Zimbabweans living on the border with Zambia are increasingly taking advantage of their neighbor’s superior health care. But Zambian officials say they are also draining resources as nearly one-third of patients in some clinics and hospitals are Zimbabweans. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Lusaka, Zambia. VOA footage by Blessing Chigwenhembe.
…
Category: Africa
Africa news. Africa is highly biodiverse, it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution
South African Power Utility CEO ‘Released’ From Job
The head of South Africa’s embattled state power company, Eskom, is leaving his job earlier than planned, after accusing high level officials of corruption. The CEO’s departure came the same day South Africa’s finance minister announced a massive bailout for the debt-ridden company amid record power cuts.
Eskom’s CEO, Andre de Ruyter, has been “released” from his job “with immediate effect,” the company said Thursday in a statement.
De Ruyter submitted his resignation late last year, saying he was unable to turn the graft-riddled utility around. Shortly afterward, he alleged there was a poisoning attempt on his life.
However, he had been set to serve out his notice period until the end of March and a replacement has not yet been found.
News of his early departure came shortly after de Ruyter gave an explosive interview on local TV this week accusing high level cabinet officials of being aware of and accepting corruption.
Eskom spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the board had convened a special meeting on Wednesday during which it was mutually agreed to curtail his notice period.
“The board further resolved that Mr. de Ruyter will not be required to serve the balance of his notice period but that he will be released from his position with immediate effect,” he said.
Earlier this month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster because of the electricity crisis.
The power cuts, known as “loadshedding,” are meant to reduce pressure on the overstretched grid, with its many aging and badly maintained coal-fired power stations regularly breaking down.
Sometimes running for as long as 12 hours a day, the blackouts have hit Africa’s most industrialized economy hard, said Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his budget speech Wednesday.
He then announced a large bailout for the company, which is $23 billion in debt.
“The lack of reliable electricity supply is the biggest economic constraint,” he said. “Record levels of load shedding were experienced in 2022. I’m told 207 days of load shedding.”
Lumkile Mondi, an economics lecturer at Johannesburg’s Witwatersrand University, told VOA the debt relief was a good move on the government’s part.
“The taking of the debt into the nation’s balance sheet allows Eskom to use that money wisely, invest on new transmission infrastructure, while at the same time having money to sustain some of the viable coal fired power stations, so I think overall it is positive,” he said.
Independent analyst Asanda Ngoasheng noted the current crisis stems from a myriad of factors. During apartheid only a small percentage of the population, mainly whites, had access to electricity, so when South Africa transitioned to democracy the new government had to roll out power to the rest of the population.
“It was essentially a heady cocktail of ailing infrastructure that wasn’t maintained, infrastructure that had to serve more people than what it had to serve before, and corruption, which then kind of made things worse than they already were,” she said.
De Ruyter was Eskom’s 13th CEO in 10 years. The company has said it is seeking a replacement.
…
Kenyan App Users Pay for Health Care With Personal Data
To address the relatively high cost of health care in Africa, a Kenyan mobile application lets users pay for medical services by selling their personal data through blockchain technology. Officials say Snark Health’s Hippocratic Coins have attracted more than 300 doctors and 4,000 users. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi, Kenya. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo.
…
Female Leaders Stepping Down From High-Profile Jobs
Around the world, prominent women are leaving their jobs to pursue other interests and focus on other priorities. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has the story.
…
Calls Grow for Ethiopia’s Somali Region to End Media Suspensions
Calls are growing for Ethiopia to revoke an order that suspended 15 foreign media outlets and a regional journalists’ association from operating in the country’s eastern Somali Regional State.
The state’s media regulator issued indefinite suspensions to the news outlets, which include the BBC Somali service, on January 28.
The regulator’s order said the media organizations did not have the necessary licensing for foreign media, and it blocked the news outlets and their representatives from working in the state, according to rights groups.
A few days later, a regional body that oversees civil society groups revoked the license of the Somali Region Journalists Association (SRJA).
In its letter to the association, the regional authorities said that the SRJA had “acted inappropriately,” according to reports.
The action came after the chair of the SRJA criticized the suspension of the media outlets, and accused the local authority of suppressing media freedom, according to an Ethiopian nonprofit, the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy.
The actions by the regional authorities “have eroded reporting in the region and paint a picture of a government unwilling to make room for dissenting voices,” said Committee to Protect Journalists representative Muthoki Mumo in a statement. “Authorities should allow journalists from these outlets to resume their jobs [and] ensure that enforcement of licensing regulations is not used to muzzle the media.”
The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also criticized the moves.
“These attacks on press freedom pose a grave danger to the media environment in the region and the country as a whole,” said RSF Africa bureau director Sadibou Marong in a statement Tuesday. “The region’s authorities must urgently lift the suspension of these 15 foreign media, which is clearly an attempt to prevent the press from covering sensitive subjects.”
