Browsing: South Africa

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Stavros Nicolaou, a Senior Executive at Aspen Pharmacare Group said in the absence of orders or commitments, Aspen is considering the repurposing of two COVID-19 production lines for the manufacture of other products.

“The continent would lose its only existing COVID vaccine manufacturing capacity, It would be a massive setback for Africa’s plans to localize and reduce its dependency on imported vaccines,” he said.

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said global health security would be undermined if companies like Aspen were not backed.

Dr Nzenza 1 e1650582967159

Bilateral relations between the two countries improved after the UAE showed its benevolence. This was by sending aid in response to the Cyclone Idai storm in March 2019. Planeloads of humanitarian assistance were sent to Zimbabwe, which went a long way in helping victims and mitigating the impact of the cyclone. UAE also assisted the Southern African country’s fight against Covid-19 with a consignment of required medical drugs.

Early March, the new dispensation approved the establishment of a commercial consulate in the commercial hub of Dubai. Economic and trade attachés will operate in the consulate. This is an effort to complement investment promotion being done by Zimbabwe’s embassy in the UAE.

In a cabinet briefing published by The Herald on March 17, 2022, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ambassador Frederick Shava said the development created an environment conducive to doing business.

Africa: Explosive meat alternative industry fights climate change and chronic diseases. www.theexchange.africa

The meat-alternative market is taking advantage of climate change awareness, and the messaging has changed accordingly, particularly as these products enter the mainstream.

“We can see what many brands’ marketing strategies are – they used to market just to vegans and vegetarians – why not advertise it to everyone and call it the healthy burger?” says Will.

“Now, when non-vegans try some of the products on the market, they are surprised by the quality, they say ‘this is amazing and can’t believe it’s plant-based and environmentally friendly.”

Indeed, this shift in messaging is reflected in the advertisements of large retailers introducing meat-alternative products.

Burger King, which recently launched plant-based Whoppers, Royale’s and Nuggets in South Africa, highlighted the health and environmental awareness prominently in press releases and advertisements.

African leaders when they met to deliberate on the AfCFTA ooerationalistaion in 2018. www.theexchange.africa

One of the major criticisms raised against his ambitious continent-wide free trade pact is the fact that it is bound to have disproportionate benefits for different countries.  There are already pre-existing inequalities that favour more developed countries.

Bluntly speaking, it is to be reasonably expected that it is the continent’s tycoons, large business owners that will benefit the most.

Consider this, only three of the agreement’s members i.e. Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt account for almost half (50%) of all of Africa’s GDP. Take for instance the fact that in 2020 alone, the continent of Africa as a whole, imported US$20 billion worth of goods from South Africa.

With the tariff-free movement of goods, South Africa will enjoy a tremendous increase in trade output to the rest of the continent at much lower costs.