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Although he noted that this was not a sufficient reason for pulling down the building, he expressed satisfaction that the Ghanaian government had taken responsibility for the demolition by promising to rebuild the structure to its pre-demolition state. The Minister further noted that the Nigerian High Commission also failed to obtain legal title to the land even though it had paid for it as far back as the year 2000 and also failed to obtain the necessary approvals before erecting the building. In other words, the Nigerian High Commission was equally culpable. A fair and frank admission I suppose.

African leaders to scale up efforts against unconstitutional changes of government; terrorism and foreign mercenaries

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 admin2Africa, Headline News0 comment

Press Release The resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government; the expanding threat of terrorism and violent extremism across the continent, including the influx of foreign terrorist fighters, private military companies and mercenaries, the proliferation of armed groups, as well as transnational organized crime, continue to negatively impact the peace, security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of African states. To stem the upsurge of the increasingly worrying situation, African Heads of State and Government convened an Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes in Africa on May 28, 2022, in Malabo. They…

Public Policy

Uganda finally adopts Kiswahili as official language

July 13, 2022July 13, 2022 admin2Africa, Headline News, Swahili0 comment

By HELLEN GITHAIGA More by this Author Uganda Cabinet has approved the adoption of Kiswahili as an official language and directed that it be made a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools. The government set up the Uganda National Kiswahili Council in 2019 to guide the introduction of Kiswahili as the second national (official) language. The Cabinet decision, Uganda says, is in line with the directive of the 21st East African Community (EAC) Summit held in February 2021 that directed the expedition of the implementation of Kiswahili, English and French as official…

Public Policy

Why cassava could be the best way to keep food costs down Across Africa

July 11, 2022July 11, 2022 admin2Africa, Cassava, Headline News0 comment

In our series of letters from African journalists, Ghanaian Elizabeth Ohene considers the call of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni for people to eat the humble cassava as the price of wheat soars worldwide. There are two main root vegetables in West Africa – cassava and yam. Cassava is available all year round, it is cheap and is known, or to put it correctly, was known as food for the poor. The other popular one is yam, which Nigerian author Chinua Achebe famously described as “the king of crops”. The…

News

Analysis: The curious case of Russia in Central African Republic

May 28, 2022 admin2Africa, Headline News, Russia0 comment

By Bram Posthumus The Central African Republic (CAR) has intermittently been the backdrop for somebody else’s war. Despite having a population of only 4.8 million people, it is approximately the same size as France, Denmark and the Netherlands combined. That vast open space has been used as a venue for battles by different parties; former coloniser France, strongmen from Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the notorious Ugandan rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army and a United States Special Forces unit. The latest visitors are Russia, its army and…

Interviews

When Cuba Provided Crucial Military Aid to African Independence Movements

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022 admin2Africa, Cuba, Headline News0 comment

AN INTERVIEW WITH WITH PIERO GLEIJESES Under Fidel Castro, Cuba backed independence movements across the Third World. This support was decisive in battling South African apartheid, thwarting US covert operations, and securing self-rule across southern Africa. In the 1970s, hope for southern Africa seemed bleak. Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau were under Portuguese control. After the collapse of Portuguese rule, the United States collaborated with South Africa to crush Angolan guerrilla movements. In South Africa, the apartheid regime was firmly in place and extended control over Namibia. Cuban intervention in the…

photo: zim farmer /christian science monitor

Public Policy

Ukraine war & Africa food insecurity: WFP Urges Zimbabwe, SADC to Produce More Food

May 14, 2022May 14, 2022 admin2Africa, Food Crisis, Headline News0 comment

HARARE, ZIMBABWE — A top World Food Program (WFP) official has urged Zimbabwe and surrounding countries to increase food production in light of the Russia-Ukraine war that has caused shortages and a spike in food prices. WFP Southern Africa Director Menghestab Haile told reporters after meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare Friday that the World Food Program is worried the Russia-Ukraine war has increased food insecurity across southern Africa. The region, he said, should make a concerted effort to grow more of its own food. “SADC region has water,…

Interviews

Useful Swahili words and phrases to learn as the language spread across Africa

May 9, 2022 admin2Africa, Headline News, Swahili0 comment

Are you planning on learning Swahili? Then you’ll need to learn some basic Swahili phrases. But don’t panic – you likely already know at least one phrase in Swahili. “Hakuna matata” or “no worries” is the Swahili saying made famous by The Lion King. It’s the perfect introduction to the Swahili language, but there are a few more words to learn to give you a headstart that are so much more rewarding. Don’t worry if you’re not perfect – even just a few well-meaning attempts at speaking the Swahili language…

News

TIPPING POINT: Nigeria turns to Europe for rail loans as China talks hit dead end

February 15, 2022February 15, 2022 admin2Africa, China, Headline News0 comment

By Ruth Olurounbi Nigeria is looking to Europe to seek loans that will help it complete rail projects as debt discussions with China have stalled, transport minister Rotimi Amaechi said. A stalemate with China is causing a delay in rail projects that the Muhammadu Buhari administration sees as a major part of the infrastructure development agenda, the minister said earlier this month in Abuja. “We were waiting on the Chinese to give us the loans we applied for and till today, they’ve not replied. They kept delaying us – will…

China’s activities in the African continent have yet to receive the attention they deserve in the West. China’s behavior in Africa is important for three major reasons. First, China is the source of significant investment capital twinned with a prodigious ability to create infrastructure, both of which are needed by many African states. Second, China’s behavior in Africa provides the rest of the world with insight into how it will behave towards other states, particularly the states of the Global South, as it becomes equal in power with the United States. Third, what China is doing in Africa does not augur well for the rest of the world. China’s activities and behavior in Africa may only be described as neo-colonial and exploitative of African peoples and the environment.

News

Africa-China Summit ends tomorrow in Dakar, Senegal

November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 admin2Africa, China, Headline News0 comment

The summit Africa-China opened on Sunday in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. Trade and security are the main topics in discussion. During the opening, the Senegalese minister of foreign affairs appealed to China for help in bringing peace to the Sahel region. “We would like China’s influence to be a strong voice in support of Senegal and all the countries involved in the problem of insecurity in the Sahel, so that our forces there have even more legal means to fight against terrorists and irredentism, and we hope that China will accompany…

News

China says allegations it causes debt trap for Africa are false

November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 admin2Africa, China, Headline News0 comment

China said it was false to claim that its lending practices have pushed African nations into debt traps, blaming a host of economic factors instead and criticising media reports on the topic. African nations’ debt problems are a historical issue, and also the result of rising protectionism and currency factors, Zhou Liujun, vice chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday. The agency is a body under the State Council that provide plans and policies on foreign aid. “Facts and data fully show that…