RSF reported that the affected media outlets had recently requested their licenses be renewed, but they did not receive a response to those requests.
The Somali Regional State media regulator was cited in reports as saying it was working to comply with federal licensing regulations for foreign news outlets.
Ethiopia’s main media regulator has said it was not informed in advance about the plan to issue suspensions, RSF reported.
Ethiopia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to VOA’s emailed request for comment.
Media in Ethiopia have come under pressure since the war in Tigray in November 2020 and ethnic clashes elsewhere in the country. Journalists who don’t report the government line risk arrest or having their media operations suspended, rights groups say.
The country ranks poorly on the World Press Freedom Index, with RSF saying that gains made in recent years “have been lost since Ethiopia become embroiled in ethnic conflicts and a civil war.”
The country currently ranks 114 out of 180 countries, where 1 denotes the best media environment, on RSF’s index.
…
New Malaria Spreader Discovered in Kenya
Researchers in Kenya say they’ve detected an invasive mosquito that can transmit malaria in different climates, threatening progress to fight the parasitic disease. Kenya’s Medical Research Institute this week urged the public to use mosquito nets and clean up areas where mosquitos can breed.
Kenya has detected the presence of a new malaria carrier, which was first discovered in the region in Djibouti in 2012.
The new carrier, the Anopheles stephensi mosquito, transmits plasmodium vivax, the parasite the causes the deadliest type of malaria.
Bernhards Ogutu is a chief researcher at Kenya Medical Research Institute. He says it was only a matter of time before the mosquito was discovered in the country after it appeared in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
“We’ve not been able to pick plasmodium vivax which is found in Asia and Kenya. It’s there in Ethiopia and this vector can also transmit it,” said Ogutu. “So that will also look at whether we might have plasmodium vivax in coming up with this new vector showing in our place. Vivax is more difficult to treat in that you can get treated and real up because it keeps staying in the body and the liver.”
Malaria affects over 229 million people each year and kills over 400,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
More than a quarter of a million children die in Africa each year as a result of the mosquito-borne disease, including over 10,000 in Kenya.
Ogutu expresses concern for urban residents, saying that the new carrier may feed on poor environmental management systems.
“So the fact that this can survive in urban areas where water is not clean and that can transmit, that’s the worry people are having. For the time being its to monitor and see to what extent we are going to have its spreading and what impact it will be having,” said Ogutu.
Redentho Dabelen is a public officer in the Marsabit County town of Laisamis, where the vector was discovered.
He says experts are going to communities to teach people how to protect themselves from the disease.
“To sensitize them and teach them how to prevent themselves from the vector bites. We are trying to spray the houses,” said Dabelen. “We are trying to tell them about the disease through the community health volunteers and if they get infected they go to the hospital.”
According to the researchers, the population should continue to use malaria control tools such as sleeping under mosquito nets and practicing good environmental management and sanitation.
In 2021, the WHO approved a malaria vaccine for children aged five months to two years that has been shown to reduce child deaths.
…
Russia Says No Firing Hypersonic Missile at South Africa War Games
Russia has said it will not test fire a hypersonic missile during joint naval drills with China and South Africa, contradicting earlier reports in Russian state media.
A senior Russian naval official told a news conference in Richards Bay, on South Africa’s east coast, that the country had no plans to fire the Zircon missile during the ten-day exercise, Reuters reported Wednesday.
A frigate that carries the weapon, the Admiral Gorshkov, is in South African waters — one of several Russian ships deployed to Exercise Mosi II.
Russian news agency TASS reported earlier this month that the Zircon — which President Vladimir Putin has called “unstoppable” — could be used in a training launch during the exercise.
That drew condemnation from South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance as well as the Ukrainian Association in South Africa. South African officials denied the report.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Captain Oleg Gladkiy, who is heading the Russian contingent, said, “The hypersonic weapon will not be used in the context of these exercises… There is no hidden meaning in the exercises that we are performing today,” according to Reuters.
South Africa has been heavily criticized for going ahead with the exercises, which coincide with the first anniversary of the ongoing Ukraine war. But the South African government, which has officially remained neutral on the conflict, has defended its right to hold drills with “friends.”
The ruling African National Congress party has a long relationship with Moscow, dating back to the days when the Soviet Union supported the ANC’s struggle against white minority rule.
…
Who Will Emerge as Nigeria’s Next President?
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, goes to the polls Saturday to elect a new president amid worsening insecurity and economic struggles. Tensions over shortages of cash and fuel could also influence how people vote. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja, Nigeria.
…
Somali Security Forces End Al-Shabab Siege Near Mogadishu
Somali security forces have ended a more than 7-hour-long siege of al-Shabab militants at a residential building in the east of Mogadishu, the Somali government said.
