Dangote oil refinery The conversation around local refining in Nigeria is as old as the existing refineries offering little or no succor to the country. Nigeria’s four refineries, with a name-plate capacity of refining 445,000bpd of crude, were set up almost 30 years ago. Today, the refineries are a drain on taxpayers. Notwithstanding efforts to rehabilitate them, Nigerians appeared to…
The bank got certified by the Top Employers Institute. In Summary •To become recognised as a Top Employer, your organisation needs to be evaluated. •The said survey covers 6 HR domains consisting of 20 topics. Absa Bank Kenya has been named the top employer in Kenya and Africa in the 2022 accolade. The bank got certified by the Top…
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has said that 10.5 million children are out of school in Nigeria, which is the highest rate in the world. The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, disclosed this in a statement while commemorating the International Day of Education. Hawkins commended the Nigerian government for the pledge to increase the annual domestic education…
H.E. President of the Republic of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado presents the Award for Humanitarian Energy to Dysmus Kisilu, Founder, Solar Freeze, Kenya | Credits: Andy Aitchison/Ashden Climate solutions charity aims to focus on projects that catalyse green job creation through this year’s grant funding awards Climate solutions charity Ashden this morning launched the 2022 Ashden Awards for…
Workers are leaving jobs like never before, and it’s causing a shortage of talent that has companies around the globe reeling. According to a recent survey conducted by Citrix, 40 percent of 1,000 knowledge workers in the US have left at least one job in the past year or are considering doing so. It’s been dubbed “The Great Resignation.” But it’s…
The decision comes amid tension between Mali and its international partners. In Summary • The Takuba Task Force was established as a partial successor to a French counter-terrorism operation in the West African Sahel region. • The statement said all partners in the task force needed a prior accord with the government before deployments in Mali. Mali’s government said…
For two whole years, the Covid19 health crisis has disrupted education systems worldwide and forced school closures which have impacted hundreds of millions of children. All of them have suffered learning loss. Some, though, have suffered more than others. In developed countries, access at home to computers and cheap and reliable broadband allowed students to make the transition to…
At least eight people have been killed and dozens more injured in a crush outside an Africa Cup of Nations football match in Cameroon. Videos showed crowds of screaming football fans being crushed at the entry gates to the Paul Biya stadium in the capital Yaounde. Witnesses described chaotic scenes outside the ground as thousands of fans struggled to…
Summary The three top national parks have been featured prominently among the best 25 national parks from across the world Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Serengeti, Kilimanjaro and Tarangire national parks have been voted the best sites for outdoor enthusiasts, raising the country’s profile as the premier tourism destination. The three top national parks all located in Africa’s richest tourism circuit…
Summary The three top national parks have been featured prominently among the best 25 national parks from across the world Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Serengeti, Kilimanjaro and Tarangire national parks have been voted the best sites for outdoor enthusiasts, raising the country’s profile as the premier tourism destination. The three top national parks all located in Africa’s richest tourism circuit…
Imagine a getaway drive on a highway in a fully loaded Mercedes-Benz S-Class with next generation MBUX infotainment system, active ambient lighting, rear seat comfort package, executive seat, with music blazing from a Burmester high-end 4D surround sound system. This is the experience Trigmatic and Mercedes-Benz Sandton created for guests at Trigmatic’s music showcase on the 21st of January…
For SMEs in Africa the effects of the pandemic have exacerbated a woefully under-financed area of the economy, but by cultivating the right environment and encouraging SMEs to formalize their operations, hybrid financing might provide the key to recovery Workers at an apple factory in South Africa It is tough being a small and medium enterprise (SME) in Africa,…
Human activity including shoreline encroachment, degradation depleting vital flora, fauna on Lake Victoria KAMPALA, Uganda The Ruparelia Group, a privately owned company belonging to Sudhir Ruparelia, acquired a permit to construct a resort and convention Centre on Lake Victoria shores in Uganda. The project is estimated to cost $100 million. A video recorded by angry residents showing trucks dumping…
ADDIS ABABA, The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 10,564,758 as of Sunday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases on the continent, it said. South Africa has recorded the most COVID-19 cases in Africa with 3,579,428…
Agriculture deputy minister Antony Mavunde (second right) listens to ATCL managing director Ladislaus Matindi (right) during the launch of the maiden shipment of Tanzanian avocados to India at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Da es Salaam yesterday. Centre is Kamal Group director Sameer Santosh Gupta who is the coordinator of the Avocado market in India. Summary Tanzania has already…
Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change. The banana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world, according to a new study. The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge…
