Africa

Photo: Angolan President João Lourenço addressed European parliamentarians in a formal sitting in July 2018. Credit: European Union 2018 - EP

New Angolan President Makes His Presence Felt As Dos Santos Empire Collapses

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – One reason why African presidents may cling to power, even re-writing the constitution to grant them extra terms, may be the case of Angola.

Newly elected President João Lourenço is sending shivers across the continent as he relentlessly attempts to recoup billions of dollars subverted from the national treasury, including by members of the previous regime – former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, billionaire daughter Isabel and son Jose Filomeno dos Santos – aka Zenu.

The president’s son is meanwhile under arrest for the formation of a criminal organization, illegal enrichment, money laundering and corruption.

: Global Information Network; NEWSBRIEFS; 07 October 2018

Photo: Victoire Umuhoza Ingabire. Credit: The Charleston Chronicle.

Rwanda Outlaws Political Cartoons and an Opposition Leader Goes Free

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW York (IDN) – The Rwandese government of Paul Kagame has outlawed the drawing of cartoons that portray politicians/leaders in an unflattering manner.

Anyone who draws such a cartoon risks imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of up to Rwf1 million ($1,145). If the cartoon targets a session of parliament or a “top ranking official,” the penalty is doubled.

Media experts say this is a huge blow to the profession and will greatly hamper their work.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 October 2018

Photo: A horrific video circulating online appears to show women and children being blindfolded and executed at point blank range in Cameroon.

Grim Shadow Over Cameroon President's Re-Election Bid

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the clock ticked down to October 7 presidential elections in Cameroon, President Paul Biya remained tightlipped about a grisly video gone viral of two mothers and their infant children executed in cold blood by government soldiers.

The grainy video shows two women – one with a baby on her back and another holding hands with a young child – walking across a dirt patch. Armed men walk behind them, and one yells in French “You are B.H. (Boko Haram), you are going to die.” The women are forced to kneel. Shots ring out and the women fall to the ground, one with her child still strapped to her back.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 October 2018

Africa Gets Ready for Biodiversity and Climate Change Summits

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – African governments have been availing of two conferences at the UN Environment Headquarters in the Kenyan capital in September to gear up for the Biological Diversity Summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, and the Climate Summit in Katowice, Poland.

The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) from September 17 to 19 provided an opportunity to prepare for the 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-COP14) from November 17 to 29, 2018 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

: Justus Wanzala; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 October 2018

Tanzanians Search For Reasons Behind Latest Ferry Disaster

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Tanzanian President John Magufuli took action against a ferry captain and all of the crew as the number of bodies pulled from Lake Victoria in the latest maritime disaster topped 200.

Magufuli told the nation on September 21 that the captain left the ferry's steering in the hands of a person not trained for the job. The death toll has reached 223, but could go higher as more bodies are pulled out of the water.

Initial reports put the blame on overcrowding, but an investigation will determine the exact cause, the Tanzanian leader said. Some reports said the boat had a capacity to carry 100 people, but was carrying an estimated 400 instead.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 September 2018

Photo: (From left) Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa; María Fernanda Espinosa, the President of the General Assemby; and Secretary-General António Guterres unveil the statue of Nelson Mandela at the UN Headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Cia Pak

Nelson Mandela Peace Summit Rebukes 'America First' Strategy

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa couldn't be prouder as he unveiled a life-size statue of Nelson Mandela on September 24, a day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA73) and the opening of a day-long historic 'Nelson Mandela Peace Summit', a high-level plenary meeting convened by the President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa.

The focus of the Peace Summit was on Global Peace in honour of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 September 2018

Photo: Winners of the 'SDGs and Her Competition' awards: Lucy Odiwa, owner of Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries (right); and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya owner, Charlot Magay (left). Credit: Sumaya Agha/UNDP

Sustainable Development Award Winners Celebrated at UN

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK(IDN) – Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya are the global winners of the SDGs and Her Competition that seeks to increase knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential impact on women, as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and innovative ideas.

They were celebrated at a side-event on September 24, 2018 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The contest – co-sponsored by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin Center – showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the SDGs through their businesses.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 September 2018

Photo: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (left) with the Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) at the Great Hall of the $3.8 billion cost of the Naivasha-Kisumu phase of the Standard Gauge Railway to be provided as part of grant financing. Credit: Xinhua/Yin Bogu.

African Countries Seek Relief from Burgeoning Chinese Loans

By Allan Olingo

In the past 15 years, Beijing has written off more than $2 billion worth of debt advanced to African countries, says Allan Olingo, an accomplished business journalist from Kenya. This article first appeared in The East African on September 17, 2018.

NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) – Some African countries are now seeking to write off their loans from China while others are offering concessions using their natural resources and assets to manage their ballooning debt.

A new report by the U.S.-based Centre for Global Development shows that China’s loans to Africa, currently standing in excess of $14 billion, continue to rise, putting a strain on borrowers and posing the risk of default.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 September 2018

Photo: Equatorial Guinea President's son and Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang cropped while addressing the general debate of the UN General Assembly’s seventieth session on 30 September 2015. Credit: UN Photo/Amanda Voisard

When a Vice President is Nabbed With Million Dollar Watches

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) - What does a suitcase full of million dollar watches look like?

Well, it’s blinding for one and it caught the eye of police at the Sao Paulo Viracopos airport in Brazil who confiscated the gem-encrusted time pieces found in the luggage of the son of the long-time ruler of Equatorial Guinea.

In a second bag belonging to Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, vice president and son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, $1.5 million in cash was found, allegedly for medical treatment far from home.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 September 2018

Photo: Development minerals in Zambia. Credit: developmentminerals.org

Catalysing Deep and Lasting Changes in the Minerals Sectors

A global conference in Zambia aimed at the improvement of the miners' productivity and its cumulative impact on poverty reduction at local and national levels.

By Dr. Patrick I. Gomes

The author is Secretary General of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States comprising 79 member countries – 48 from sub-Saharan Africa, 16 in the Caribbean and 15 in the Pacific. ACP countries are endowed with enormous mineral resources. yet are characterised by chronic poverty, low human development and overall under-development; causing the categorisation of 39 ACP Member States as Least Developed Countries. – The Editor