The Ministry of Information said 10 people were killed by the militants and seven were injured, including four security personnel who were involved in the operation to end the siege.
The government said the victims were innocent civilians and “martyrs.”
In a statement the ministry said four militants behind the attack were killed.
The militants raided a care home for members of the pro-government forces who have been injured in military operations in central Somalia.
“An explosion that didn’t really sound like the typical explosion occurred, and I had a bad feeling, although my friends disagreed that it was an explosion,” said a resident in the area who requested anonymity for security reasons.
“A minute later sporadic gunfire started, and it was clear what was taking place. I thought it was the Djibouti Embassy because it’s the only high-profile building in the area but later realized that injured Ma’awisley from Hiran were the target of the attack.”
Since August of last year, Somali government forces supported by locally mobilized fighters known as Ma’awisley have been conducting military operations against al-Shabab, which drove the militant group from vast territories in the central regions.
Al-Shabab has been carrying out retaliatory attacks against local community elders and commanders who have supported the federal government.
The government has confirmed that a militant bomber detonated a suicide vest in front of the building in Abdiaziz district about 3 p.m. local time.
Following the explosion, four al-Shabab militants stormed the building.
Gunfire and explosions continued intermittently for hours as the government forces fought to take over the building.
The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement the group said its fighters targeted the building housing “apostate” militias who participated in the fighting in Hiran, the region where mobilizations started in August last year.
Al-Shabab claimed to have killed 70 people in the attack, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Meanwhile, the Somali government on Tuesday reported killing more than 42 al-Shabab fighters in the latest operation in the Cadalay village near Mahaday town of the Middle Shabelle region.
In a statement, the Ministry of Information said government forces, local fighters and international partners were involved in the planned operation, which lasted more than 30 hours.
Casualty figures given by the government have not been independently verified.
…
Scores Killed in Cameroon’s Battles with Separatists Ahead of Senate Elections
Cameroon’s military says it has killed scores of armed separatists in clashes this month and at least 15 have surrendered. The rebels, who vowed to disrupt March senate elections in Cameroon’s western regions, claim to have killed scores of government troops.
Ndop district residents in Cameroon’s restive Northwest region say seven bodies were found in bushes Tuesday morning, following heavy fighting between separatist rebels and government troops.
Ndop businessman Anyam Edison Penn said the clashes halted trade in Ngoketunjia, where Ndop is located. He spoke to VOA from Ndop via a messaging app.
“For the past weeks fighting in Ngoketunjia has been very very intensive between the separatists and the defense forces, and this has been affecting so many lives, so many persons killed and it has been a burden on our side,” Penn said. “Thousands of people were like they were in a cage. I pray and hope that the crisis will be resolved so that we, the civilians, should not be suffering like this.”
Cameroon’s Anglophone separatists have vowed to disrupt the March 12 elections for Senate and last month killed two election officials.
Cameroon’s government said at least 15 rebel fighters were killed in ongoing clashes this month around Ndop while the military said it killed at least 30 rebels in other northwestern towns.
Cameroon’s highest-ranking official in the area, Handerson Quetong Kongeh, said military raids Monday night targeted at least five separatist camps.
Capo Daniel is a spokesman and self-proclaimed deputy defense chief for one rebel group, the Ambazonia Defense Forces. He said separatists and government troops sustained casualties in this month’s clashes.
“We have killed over 38 Cameroon military men since Paul Biya announced the election,” Daniel said. “We have authorized our forces to carry out attacks on critical infrastructure. Our recruitments are high, our spirits are high, and we will continue to attack the Cameroon military. We have called for appropriate punishment for those who violate this ban against the election.”
Cameroon’s military acknowledged it took casualties in the fighting but would not give any figures and has not responded to requests for comment.
Despite the threats and ongoing clashes, Cameroon officials say election preparations will continue.
The military said about 15 rebels surrendered and were handed to Cameroon’s centers for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).
DDR country director Francis Fai Yengo said one of the rebels who surrendered was a self-proclaimed general.
Yengo spoke Monday to state broadcaster Cameroon Radio Television.
“We continue to call on those misguided youths that are still in the bush, that are still reluctant to come out to forget about the past and seize the opportunity President Paul Biya has offered to come out of the bushes and make sure that this adventure which they undertook never repeats itself again in our country,” he said.
Yengo said the DDR centers offer social and jobs skills training to help former rebel fighters reintegrate.
The separatist conflict broke out in 2016 when Anglophone Cameroonians protested discrimination by the Francophone majority.
Cameroon’s military responded with a crackdown and rebels took up arms with the aim of carving out an independent state they call Ambazonia.
The U.N. says fighting has since killed at least 3,500 people and displaced 750,000.