At least 17 people have been killed in a huge explosion near a mining town in south-western Ghana, officials say. Police say a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine collided with a motorcycle near the town of Bogoso. Images shared by local media showed a large plume of black smoke rising above flattened buildings and scattered debris as…
Kololo is an iconic ground. It is where Uganda was handed its independence by the colonial Government in 1962. It has consequently been named Independence Grounds. Today (Friday), Uganda, which has for a long time been branded as, “Pearl of Africa” will go back to Kololo Independence Grounds to break ties with her past. The former British Prime Minister,…
Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwinyi looks on during the signing of the MoU with the Oman Investment Authority at State House Zanzibar on Thursday, January 20, 2022. The government of Zanzibar and the Oman Investment Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding to study the feasibility of a project to rehabilitate, develop and operate the Malindi Tourist Port, the…
Dar Es Salaam. Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is banking on technology and modern equipment it seeks to up the efficiency of the Port of Dar Es Salaam and turn the country into a logistics hub in East and Central Africa.TPA director general, Mr. Eric Hamissi, said yesterday that so far the progress has been encouraging as the vessel turnaround improves…
Biubwa Amour’s biography written by journalist Zuhura Yunus. PHOTO | COURTESY The title of the book could be political but Mwanamke Mwanamapinduzi, the story of Biubwa Amour Zahor, 84, is about a fearless and determined woman who overturned cultural norms and changed her life, which is till today culturally revolutionary. From the story, as told by renowned journalist Zuhura…
The Africa Cup of Nations is heading into the knock-out stage after completion of the final round of group fixtures on Thursday. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the last-16 ties. Burkina Faso v Gabon January 23, Limbe, 1600 GMT Burkina Faso, who are 60th in the FIFA world rankings, went through to the last 16…
Demand for rhino horn in Asian markets, especially Vietnam and China, has pushed the remaining rhino populations to the brink of extinction. In the past decade, nearly 10,000 rhinos were killed by poachers in Africa. The remaining rhino populations in Africa and Asia are steadily declining, with fewer than 30,000 animals left in 2020 from a population of 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th…
Kenyan-based mobile commerce platform and goods distributor Copia Global has raised $50m from investors to fund its expansion into the rest of Africa, the firm said on Thursday. Source: Copia Global Copia is among a group of African startups that aim to use information technology to solve the continent’s problems, like highly fragmented and informal retail markets. “In the…
The group stage is over at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. In the third—and last—round in Group F, Mali defeated Mauritania 2-0 and took the first place in this group, with 7 points. The Gambia, which beat Tunisia 1-0, also garnered the same number of points and placed second. Tunisia came in third, with 3 points, and…
Hing Pal Singh is among dozens of patients with daily appointments at the Oriental Chinese Herbal Clinic in Nairobi. Singh, 85, has been suffering from spinal problems for five years and is now trying herbal remedies. “There is a slight difference,” Singh said. ” … It’s only a week now. It will take at least another 12 to 15…
A United Nations Security Council meeting in New York in August 2019. PHOTO | AFP Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday asked African countries not to accept anything less at the UN Security Council reforms, until the continent is granted at least two permanent seats. And speaking to a group of Foreign ministers from across the continent, the Ugandan…
Extreme poverty in West Africa rose by nearly three per cent in 2020, another fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, a UN-backed report launched on Thursday that looks at the socio-impact of the crisis has revealed. The proportion of people living on less than $1.90 a day jumped from 2.3 per cent last year to 2.9 per cent in 2021,…
Audi South Africa has announced a partnership with GridCars to install ultra-fast charging stations across the country. This makes it the first electric vehicle brand to invest in this technology through publicly accessible sites. The 150kW public chargers initiated by Audi will be the first for the South African market. Image supplied “The charge points will provide up to…
Middle East and Africa solar technology contracts in Q4 2021 saw 46 contracts announced, marking a rise of 21% over the last four-quarter average of 38, according to Global Data’s power industry contracts database. The proportion of solar technology contracts by category tracked by GlobalData in the quarter was as follows: Project Implementation with 25 contracts and a 54.3%…
A recent study published in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Pediatrics medical journal shows that children in sub-Saharan Africa are dying of Covid-19 at a much higher rate than children in Europe and the US. The study was led by Professor Jean B. Nachega, an infectious diseases epidemiologist associated with South Africa’s own Stellenbosch University and the University of Pittsburgh in…
The Pfizer arrangement is far advanced … In time, if we narrow this down and finalize … with Pfizer, I’m sure we’ll engage with Merck as well,’ he said Africa’s top public health body plans to talk to Merck about obtaining supplies of its molnupiravir treatment pill for Covid-19, although talks with Pfizer about its Paxlovid medication were more…
