Factors such as a history of war and violence, the curse of having natural resources, constitutional designs, ethnic divisions and regional neighbors contribute, writes Pippa Norris Africans recently went to the polls in Benin, Cape Verde, the Republic of Congo, Niger and Zanzibar. The outcome was decidedly mixed. In Congo, …
Read More »Uganda’s failure to transform
Why in spite of registering good welfare outcomes we have made little progress at structural transformation I have just been reading the National Population and Housing Census (NHPC) report for 2014. It shows Uganda has registered many welfare improvements, but also reveals that President Yoweri Museveni’s dream of transforming Uganda …
Read More »Senior Gambian opposition figure dies in custody
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | A senior figure in Gambia’s main opposition has died in custody after leading a protest for electoral reform and the resignation of strongman President Yahya Jammeh, his party and a rights group said Saturday. Solo Sandeng, who had recently been promoted to organising secretary of …
Read More »Magufuli, Kiir sign as South Sudan officially joins EAC
History was made today when the treaty of accession of the republic of South Sudan into the East African Community was signed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. @RepSouthSudan now Officially in EAC? pic.twitter.com/0wpAmf169t — EastAfricanCommunity (@jumuiya) April 15, 2016 Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, president Tanzania and chairperson of the …
Read More »Mali and EU agree on African immigration programme
Bamako, Mali | AFP Mali and the European Union agreed Friday to combat immigration into Europe by financing projects to fight its causes and promote legal migration, according to a joint statement released on Friday. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, began a …
Read More »Burning Uganda’s future
The impact of the charcoal industry on Uganda’s environment should makes us despair, comments Boaz Opio. Tree fellers should use the timber for making their own coffins. Because as they cut that 100-year old Mvule, they are killing a poor tree that has been busy supplying them with good air …
Read More »Sierra Leone on alert after new W.Africa Ebola cases
Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone called Sunday for increased vigilance to prevent a resurgence of the Ebola virus after new cases in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea, but cautioned against shutting off borders between the west African states. The alert came after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed …
Read More »Angola, hit by collapse of oil prices, seeks IMF aid
Washington, United States | AFP Angola said Wednesday it had asked the International Monetary Fund for help after the crash in oil prices ravaged government finances. The IMF said discussions would begin next week in Washington on what could be a three-year support plan for the government. “The sharp decline …
Read More »Barclays Africa unit moves to allay fears
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL) on Tuesday said it was committed to the continent after an earlier announcement by its British parent to gradually reduce its majority stake in the unit. “Our destiny is Africa,” said Maria Ramos, BAGL chief executive, at a press …
Read More »African countries are not generic
By Andrew M. Mwenda Why we need to use the results of the referendum in Rwanda to think instead of relying on prejudice to judge In 2014, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso sought to amend his nation’s constitution and remove term limits so that he could run for the …
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