Canada, which is attempting to negotiate an end to the conflict, says more than 6,000 people have been killed and the unrest has deprived 600,000 children of education.
…
Somali People ‘Highly Traumatized’ After Years of Conflict
Decades of violence and humanitarian crises have left many Somali people traumatized, according to a health study by the U.N. and Somali organizations. Harun Maruf reported from Washington and Abdulkadir Zubeyr in Mogadishu spoke to mental health doctors and patients in the country. They have this report narrated by Salem Solomon. Camera: Abdulkadir Zubeyr. Video editor Betty Ayoub.
…
Botswana Loses Third of Rhinos to Poaching in 5 Years
Botswana revealed on Monday that it suffered a huge spike in rhino poaching during five years through 2022, translating to about a third of its population of the endangered species.
In all, 138 rhinos were slaughtered from 2018 to last year, Tourism minister Philda Kereng told parliament.
This compares to two rhinos poached in the preceding five years from 2012 to 2017, according to official figures.
Statistics that Kereng presented to parliament showed killings suddenly rose to seven in 2018, before spiking to 30 the following year. In 2020 the killings rose sharply again to 62, then halved to 33 in 2021 before dropping to six last year.
She attributed the jump in killings to “increased demand for rhino horn in the international market, hence, poachers,” also “a displacement of international criminal syndicates from other southern African states.”
Neighboring South Africa, the traditional rhino poaching hotspot, has in recent years seen a steady decline in numbers of animals killed due to increased patrols in national parks that have forced hunters seeking horns to look elsewhere.
Poaching of rhinos is driven by demand from Asia, where horns are used in traditional medicine for their supposed therapeutic effect.
Botswana does not publicly disclose its rhino population, but a document the government presented before the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Panama last year showed there were an estimated 285 white rhinos and 23 black rhinos across the country.
In 2019, the country was home to just under 400 rhinos, according to Rhino Conservation Botswana, most of them roaming the grassy plains of the northern Okavango Delta.
According to another government document, Botswana had in recent years started dehorning rhinos to reduce their appeal to poachers, but this has not had the desired effect, as the stump of horn left would still be valuable for the poachers.
Rangers, law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organizations have stepped up aerial and ground patrols to protect the rhinos.
…
Deaths From Burkina Faso Army Attack Rise to 51
The death toll from a jihadi attack on a Burkina Faso army unit in the north of the country last week has risen to 51, military officials said Monday, after 43 new bodies were found.
The military unit was ambushed in the Sahel region’s Oudalan province, between the towns of Deou and Oursi, the Burkinabe military said Monday. Reinforcements have been sent to the area and an unspecified number of wounded have been taken to hospital.
The West African nation has been wracked for seven years by violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which has killed thousands, displaced nearly 2 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Successive governments’ failure to effectively address the problem led to two coups last year, with each military leader vowing to stem attacks and secure the country, albeit with little success.
Last week’s attack came while some 400 French special forces soldiers were leaving Burkina Faso, one month after the junta government ordered them out — following in the path of neighboring Mali, which is also ruled by a military dictatorship.
While the number of French troops in Burkina Faso was far smaller than in Mali, their departure adds to growing concerns that Islamic extremists are capitalizing on the political disarray and using it to expand their reach.
Analysts have questioned whether the countries’ militaries are capable of filling the void.
“The struggle for state forces to avoid deadly attacks, especially such an ambush against convoys, is a major concern since it comes at a time where the state is trying to assert its presence and chase jihadists out from areas they control,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based think tank.
“If convoys are repeatedly targeted, recovering territories and providing protection for civilians is going to take a very long time and going to be deadly,” Lyammouri added.
…
UN Appeals for Aid to Assist Malawi Fight Cholera Outbreak
The U.N. in Malawi has launched an urgent appeal for aid to deal with the impact of a record cholera outbreak that has so far killed nearly 1,450 people and infected 45,000.
Local health experts say if urgent action isn’t taken to scale up the response, the number of cases could double in the next few months.
The U.N. says the flash appeal seeks to raise $45.3 million to provide life-saving aid to thousands of people in Malawi devastated by the outbreak.
In a statement released Monday, the U.N. said the appeal aims to assist four million people in Malawi, including 56,000 refugees and asylum seekers who are at the highest risk in the outbreak.
The current outbreak started in March last year and has spread to all 29 districts of Malawi.
Rebecca Adda-Dontoh, the U.N. resident coordinator in Malawi, told reporters Monday that more assistance is needed to stop the outbreak.
“So much work has been done but a lot more needs to be done,” she said. “We have focused on health, we have focused on WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). The two are very important but there are also other sectors like nutrition, protection and even logistics because we need to be able to move supplies from one point to the other.”
Adda-Dontoh said the needed assistance would complement what various donor partners have already contributed.