Kenyan author Ngugi Wa Thiong’o shows his newly released book “Wizard of the Crow” during launch at a Nairobi bookshop. Kenya’s most celebrated author Ngugi wa Thiong’o turned 84 on January 5. Having published his first novel – Weep Not Child – in 1964, Ngugi remains active in writing and teaching. His latest creative effort is Kenda Muiyuru (The…
Grey Advertising Africa has announced that it will serve as the new creative agency for Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), the corporate and investment arm of FirstRand Bank Limited. Paul Jackson, Grey Africa’s CEO. The agency will be responsible for developing creative and strategic work across media and partnership platforms. Grey will work alongside RMB’s existing digital, brand and media…
South Africa, spearheading the fight for equal access to vaccines against Covid-19, launched Wednesday in Cape Town the continent’s first factory that will manufacture doses from scratch, funded by biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.The goal is the production of “a second-generation vaccine, and we want to make it in Africa, for Africa, and export it around the world,” said the…
Weekly COVID-19 cases in Africa have dropped significantly and deaths dipped for the first time since the peak of the fourth pandemic wave propelled by the Omicron variant. The decline nudges the continent past its shortest upsurge yet that lasted 56 days. Newly reported cases fell by 20% in the week to 16 January, while deaths dropped by 8%….
The high-ranking officials who participated in the virtual event. Ministers of Agriculture of Africa and the Americas committed to working together to develop a cooperation agenda, and agreed that the two continents face common challenges and opportunities with respect to transforming their agrifood systems to make them more sustainable and inclusive. The agreement was reached during the First High-Level Roundtable…
The Agriculture ministry will today host the fourth Intergovernmental Forum for Agriculture (IGFA) that deliberates on policy matters and appraise sector performance at a time when the industry is grappling with unprecedented challenges.The IGFA, which Cabinet secretary Peter Munya has convened is co-chaired by the Council of Governors chairman. The forum brings together county bosses, CECs in charge of…
© Amos Gumulira Fame at 92: Malawian music legend Giddes Chalamanda has notched up millions of views on TikTok At 92, Giddes Chalamanda has no idea what TikTok is. He doesn’t even own a smartphone. And yet the Malawian music legend has become a social media star, with his song “Linny Hoo” garnering over 80 million views on the video-sharing…
In Kenya, like in many other countries, bees are under threat. Loss of habitat and intensive farming practices including the use of pesticides have led to a drastic reduction in the population of polinators in the last 30 years. The consequences can be catastrophic as bees play a vital role in the food chain. The most serious challenge is…
LAGOS – Nigeria is set to launch a second satellite (Sat 2) into orbit with a view to boosting the nation’s satellite communications capacity, Isa Ali Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy has disclosed. He disclosed this during a one-day working visit and interaction with the staff of the Nigerian Communications Satellite in Lugbe, Abuja. The minister also informed…
Nominations Open for the Africa Food Prize 2022 Nairobi, KENYA. The Africa Food Prize committee is pleased to announce the launch for 2022 nominations for the Africa Food Prize. The Africa Food Prize is the preeminent award recognizing an outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa—from a struggle to…
In late August each year, the normally barren landscape of the Namaqualand, along the western boundary of South Africa, is transformed into a vista of brightly coloured daisies as far as the eye can see. The flowering of the Namaqualand daisies attracts close to 10,000 tourists per season to a part of the country that doesn’t get many visitors otherwise. But climate…
The Anglophone Africa building sector is going through several important and enduring changes dictated by various trends that will undoubtedly set the tone for future development and growth. Devan Pillay, cluster president, Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric Trends today The first is urbanization; megacities, and even smaller cities and towns, are experiencing rapid growth. Urban centers play a critical…
Tedros said Ethiopia was preventing medicines and other life-saving aid from reaching civilians in Tigray Ethiopia has asked the UN health agency to investigate its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for “harmful misinformation” and “misconduct”, accusing him of backing rebels in his native war-torn Tigray region. Tedros — the highest-profile Tigrayan abroad — this week described conditions in the Ethiopian…
View of the Omo Kibish geological formation in southwestern Ethiopia Volcanic ash left over from a huge ancient eruption has helped scientists determine that important early Homo sapiens fossils found in Ethiopia in 1967 are older than previously believed, providing fresh insight into the dawn of our species. Researchers said on Wednesday they used the geochemical fingerprints of a…
The Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, has said the security threats being experienced in the country will soon become history. Irabor, who admitted that the insecurity was a challenge to the country, stated that the challenges were not much compared to the past. Irabor stated this during the National church service to mark this years’ Armed Forces Remembrance…
