Africa

Photo source: Global Information Network

African Billionaire Targeted by Union Seeking Decent Working Conditions

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Africa’s richest man is in the sights of a labour union in Zambia where his cement plant has been outsourcing labour that pays low wages for its 1,300-workforce.

After a wildcat strike last month, unionized workers at the Dangote Industries Zambia Limited cement plant outside Ndola, the country’s Copperbelt province, won an increase of $55 a month, according to the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ). The workers were seeking monthly minimum wage hikes of $136. An average monthly salary is US$210 or 3,530 Zambian kwachas.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 February 2022

Photo credit: Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

Drought and Hunger Stalk the Horn of Africa While the Continent Is in the Grip of Coups

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — There's a severe, earth-baking drought in the Horn of Africa. About 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti are in the grip of acute hunger. The rains have failed in three consecutive years, prompting the driest conditions experienced in the region in 41 years.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 18 February 2022

Photo: Ugandan award-winning novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija. Source: The East African

Famed Ugandan Novelist Claims Torture in Detention

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A human rights watchdog group is calling on the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to investigate claims by internationally acclaimed writer, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, that he was severely tortured while in detention for his social media postings.

Human Rights Watch called the arrest of the satirical novelist a testament to the continued repression of dissidents in the East African country through strict cyber security laws.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 February 2022

Photo: Combat troops in DRC. Source: Africa News | YouTube

Combat Troops March in The DRC After Attempted Coup d'état

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Democratic Republic of Congo is the latest African nation to face an attempt to overthrow the government, allegedly by a government official.

In the first official comment since reports of the failed coup plot emerged five days ago, a spokesman for President Felix Tshisekedi said the government had “serious evidence” of a national security threat.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 February 2022

Photo: Mahamat Saleh Haroun at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Wikimedia Commons.

Chadian Filmmaker Takes a Strong Stand for Women’s Rights

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was seven years old when he first heard that a newborn baby was found dead in the trash. A few weeks later, another baby was similarly found. Tragically, this was nothing out of the ordinary in a repressive society that denied women the right to control their bodies, to have babies when they were ready, or to refuse to be cut in the practice known as FGM.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 February 2022

Photo: Niger Festival in Segou, Mal—a cultural, touristic and artistic event which is held every year to celebrate music and contemporary African art. Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

New Round of Cultural Festivals Planned in West Africa Despite Sanctions

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Festival season is around the corner in West Africa despite ongoing insurgencies that have hurt tourism.

The region has long been known for its music, dance and cultural shows, among them the Amani festival in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which opened on Febuary 4. Congolese rumba took the place of honour after its recognition from UNESCO as the world's intangible cultural heritage.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 February 2022

Photo: ECOWAS Troops getting ready for Guinea Bissau. Source: The Will.

African Troops Heading for Guinea Bissau After Failed Coup Linked to Narcos

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — ECOWAS, a West African trade union, has voted to send troops to the coastal nation of Guinea Bissau after unidentified coup plotters brazenly threatened the lives of government leaders.

While the identity of the coup plotters is still unknown, the nation’s president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, a former general, linked the attack to the international drugs trade which has given the country the name “narco-state” by U.S. and UN officials.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 February 2022

Is China Pursuing 'Debt-Trap Diplomacy' in Africa?

Viewpoint by Allison Lau and Lauren Gonitzke *

This article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) — In mid-December 2021, South African comedian Trevor Noah used “The Daily Show” to target China when he aired a segment titled “Why China Is in Africa”. While this segment was advertised as an informed, nuanced overview of the complex international relationship between China and many African states, it mainly reinforced the debunked myth of “debt-trap diplomacy” to its American audiences, ending with a throwaway line about #StopAsianHate.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 February 2022

Image credit: Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

Pressing the Reset Button on the Africa-Europe Relationship

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul *

This blog is part of a series by Center for Global Development (CGD) ahead of the EU-Africa Summit on February 17-18, 2022. This series presents proposals for priorities, and commentary on whether a meaningful reconstruction of the relationship between the two continents is likely.

BERLIN (IDN) — When the European Union (EU)-African Union (AU) summit which will take place in February was cancelled in 2020, background documents had already been prepared, and some are still on the table.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 February 2022

Exploited Kenyan Tealeaf Pickers to Get Their Day in Court

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — After years of seeing their complaints stalled, postponed, and thrown out of court, some 700 Kenyan plantation workers have finally won their bid to sue a British-based tea company for imposing work conditions that they say caused crippling physical harm while getting paid poverty wages at a Kenyan tea plantation.