Author: Opinion

President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel once said “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. It provides the opportunity to do things that were not possible to do before”.^[1] When the COVID-19 crisis hit the global north the fear was that it would be most devastating in Africa with Bill Gates predicting that ten million lives would be wiped out by the virus.^[2] But he was wrong because African leaders did what was not possible before – they locked down their countries and instituted adherence to the protocols of social distancing and washing of hands. These preventive measures and the sudden change of behavior slowed down the virus’s serious impact in Africa. According to Harvard Health preventing the spread of the virus is rooted in behavioral change.^[3] Starting up new behavior in the new normal was what the US and Europe could not …

As African oil and gas countries struggle with Covid-19’s devastating impact on demand, two international groups seem to be celebrating it.

Earlier this month, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) described the low oil prices caused by the pandemic as a “golden opportunity” for governments to phase-out fossil fuel support and usher in an era of renewable energy sources.

“Subsidising fossil fuels is an inefficient use of public money and serves to worsen greenhouse emissions and air pollution,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said in a joint OECD-IEA statement. “While our foremost concern today must be to support economies and societies through the Covid-19 crisis, we should seize this opportunity to reform subsidies and use public funds in a way that best benefits people and the planet.”

I would argue that the OECD and IEA don’t necessarily know what’s best for the people …

By Ms. Carole Agengo, Dr. Ademola Olajide and Dr. Mohamed A. Sheikh

The writers are the Africa Regional Director for HelpAge International; UNFPA Representative, Kenya; and Director General for National Council for Population and Development (NCPD)

Africa is often referred to as the ‘world’s youngest continent.’ This is certainly true when one compares the median age of Africans, currently 19 years, while Europe’s median age is 43 years and Asia’s 32. This reflects the relatively small proportion of older adults – those aged 60 years and above, in the total population. Africa occupies the unique position of being, concurrently, the demographically youngest continent and the world region with the most rapidly growing number of older people.

The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic with its disproportionate impact on older persons, has heightened the urgency of social protection for the population of older persons.

In Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Ministry …

A few weeks ago, I was positively surprised to see a sign in a sports shop in Karen, stating that they no longer accepted cash, only cards and mobile money.  Until that time, “no-cash” policies in shops was something I had only seen in the Scandinavian countries, and even there, it is still rare. Since the start of the pandemic, however, digital-only payment policies have proliferated in Kenya, and are starting to become commonplace.

Cash as a payment method has been in a slow, terminal decline in Kenya for many years, but it has managed to survive, until now.

Kenya has long been a forerunner in terms of digital payments in Africa. Even as far back as in the Moi era, many shops and supermarkets, most upscale restaurants, and virtually every hotel accepted Visa and Mastercard.  This was at a time when Ethiopia had one single bank branch in the …

Brent crude oil’s return to a $40/b handle has so far proved to be short-lived. During the past week the oil market has continued to move higher in the belief that the OPEC+ group of producers would extend a deal to curb production. Thereby continuing their support for the market while demand slowly recover.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the leaders of the group, have preliminary agreed on a one-month extension of existing OPEC+ cuts. The problem, however, is once again what to do with countries that fail to deliver the promised cuts. Moscow, usually a laggard in previous deals, has almost reached its target of 8.5 million barrels/day. That has left the group in a stronger position to demand compliance from others.

Once again the focus has returned to Iraq and Nigeria, OPEC’s notorious cheaters, who for years now have failed to deliver fully on any of the previous …

By Dr. Olajide Ademola (UNFPA) and Dr. Benjamin Djoudalbaye (Africa CDC)

The COVID -19 pandemic has drastically challenged and strained health systems worldwide. All components of the health delivery architecture – from human resources to physical infrastructure – have been severely tested as morbidity and mortality caseloads, unfortunately, gallop. Globally, over four million people have been infected, with about 282 244 lives lost and over one million recoveries between December 2019 and May 2020. As the pandemic continues to evolve and the numbers trickle in, we are not just learning about the fatalities and survival, but also about redefining our healthcare systems.

Western societies are experiencing the heaviest of the unprecedented effects yet they host advanced health care amenities and have established economies. A report released early March called on leaders in Africa to prepare for worse but on the contrary, the continent appears to be gradually reaping benefits of …

In Somalia, the challenge to contain COVID-19 is staggering. The country’s health infrastructure has been gutted by decades of conflict and instability.

A large part of the population lives in close quarters, while millions reside in decrepit settlements for internally displaced people without money to buy soap or access to regular running water. At the same time, staying at home is not a practical option for most informal workers who need to leave their homes daily to earn money and put food on the table.

Somalia’s capacity to manage the Covid-19 public health threat is a cause for concern. More needs to be done to ensure we curb the spread of the virus.

Grounds for hope still exist that Somalia may escape the type of outbreak that has overwhelmed some Western health systems.

Somalia finds itself in good standing with international financial institutions for the first time in 30 years. …

It is common knowledge that for an economy to fully develop its insurance industry must be robust and dynamic to meet all the challenges in that economy. This includes but is not limited to developing products suited for the particular economy, and developing products fast. The industry must think on its feet. 

Other factors also come into play and all these complement one another so as to achieve the overall growth target of the industry. One of the most important drivers of insurance penetration is the intermediaries comprising of agents and brokers. They are the vital link that connects the consumers of insurance products and the sellers of the same. Suffice to say that without this vital link in the industry the penetration of insurance would be minimal or negligible and the two point four three percent we boast about and the ranking of Kenya as among the top six …

Twiga Cement (TPCC on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange) on Friday, May 22, 2020, released its Annual Report and audited accounts for the year ended 2019. Revenues grew 6% and net profits rose 5% in 2019 from the year earlier. Dividends were steady at TZS 290 per share for the third year running.  

Twiga is the dominant cement company in Tanzania. It is the 19th-biggest company overall in East Africa by market value and the fifth-biggest in Tanzania, according to the latest African Business rankings. 

The company is a subsidiary of German multinational Heidelberg Cement, which owns 69.3%. The other 30.7% trades on the DSE and is owned by thousands of small shareholders and investment funds.  

Twiga has a huge competitive advantage over the other cement industry players in Tanzania, because its production facilities are on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam. Cement is heavy and expensive …

Africa has so far escaped the worst health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the continent looks like it could be the worst hit from the economic fallout of the crisis: 80 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty if action is not taken. And disruptions in food systems raise the prospect of more Africans falling into hunger. Rural people, many of whom work on small-scale farms, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis. It is therefore vital that the COVID-19 response address food security and target the rural poor.

At this time, the international development agenda is prioritizing health, economies and infrastructure. But there must also be a focus on food security, agribusiness and rural development. This is especially important on the African continent.

Agriculture contributes 65 per cent of Africa’s employment and 75 per cent of its domestic trade. However, the rich potential of agriculture …