“The U.N. itself has mobilized already close to $10 million,” she said. “You heard the EU; you heard the U.K. here saying they had already contributed over 500,000 euros for the EU and also over 500,000 pounds for the U.K. Even the government of Malawi is on the ground and already contributed.”
Local media have reported that Malawi needs an additional $40 million for its national plan on cholera response.
Cases of cholera in Malawi have increased since the beginning of January, worsening the country’s largest outbreak in the past two decades.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said last week, when he launched a national anti-cholera campaign, that the country’s health facilities were recording between 500 to 600 cholera cases every day.
The U.N. said that health experts have warned that Malawi could record between 64,000 and 100,000 more cases of cholera within the next three months unless urgent action is taken to scale up the response.
…
Body of Soccer Star Who Died in Turkey Quake Arrives in Ghana
The remains of Ghanaian football star Christian Atsu arrived home Sunday following his death in Turkey’s devastating earthquake. Atsu’s coffin, draped in Ghana’s flag, arrived by plane in Accra and was received by his family and with military honors.
The 31-year-old athlete was discovered dead on Saturday following the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit southern Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing more than 46,000 people in both countries.
It was a solemn moment Sunday evening as the Turkish Airlines carrying the body of the former Premier League footballer touched down at the Kotoka International Airport. To the sound of a lone trumpet, six military pallbearers hoisted the casket onto the tarmac, where a sizeable crowd of family members, football fans, diplomats and state officials watched with sadness and tears.
Ghana’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia led the government delegation.
“We anxiously and nervously prayed that our brother Christian Atsu will be found alive. We prayed and prayed, but alas when he was found he was no more,” Bawumia said. “We’ll sorely miss him. It’s a painful loss and I will like to say that the state will be fully involved with the family in providing him a befitting burial.”
After a brief religious ceremony to pray for the soul of the former Chelsea player, the body was moved for preservation at a military hospital morgue in the capital, Accra.
The Ghanaian winger spent four seasons at Chelsea, mostly out on loan, before a permanent transfer to Newcastle in 2017. He also played for various European clubs including FC Porto, Everton and Bournemouth.
Over the weekend, Premier League clubs observed minutes of silence in honor of Atsu. Chelsea issued a statement saying: “It is with enormous sadness that Chelsea Football Club receives the news that Christian Atsu is confirmed as one of the many victims of the dreadful earthquake in Turkey and Syria.”
Newcastle also described him as “a talented player and a special person,” adding that “he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters.”
Off the pitch, Atsu was known for his generosity giving scholarships to poor school children in Ghana and also paying fines for prisoners to gain their freedom.
Abdul-Hayye Yartey, the owner of Cheetah FC in Ghana, first discovered Atsu and facilitated his maiden trip to Portugal for trials. He said Atsu’s life, although short, was well lived.
“Christian doesn’t like seeing people unhappy. I will describe Christian as an angel on earth. The way he does his things sometimes you won’t believe it. I think we need to remember Christian for his generosity, how humble he was and how determined he was,” Yartey said. “It saddens my heart that his last flight back to Ghana was one that I have to come and receive his body. But I am very proud of him.”
Atsu played 65 games at the national level for Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars, and won player of the tournament at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea where Ghana lost the final to Ivory Coast on penalties.
Atsu is survived by his wife Marie-Claire Rupio and three children.
…
DRC, Zambia Vow to Resolve Customs Delays for Trucks Hauling Copper, Cobalt
The presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have vowed to resolve customs delays for trucks transporting copper from the two top producers in Africa. The growing demand for electric vehicles has fueled a race for the copper and cobalt used in their batteries, but truckloads of the key metals have been stuck at the border.
Angry truck drivers call for customs to speed up clearances at the border after a meeting this month among officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
Some of the drivers, from southern and eastern Africa, have been parked in a kilometers-long line at the border for weeks.
They’re waiting to deliver goods into the DRC or to take valuable metals out.
Driver Ediwn Kalaba is hauling copper to South Africa for export but has been stuck at the border for more than a week, sleeping in his truck.
He said it’s dangerous because thieves can break in or steal fuel or parts from their trucks.
“We are being robbed or attacked every now and then, more especially on the diesel issue and battery. Goods are not safe. No toilets; just a bush,” said Kalaba.
Peter Mumba is president of the United Truck Drivers and Allied Workers Union of Zambia.
He said the government needs to address the situation at the border urgently.
“The life of a truck driver, it has become so difficult … because just one journey or one trip from South Africa, even Tanzania, to go into DRC takes someone even maybe more than a month for him to return home,” said Mumba.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi discussed the border problem Saturday on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Zambian media quote Hichilema saying Tshisekedi agreed to deal with the issue.
