefits brought about by tourism, wildlife conservation is however increasingly becoming a strained trade.

Three events have happened to cement Kenya as the centre for conservation. First, a project to maintain the legacy of the last white rhino in the world received a boost after the country announced …

• Africans, starting from governments, startups, non-governmental organizations, and generally all the people in the continent, are losing much more for failing to adapt to the advancements in the digital world
• Artists ranging from painters, drawers, actors, musicians, sculptors and writers can now sell their pieces of art across the world as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
• Every day, new games are launching on the metaverse and you can buy an altcoin in a game and earn real money from it!
• bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a store of value and could be a haven asset in times of turmoil, playing the same role as gold

Several African governments have stood firm against cryptocurrencies even as blockchain technology takes over the currency markets. It appears that the dice on the shift to cryptos is already cast. The possibilities enabled by these cryptocurrencies make the switch imminent.

The biggest hindrances to the success of …

The Democratic Republic of Congo also falls under this umbrella of failing to capitalize on the trending demand for particular natural resources. The DRC is home to significant deposits of hard-rock lithium. According to Industry Literature, lithium production in DRC is set to begin as early as 2023. Civil war, poor governance and illegal smuggling of minerals have distracted the country from mining lithium, and they might realize its potential a little too late.

The adoption of electric vehicles will lead to the increased demand for battery power between 1 and 6TWh, consequently the demand for lithium.

The global electric cars production grew to 10.9 million vehicles in 2020, three million more than in the previous year, highlighting the adoption’s potential. China leads in the number of electric vehicles on the road (5 million cars), followed by the United States with 1.77 million. China targets 20 per cent of electric …