Browsing: South Africa

• African countries undermine their economic growth by prioritising trade with Europe and the United States over regional markets.
• How do we ensure that African countries trade among themselves? asks Dr. Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations.
• “We [Botswana] have high-quality beef in Botswana and the North West province, we export it to the European Union, yet Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo buy their beef from Brazil. Does that make sense? It doesn’t,” says Dr. Butale.

Despite its vast resources and production capacity, regional trade in Africa remains low with many economies relying heavily on overseas markets. This state of affairs has prompted Botswana to raise the alarm about low levels of intra-African trade.

“It’s disheartening that Africa is still unable to realise trade among its countries,” said Dr Phenyo Butale, Botswana’s Minister of International Relations, delivering a lecture in honour of the late South African Deputy …

• Trump’s escalating aid cuts are crippling global humanitarian efforts, with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) now forced to shut its southern Africa office.
• The closure threatens food assistance for millions, as WFP has been leading the response to the region’s worst drought in 40 years.
• With USAID slashing 90% of foreign aid contracts and WFP facing a 40% budget cut, 26 million people across seven countries are at risk of severe hunger.

The escalating U.S. aid cuts under President Donald Trump are impacting millions worldwide, exposing the extent to which American taxpayers have been funding global aid. This raises a critical question: Is Trump’s decision justified?

His administration’s aggressive push to reduce foreign aid—led by the so-called Department of Efficiency in Government—continues to disrupt operations of major international organizations, with the latest casualty being the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).

Currently, WFP provides food assistance to over 150 million …

• Stryk Global Diplomacy picked to spearhead talks on oil and gas between Africa and U.S. President Donald Trump.
• The deal aims at ensuring that Africa’s energy interests are well represented in U.S. legislative and policy discussions.
• “Africans need energy to fix energy poverty issues and spur economic growth,” said Stryk Global Diplomacy.

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) —a lobby that represents the African energy sector–has enlisted the services of a global consulting firm, Stryk Global Diplomacy (SGD), to spearhead talks on oil and gas between the continent and U.S. President Donald Trump administration.

In an update on Tuesday, the African Energy Chamber said the move aims at ensuring that Africa’s energy interests are effectively represented in U.S. legislative and policy discussions.

“Stryk is a super Lobbyist. He understands Africa and he gets results. He is adaptive and forward-thinking. He achieves results by building consensus. I am confident he is going …

• Donald Trump threatens to cease all funding to South Africa.
• South African-born Elon Musk against Expropriation Law.
• South Africa says the new law is just and seeks land equality in the wake of apartheid. 

Donald Trump and his advisor, Elon Musk, have threatened to cease all aid to South Africa over its Expropriation Law. The move comes after South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed an Expropriation Bill into law this January a move that does not sit well with Trump and Musk, an American billionaire who was born in South Africa.

South Africa says the law, seeks to empower the state to conduct land expropriation to provide equitable compensation to those who lost their land under the infamous apartheid regime. “The land expropriation law seeks to repeal the apartheid-era Expropriation Act (1975) which saw thousands of African families forcibly removed from their land to benefit the white minority,” explains a …

• Rwanda and South Africa are at odds over the escalating conflict in the eastern DRC, with President Kagame accusing South Africa of distorting facts and threatening confrontation.
• South Africa defends its military presence as a peacekeeping effort, while Kagame claims SAMIDRC is a belligerent force aiding anti-Rwandan militias.
• The crisis risks further destabilizing the region, with diplomatic efforts needed to prevent escalation.

Tensions between Rwanda and South Africa have escalated following a public spat between President Paul Kagame and President Cyril Ramaphosa over the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kagame accused South Africa of distorting facts about the crisis and warned that Rwanda is prepared for confrontation if necessary.

Kagame’s statement, made via a late-night post on his X account, was in response to comments by Ramaphosa and other South African officials implicating Rwanda in the violence that has plagued the eastern DRC for decades. …

• So far, South Africa and Senegal are the only African countries to have agreed to a Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP), with South Africa securing a deal for $8.5 billion, while Senegal secured one for $2.7 billion.
• How South Africa and Senegal intend to leverage these deals differ drastically, however, as do their power generation circumstances.
• Currently, coal continues to dominate South Africa’s energy portfolio, at over 80 per cent of the country’s power generation mix.

Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP) have been introduced in recent years to provide financial support to developing nations as they transition away from fossil fuels. In 2021, during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), South Africa became the first nation to sign such a deal. Senegal and the International Partners Group (IGP) signed a JETP in June 2023.

I have said before that the best way for Western countries, and …

• Africa’s hospitality sector has matured in ways that not only meet but anticipate the desires of modern travellers.
• By embracing responsible tourism, fostering local community interactions, and providing avenues for health and wellness, Africa is redefining what it means to travel meaningfully.
• Africa’s lower cost of living is making it an attractive destination for digital nomads.

Africa’s hospitality sector has long offered unique experiences and the 2025 travel trends show a continent aligning in unique way to tap changing preferences of holidaymakers from different source markets across the world.

By February this year, an estimated 150,000 European tourists had visited South Africa. The succeeding months look promising as this year’s United Nations Tourism Report says there is increasing interest in East and West Africa holiday destinations by holidaymakers from Europe.

At the moment, tourists from Britain and German are the trailblazers with their changing values and preferences setting the tone …

• Graphite mining firm Pula Group sues South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe for $195M.
• Motsepe’s ARM mining faces breach of non-complete contract by investing in Australian firm Evolution Energy Minerals near Pula’s graphite project.
• ARM denies all claims, maintaining that they ‘considered’ but did not breach contract.

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe is facing a $195 million lawsuit in Tanzania following allegations of a breach of contract by his mining companies in the East African country. The high profile case is being heard in Tanzania’s Commercial Court and is one of the biggest suits before the corridors of justice in recent years.

Patrice Motsepe owns a number of mining heavyweights including African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), African Rainbow Capital and ARCH Emerging Markets. He also has shares in Tanzanian mining company Pula Group.

In the roiling legal showdown, Pula Group is accusing billionaire Motsepe of breaching a 2021 non-compete contract by …

• Transition finance is funding dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate and emissions-intensive sectors, such as steel and cement manufacturing.
• Companies in these sectors must prepare for an orderly transition, as failure to act will bring immense risk in a decarbonizing world economy.
• Nurturing a thriving transition finance market is critical to mitigating systemic economic and financial risks.

The transition finance market provides a unique opportunity for Africa to leapfrog to low-carbon technologies and business models, which will address climate risks and enhance the continent’s global competitiveness.

Though lacking a universal definition, transition finance refers to funding dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate and emissions-intensive sectors, such as steel and cement manufacturing.

It is key to overcoming financial barriers to sustainability in the industries essential for economic development yet major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Companies in these sectors must prepare for an orderly transition, as failure to act will bring immense risk in a …

• Global economic growth will emanate from powerhouse BRICS economies over the next five years as per the IMF predictions.
• The ten BRICS nations comprise more than a quarter of the world economy and almost half the global population.
• China will contribute most significantly to global growth over the next half-decade, with its 22 per cent share outpacing all G7 countries combined.

The countries comprising BRICS— Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with five new members—are an informal grouping of emerging economies hoping to increase their sway in the world order.

The BRICS group has become a major political force in the last two decades, building on its desire to counter Western influence in global institutions.

BRICS’ 2024 expansion has come with a range of geopolitical implications. It forms a rising economic and demographic heft: the ten BRICS nations comprise more than a quarter of the world economy and almost …