Author: Joseph Kangethe

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 accountability in the total amount of debt China lent to African nations. 

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 vehicles production by 2025, while France has a deadline to convert all vehicle sales to be EV or hybrid-electric by 2040. The United Kingdom has bull-eyed zero greenhouse emissions in domestic output by 2050, to mention but a few.

The effects of climate change and anthropogenic factors have adversely affected the availability of water for wildlife in Tanzania National Parks Africa is the second driest continent globally, and millions of Africans face water shortages Mkomazi National Park is one of the world’s largest and most ecologically essential networks of protected areas known as the Greater Tsavo Ecosystem. Africa is the second driest continent globally, and millions of Africans face water shortages. But there is one point that we always miss! We talk about how important water is for humankind and the challenges we face with water security and forget…

The licensing follows a solid end to 2021, which saw DPO partner with a global leader in travel technology, Amadeus. Customers can now accept local payments, including via mobile money and card payments, allowing international airlines to operate locally and African airlines to expand globally. As a result of the partnership, DPO is connected to multiple regional and international airlines via Amadeus’s airline passenger system.

DPO Group plans to Further extend its growth in 2022, targeting new product innovation and territory launches.

The increased partnerships momentum follows the 2021 landmark acquisition by Network International, a globally renowned facilitator of e-commerce in the Middle East and Africa region.

Africa is facing a dilemma between mining fossil fuels and adopting cleaner sources of energy Due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, oil prices could jump even further than the US$129 a barrel The IEA 10-point plan will open up job creation, skills transfer, technological development opportunities and new industries such as electric mobility Africa is facing a dilemma between mining fossil fuels and adopting cleaner sources of energy. On one side, fossil fuels contribute immensely to the gross domestic products of most nations in the continent and stopping the mining of oil looks like “self-sabotage”. On the other hand, the world…