Author: Padili Mikomangwa

Ahead of this week’s African Union meeting (Feb 9-10), more than 25 organisations, networks and community resistance groups from Africa and around the world have called on African governments to prevent the proliferation of coal, oil and gas in Africa and to ensure efforts to address fossil fuels match those which have helped reduce the danger from nuclear weapons, Power Shift statement reveals. According to the statement, the communique signed by the group criticized the deliberate proliferation of coal, oil, and gas in Africa, contrary to scientific evidence and highlighted the contradiction between planned fossil fuel expansion and globally agreed climate targets.…

The European Union (EU) is set to provide over $57 million as development aid to Tanzania, marking a return of EU in the Tanzanian development landscape after the partner’s relations were married two years ago over human rights and rule of law concerns. According to The Citizen, the EU Head of Delegation to Tanzania Manfredo Fanti revealed the release of the funds yesterday at State House, in Dar es Salaam, during a meeting with the Tanzanian President John Magufuli. It was the first major funding announcement by the EU bloc which in December 2018 withheld 96 million in annual financial…

Africa is now more connected, technologically savvy, and focused on enhancing its economic systems compared to 30 years ago. The narrative has changed, from civil unrest and extreme donor-dependent economies, to those with record-high tax collections such as in Tanzania, and information communications and technology (ICT) transformation ones such as Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa. The African GDP has grown to over $2 trillion from about $587 billion in 2000. Despite the youngest continent’s nations being driven by agriculture—which has also sustained major development, in terms of technology input, funding and research and development, still the continent’s manufacturing industry holds…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has taken a key interest in Uganda’s economy, whereas the East African economy is likely to grow by 6 per cent in the financial year 2019/2020 (July-June), which is slump from the previous projection of 6.3 per cent. According to Reuters, the IMF noted the delays to be attributed by the delays in the public investment necessary for kicking off oil production. On May 9, 2019, IMF statement noted that Uganda’s economy continued on its robust recovery with projected growth of 6.3 per cent in the fiscal 2018/2019, unequivocally highlighting the timely implementation of public…

The Moroccan planning agency revealed on Wednesday that, the country’s unemployment rate slipped to 9.2 per cent in 2019 from 9.5 per cent in 2018. This was attributed by the offset labor gains in town and cities, after heavy job losses within the rural areas, Reuters revealed. Morocco which is now run under a new coalition-government, its economy was spotted by World Bank (in October 2019) to be slowing down below its potential constrained by a volatile, rain-fed, agricultural sector and slow growth in the tertiary sector. According to World Bank, real GDP slowed to 2.7 per cent in 2019,…

Liberia, Africa’s oldest republic has been endowed by abundant renewable energy that could enhance power generation, and African Development Bank (AfDB) just approved a $34.74 million grant and loan to boost renewable energy access as well as investment in the country. According to AfDB statement, during the first project (Renewable Energy for Electrification in Liberia) over $ 33 million—in grant from AfDB and strategic climate fund scaling-up renewable energy program, will be targeted at supporting renewable energy sector. Further, the approved funds will go towards construction of a mini dam on the St. John River in Nimba County in northeastern…

The expansion of Africa’s economy—exemplified by East Africa’s vibrant economies(Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda) by adopting the manufacturing industry landscape and marrying it with high-end technological developments have both triggered a demand for more power,currently leaning towards renewable energy—all the while grappling with the challenge of high unemployment rates. The United Nations 25thConference of Parties (COP 25) on climate change highlighted strictly on nations mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by adapting to renewable energy in their economies. Morocco and Zambia are now embracing the adoption of wind and solar power with assistance from Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the African Development Bank…

Tanzania and World Bank have been close development partners for more than 54 years, and throughout the years—Tanzania has benefited from several funds that tap into the core of transforming the development landscape in one of the largest economies in East Africa. According to World Bank, in the last 50 years, the cooperation between the Bank Group and the Government has grown in financing, grants, policy advice, and research; covering various areas from macroeconomic management to projects in transport, energy, education, health, and other key sectors for both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar’s development. Recently the government of Tanzania has experienced…

On Monday, the South Africa’s rand firmed back to below the key 15.00 per dollar mark, which is mostly on profit-taking and month-end positioning after a sustaining a steep slide triggered by the Wuhan coronavirus shaking the world, Reuters reveals. At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.43 per cent firmer at 14.9650 per dollar, having ended at 15.0300 on Friday. The coronavirus dragged the currency to its weakest level in three months—traded at 14.4800 last Monday, which was 0.59 per cent lower than its New York Close on Friday, January 24. Reuters reported that investors concerned about the spread of…

Tanzania, one of East Africa’s largest economy is executing a phase-based sim cards shutdown across the country, following the set deadline of biometric sim card registration. The procedure comes at hard times when, only 28.4 million sim cards have been registered by January 19, while Tanzanian Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) statistics show 48. (Tramadol online 8 million active sim cards are active in Tanzania. In a nation with more than 55 million people, mobile services have become the most pervasive communications platform in Tanzania; by 2007, over 5 million people, representing a 10th of the population, subscribed to a mobile…