Author: The Exchange

East Africa has become a key frontier for economic expansion so as to have a balance of power against the West and as a source of competition, given Russia’s expanding influence in the region,Recent deals in Zanzibar, coupled with a huge $103 billion investment pledge in six African countries shine a spotlight on Doha’s aim of forging lasting economic ties in the continent. The Qatar Zanzibar Deal In a groundbreaking Friday at Zanzibar’s State House, President Hussein Mwinyi oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatari investors whose investment value is estimated to be at $10bn (about…

South Africa ports moved up to 18,689 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in a single day in August despite continued challenges of ageing infrastructure that often leads to processing delays. The record volume in cargo handled was the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic that triggered massive dip in port operations. Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders CEO Dr. Juanita Maree says deployment of new equipment, reforms in cargo handling processes, and partnerships is helping stabilize port performance. In August, ports across South Africa defied the odds posting record daily volume in the sector by moving up to 18,689 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units…

Thousands of Japanese are faulting the proposed “Africa hometowns” status of their cities, terming the deal a recipe for creating “flood of immigrants” into the Asian nation. Last week, JICA announced the designation of Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo and Nagai cities as “Africa hometowns” targeting people from Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Ghana for cultural exchanges. On account of media reports, this designation of cities has been misconstrued in Africa to mean that locals can now relocate to live in those urban centres in Japan. A move that was originally aimed at uniquely cementing the relations between select African countries and Japan…

Has constitutional reform emerged as a key issue as Tanzania prepares for its general election in October 2025, though obscured by political ambiguity once more? 1. The Launch of a Campaign with Reform in the News President Samia Suluhu Hassan formally began her campaign in Dar es Salaam on August 28, 2025. A reconciliation commission, promises of expanded healthcare, musicians, and banners of CCM’s alleged milestones made the event a spectacle. Her promise to start the process of drafting a new constitution, according to The Standard newspaper however, was the most noteworthy. She didn’t elaborate. Still, there was a lot…

For years, besieged Kilmar Abrego Garcia worked as a construction worker in U.S. state of Maryland, where he lived with his wife and children. The Salvadorian national was, however, arrested in March and wrongly deported to a jail in his homeland: El Salvador. The Trump administration says Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, an accusation that he denies even as the push to dump him in Uganda intensifies. From the streets of Kampala to the corridors of power in U.S. Donald Trump’s administration, one name, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, keeps popping up in the evolving illegal immigrants’ deportation global…

His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, the 50th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, is in Kenya for a three-day official visit that mixes diplomacy, heritage and development. This is his first visit to the country since his appointment as Imam, succeeding his late father, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, in February 2025. The visit has significance, both symbolic and practical, as part of his role as Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), demonstrating the ongoing ethos of partnership that has been in place for many decades between the Ismaili Imamat and the Government of…

Gaza now is the most lethal assignment in modern journalism. At least 197 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023, often while reporting on the aftermath of strikes, or while seeking shelter with family. The Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ says this the most deliberately coordinated attempt to silence journalists it has ever recorded. On Aug. 10 and again on Aug. 25, 2025, Palestinian journalists were targeted and killed in clusters of attacks that illustrate how murderous and lawless this war has grown for the press. The right to report is being buried with the people…

Africa is set to add 1.2 million barrels per day of new refining capacity by 2030 – driven by landmark projects across Nigeria, Angola and Uganda. These investments will pave the way for a $100 billion investment window, offering a new phase of growth in Africa’s energy sector. At this year’s African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies conference, policymakers, investors and stakeholders are set to further explore this emerging opportunity. New massive oil refining projects in Nigeria, Angola and Uganda are poised to add Africa’s refining capacity by 1.2 billion barrels per day, ushering the continent to a new…

Rights activists fault Uganda-U.S. deal on accepting deportees, asking: “Are they refugees or prisoners?” Human rights lawyer Nicholas Opio: “We are sacrificing human beings for political expediency; in this case because Uganda wants to be in the good books of the United States.” Foreign Affairs office says talks with Washington are limited to, “visas, tariffs, sanctions, and related issues.” Rights activists and leaders of the opposition in Uganda have trashed the agreement between President Kaguta Museveni and Donald Trump’s administration to accept thousands of deportees from the U.S., saying the deal is akin to perpetrating human trafficking. According to Ugandan…

Japan plans to channel key investments into Africa by encouraging Japanese multinationals operating in India and the Middle East to set up shop in the continent. Investment move comes at a time when Beijing is equally ramping up its presence in Africa while Washington unleashes tariffs, and crippling aid cuts. UN Secretary-General António Guterres: “Countries hosting them [critical minerals] must be the ones to benefit first and most, while adding value to local and global value chains.” As the battle by the world’s biggest economies for a slice of the 1.4 billion market and wealth of vast resources in Africa…