Zambia’s transport and logistics minister, Frank Tayali, told VOA they will not tolerate any further delays. He blamed poor customs services on both sides.
“This impacts directly on government ‘s ability to collect revenue, which is so needed for the many things that we’ve lined up as a government to try and put this economy back on track. We are giving officers here six days to bring the situation back to normal before heads start to roll,” he said.
Zambia in 2021 became the first African country in the COVID era to default on its debt and has since been negotiating with creditors.
The DRC is also suffering from the border congestion, says its vice consul, Nkulu Ndala, in Ndola, Zambia.
He estimates both Zambia and the DRC are losing more than half a million dollars per month from the border delays.
“Our economy goes down in Congo. It is a serious issue that needs to be resolved very soon between Zambia and Congo through our bilateral relations,” he said.
Ndala said the DRC produced 2.2 million metric tons of copper last year.
Zambia’s Chamber of Mines says the country produced a little more than one-third of that amount.
Zambia and the DRC produce 80 percent of the world’s copper and two-thirds of its cobalt – vital components of electric vehicles that are seeing a jump in global demand.
Mining expert John Musonda from Zambia’s Copperbelt University said developing the railway system could ease the problem.
“The railway systems which were created to get copper to the coast are dilapidated with trains moving at less than 35 kilometers an hour. This has seen bulk cargo spilling over on to the roads, we have seen more investment in the road sector, but these roads are not lasting they get damaged day in, day out despite billions of dollars being spent on these roads because bulk cargo is not designed to be moved on these fragile roads.”
The DRC and Zambia last year agreed to open the border posts 24 hours a day to allow for faster processing.
But drivers say, so far, customs officers are only working 10 hours a day.
…
Mauritius Halts Flights, Madagascar Braces for Floods as Cyclone Freddy Nears
Mauritius grounded flights and shut its stock exchange as tropical cyclone Freddy approached the island across the Indian Ocean on Monday, while emergency teams braced for heavy rains, floods and landslides in four regions on Madagascar.
The cyclone, packing gusts of up to 120 km per hour (75 miles per hour), posed a “direct threat” to Mauritius, its weather service said.
“As Freddy approaches … [a] storm surge is likely to cause coastal inundation in risk areas. It is, therefore, strictly advised not to go at sea,” the service’s bulletin said.
The cyclone could pass as close as 120 km (75 miles) to the north-northwest of the island late in the afternoon, the service said.
Authorities on the island of Madagascar – about 1,130 km west of Mauritius towards the coast of Africa — said they were expecting a direct hit by Tuesday evening, between Mahanoro in the east and Manakara in south east.
“Torrential rains… very high to enormous seas… and a significant risk of coastal flooding are particularly to be feared in the localities around the point of impact,” Madagascar’s weather service said.
The government’s disaster management office was sending tents, ropes and chainsaws and other supplies to four districts most likely to be affected, officials added.
The Indian Ocean islands and Mozambique on Africa’s coast have been hit by a string of deadly storms and cyclones that have forced thousands to flee, destroyed buildings and ruined crops.
In January, tropical storm Cheneso killed 33 people in Madagascar.
your ad hereBurkina Faso Marks End of French Military Operations on Its Soil
France and Burkina Faso have officially marked the end of French military operations in the West African nation, the Burkinabe armed forces said Sunday, after a flag-lowering ceremony at the French special forces’ camp a day earlier.
In January, Burkina Faso gave France one month to withdraw its troops as it ended a military accord that allowed French troops to fight insurgents on its territory, citing a wish for the country to defend itself.
Their departure marks a new chapter in Burkina’s battle with Islamist groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State, which have taken over large swathes of land and displaced millions of people in the wider Sahel region, just south of the Sahara.
In a statement, the General Staff of the Burkinabe Armed Forces said it had participated with the leadership of France’s Sabre special forces in “a solemn flag-lowering ceremony marking the official end of the Task Force’s operations on Burkinabe soil.”
The French armed forces ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The departure of about 400 French special forces from Burkina Faso follows a sharp deterioration in relations that included Ouagadougou asking France to recall its ambassador.
Last year, protests by opponents of the French military presence increased sharply, partly due to perceptions that France had not done enough to curb the insurgency.
Over the past week, a small group of anti-French protesters has met each evening in Ouagadougou to watch out for signs of French withdrawal.
“We don’t want the smallest second added to the scheduled date (of departure). Let them leave and leave our Faso to us,” said Amade Maiga, who was among those decked out in Burkinabe flags and waving a French tricolor with a red cross through it.
Some of the group also held Russian flags – a sign of the complicated political undercurrents shaping the region.
Both Burkina Faso and neighboring Mali are ruled by military juntas which seized power by force in the last two years, promising to improve security and look beyond their traditional allies for support.