© Provided by Associated Press Nyayiar Kuol holds her severely malnourished 1-year-old daughter Chuoder Wal in a hospital run by Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in Old Fangak in Jonglei state, South Sudan Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. Aid groups say more people than ever in the country will face hunger this year, because of the worst floods in 60…
The value of the iron and steel imports rose by 69 percent in the nine months to September driven by increased economic activity and a global price rise of the commodities after supply cuts. The latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows that the imports of iron and steel in the period shot up to Sh120.77 billion…
© Reuters/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH Container trucks stand in line on the road due to bad weather in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt closed the two Mediterranean ports of Alexandria and Dekheila on Monday as a result of bad weather, the Alexandria Port Authority said in a statement. The ports will remain closed until the weather improves,…
© Reuters/MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH Protesters march during a rally against the military rule following last month’s coup, in Khartoum. KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A second protester in Sudan has died after being hit in the head with a tear gas canister in anti-military rule protests, medics said on Monday. This brings the death toll from Sunday’s protest to two, and from…
© Badru KATUMBA Schools in Uganda have been closed or partly closed for 83 weeks Uganda ended the world’s longest school closure on Monday, ordering millions of students back to the classroom nearly two years after learning was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. Students poured through school gates that had been shuttered in March 2020 when Covid-19 swept the…
China is proposing a grand infrastructure plan for the Horn of Africa that would involve expanding the two major railroads and developing ports on the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Under the proposals, announced during last week’s visit by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Kenya will be extended to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and…
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency has urged state governments to step up mass vaccination against COVID-19 as part of moves to combat the virus. The agency, in its latest advisory obtained by one of our correspondents in Abuja, also urged state governors to enact and enforce vaccination mandate for local and state government workers. This came to fore…
© Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/picture alliance Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is son of Jomo Kenyatta, the founding president of the East African nation. Political dynasties are not new, with families grooming and later handing over power to their offspring. However, analysts say this practice is detrimental to African countries.There are several examples of political dynasties in Africa, including the Moi family,…
The United Nation’s Convention for Climate Change has published Nigeria’s 2050 Long-Term Low Emission Vision document, the Federal Government announced on Sunday. The Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, said the Long-Term Low Emission Vision document was a demonstration of Nigeria’s commitment to play a leading role in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.Lagos Motor Park, Nigeria. (Photo…
With the August General Election fast approaching, Deputy President William Ruto has made six make-or-break gambles in his journey to succeed his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, that analysts warn could be his waterloo. Besides the decision to give regional parties a wide berth, Dr. Ruto has chosen to shun regional kingpins in favor of mostly first-term MPs as a…
Aid agencies have suspended their operations in an area of Tigray in Ethiopia after 56 civilians were killed in an airstrike , the United Nations said Sunday. “Humanitarian partners suspended activities in the area due to the ongoing threats of drone strikes,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement. According to the…
The threat of the resurgent coronavirus will hang heavily over the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament when it opens on Sunday in Cameroon. Still, organizers are pressing ahead with the monthlong championship, which features 24 teams, from defending champion Algeria in the far north of the continent to the tiny island nation of Comoros out in the Indian…
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this press briefing as we conclude one of our planning meetings in preparation for the General Elections scheduled for 9th August 2022. The Commission is on course in planning and putting in place measures and mechanisms to ensure free, fair, credible, verifiable, accountable and transparent General Election. Towards this end, multiple…
China’s foreign minister says his country will appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa region NAIROBI, Kenya. China’s foreign minister says his country will appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa region, where Ethiopia and Eritrea have been fighting forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region and Somalia is in the grip of a political crisis caused by a…
Before sunrise in a quiet village in Gran Canaria, an island off the coast of northwest Africa, a team of scientists shuffles along the port’s wooden boardwalk toward a row of nine containers floating in the ocean. “Hurry up, it’s going to get light soon,” says one bleary-eyed researcher to another, as they submerge a hefty, cube-shaped device for…