France withdrew its forces from Mali last year after the junta there started working with Russian military contractors. Ghana has accused Burkina Faso of hiring mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, prompting Burkina’s interim president to deny such forces were in the country.
French President Emmanuel Macron has described Russia’s influence in troubled African countries as “predatory” as France has seen its own clout in former colonies diminish.
“Walking with Russia is not a sin … Russia is the solution,” said 58-year-old protester Amade Compaore.
…
Tunisia Orders Top European Trade Union Official Expelled
President Kais Saied of Tunisia ordered Europe’s top trade union official to leave the North African country after she addressed protesters at a demonstration organized by an influential labor union.
Authorities accused Esther Lynch, the Irish general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, of making statements that “interfered with Tunisian internal affairs” during a Saturday protest against Saied in the port city of Sfax.
Tunisia’s General Labor Union, or UGTT, organized the demonstration to protest a crackdown on the increasingly authoritarian president’s political opponents and his critics in the media, judiciary, business community and trade unions.
In an address to the protesters, Lynch demanded the release of union leader Anis Kaabi, who was arrested by security forces last month.
She called on the Tunisian government to negotiate with the UGTT leadership and to improve the economy, which has teetered on the brink of bankruptcy amid political instability that deepened after a parliamentary election last month in which only 11% of voters cast ballots.
“By orders of the president, Tunisian authorities ordered Esther Lynch to leave the country within 24 hours, following statements made during the UGTT-led demonstration that interfered with Tunisian internal affairs,” said a statement by the Tunisian presidency that was posted on Twitter late Saturday.
The European Trade Union Confederation confirmed that Lynch left Tunisia on Sunday.
Saied won the presidency in a 2019 landslide on a promise to improve the country’s economy. Instead, the president appears determined to upend the country’s political system, threatening a democracy once seen as a model for the Arab world and sending the economy toward a tailspin.
In December, the International Monetary Fund froze an agreement on a $1.9 billion loan for Tunisia. The deeply indebted government needs the funds to pay UGTT-represented public sector salaries and to fill budget gaps aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In recent months, Tunisians have been hit with soaring food prices and shortages of fuel and basic staples like sugar and vegetable oil.
…
West African Bloc Maintains Sanctions on Junta Regimes
West African leaders have maintained sanctions imposed on three military-ruled countries in the volatile Sahel region and dented hopes of a return to the regional bloc, according to a statement seen by AFP on Sunday.
Junta-led Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso are suspended from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after undergoing military coups since 2020.
ECOWAS leaders met on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa to review the sanctions and discuss the progress in restoring civilian rule in the three countries.
“The Authority of Heads of State and Governments decided to maintain the existing sanctions on all three countries,” the bloc said in a statement signed on Saturday but shared on Sunday.
ECOWAS has also decided to impose travel bans on government officials and senior leaders in those countries, it added.
Fearing contagion in a region notorious for military takeovers, ECOWAS imposed tough trade and economic sanctions against Mali, but lesser punishments against Guinea and Burkina Faso.
The sanctions have badly hit poor and landlocked Mali, whose economy is already under severe strain from a decade-long jihadist insurgency.
The three countries agreed in February to work together to push for the lifting of their suspensions from ECOWAS as well as the African Union.
Juntas have seized power in Mali and Burkina Faso amid anger at the military over the toll from a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and forced millions from their homes.
The coup in Guinea had different causes, being rooted in public anger against then president Alpha Conde, over a lurch towards authoritarianism.
All three countries are under pressure by ECOWAS to return swiftly to civilian rule by 2024 for Mali and Burkina and a year later for Guinea.
AU Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said on Friday the body’s peace and security council would meet at an unspecified date to decide whether to readmit the three countries, as well as Sudan.
In an address to the AU summit on Saturday, Faki said the pan-African bloc needed to look at new strategies to counter the backsliding of democracy.
“Sanctions imposed on member states following unconstitutional changes of government… do not seem to produce the expected results,” he said.
“It seems necessary to reconsider the system of resistance to the unconstitutional changes in order to make it more effective.”
…
Head of Sudanese Paramilitary Force Says Still Committed to Single Army
The head of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of widespread human rights abuses, said on Sunday he was committed to intergrating the force into a reformed national armed forces.
RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, joined Sudan’s leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in a coup in 2021 that ended a ruling partnership between the military and pro-democracy groups and plunged the country into political and economic turmoil.
The RSF is Sudan’s largest paramilitary group. It emerged from the “janjaweed” militias accused of atrocities during the early 2000s conflict in Darfur.
They are also accused by human rights groups of killing scores of protesters since the military overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Dagalo, who is known as Hemedti, has denied most of these claims, blaming infiltrators, while allowing the prosecution of some soldiers.
Pro-democracy groups and army leaders have called for the RSF to be integrated into the main military and for the formation of a single army.
The military leadership has reached an initial agreement with political groups, with discussions going on to formalise a new political settlement and create a new government.
But in a speech on Thursday, Burhan said the army would only support the deal as long as it provided for the integration of the RSF.
On Sunday, Dagalo defended the RSF’s legitimacy.
“We are committed to the principle of a single military formed according to agreed upon timelines, and we are sincerely committed to being involved in security and military reform,” he said in a speech.
The framework agreement, signed in December, recognises the RSF as a force alongside the military, police, and general intelligence. It assigns the head of state as its highest commander and also calls for its integration.
“The Sudanese military is a historic institution, and it will not be captured by any party,” Dagalo said. “We are part of it and we will not spare any effort to defend it from anyone who abuses or belittles it.”
He also warned against any interference by Islamists who lost control of the country in 2019 with the overthrow of Bashir.
your ad hereUN Secretary-General Guterres Advocates More Debt Relief for Africa
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday that African countries are being denied needed debt relief, noting that because of a lack of financial support, the African continent is facing a very difficult situation.
Speaking at a news conference held at African Union headquarters after the opening of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Guterres said in order to draw on the continent’s potential, a series of challenges must first be overcome.
“A dysfunctional and unfair global financial system that denies many African countries the debt relief and concessional financing they need,” he said. “Systems and structures, from health and education to social protections, job-creation and gender equality are starved of investment for lack of support.”
Guterres mentioned the impact that debt has on the continent’s economy in his remarks earlier in the day at the opening ceremony of the AU Summit. He emphasized that developing African countries are often left out when global investment lenders create their financial plans.
“African countries cannot invest in these critical areas and climb the development ladder with one had tied between their backs … behind their backs.”
Guterres pointed out that Africa is dramatically underrepresented at the United Nations Security Council and at Bretton Woods Institutions.
“We need a new debt architecture that provides debt relief and re-structuring to vulnerable countries, including middle-income countries, while providing immediate debt suspension and write-downs to countries in need,” he said.
AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat made opening remarks to kick off the AU Summit and was followed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The opening ceremony included the handover of the AU chairmanship from Senegalese President Macky Sall to Comoros President Azali Assoumani.
The theme of this year’s AU assembly is Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
…
Thousands of Nigerians Rally a Week Before Crucial Vote
The front-runners in Nigeria’s presidential race hit the campaign trail Saturday in a major push to persuade voters a week before the polls.
More than 90 million people are registered to vote in Nigeria, where President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after his two terms allowed by the constitution.
From the top of an open-air double-decker bus, Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, paraded through the streets of Maiduguri in northeast Borno state.
Tinubu was expected to stage a final rally in Lagos on Tuesday.
In nearby Adamawa state, the main opposition’s candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party also made an entrance in the city of Yola on a double-decker bus.
Thousands of people attended both rallies, waving flags and shouting party slogans while loudspeakers blasted music.
Outsider candidate Peter Obi was not seen on the campaign trail but took to social media to call on his supporters, “the Obidients,” to rally in several cities across the country.
In the capital, Abuja, several hundred Obi supporters marched from the center to the city gate, chanting and blowing vuvuzelas.
Campaigning is taking place as the nation faces widespread insecurity and tensions over a currency crisis.
On Saturday morning, gunmen attacked a police station in the Ogidi area of southeastern Anambra state.
“The hoodlums started shooting sporadically on approaching the area command and threw improvised explosive devices and petrol bombs, gaining entrance (into the station),” police spokesman Ikenga Tochukwu said in a statement.
“Three police operatives paid the supreme price,” Tochukwu added.
Unrest in the southeast is just one of the challenges facing security forces, who are also fighting a 14-year jihadi insurgency in the northeast and kidnapping gangs in the northwest.
Nigerians have been struggling with a shortage of cash since the central bank introduced newly designed notes in December and banned old ones.
But in its effort to promote cashless payments and reduce the volume of money outside the banking system, the central bank printed a much smaller number of notes than were previously in circulation.
The lack of cash has triggered protests in major cities this week, with customers attacking banks and barricading roads just days before elections.
Tensions have also emerged inside the ruling APC party, with accusations that the cash crisis could frustrate Tinubu’s election bid.
…
Ghanaian Footballer Atsu’s Body Found Under Rubble in Turkey Quake, Agent Says
Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu has been found dead under the building where he lived in southern Turkey after last week’s massive earthquake, the ex-Chelsea winger’s Turkish agent said.
“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble,” Murat Uzunmehmet told reporters in Hatay, where the athlete’s body was found. “Currently, more items are still being taken out. His phone was also found.”
Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of southern Turkey hours before the quake, but Hatayspor’s manager said on Friday the Ghanaian opted to stay with the club after scoring the game-winning goal in a Feb. 5 Super Lig match.
…