Fifa president inaugurates regional development office in Congo Brazzaville
A new Fifa regional development office has been inaugurated in Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of the Congo. The inauguration of the new office is a statement of Fifa’s commitment to supporting member associations in the delivery of infrastructure, competitions, development and education projects, Fifa President Gianni Infantino...
Jailed rapper: Spanish monarchy accused of gagging free speech
A dramatic arrest earlier this week of Spanish rapper Pablo Hasél, who was convicted of criticising the monarchy and supporting a Basque separatist group in his social media posts, has sparked days of protests across Spain and renewed debate over free speech in the country. Thousands of Hasél supporters have...
Tanzania gets $50m Opec Fund to finance poverty reduction projects
Opec Fund for International Development (Opec Fund) has agreed to finance the fourth phase of Tanzania’s poverty reduction project that will cost the East African nation of approximately 60 million people $50 million. Dar es Salaam says it will use the loan to build rural infrastructure to boost economic opportunities...
Nigeria still in the crosshairs of Boko Haram terror group – HRW
Armed militiamen in Nigeria have persist with terror campaign after they unleashed horror on civilians during which they abducted hundreds of schoolboys in the country’s north-western Niger State. Human Rights Watch, an international rights civil society, reports that the attackers, suspected to be related to the dreaded Al Qaeda-leaning Boko...
African jobs agency Careerbox awarded for 2021 Global Impact Sourcing
Leading non-profit company, Careerbox, has been recognised for its influence in promoting the benefits of Impact Sourcing by the global association. The association represents stakeholders in the outsourcing value chain, International Academic Orientation Programme (IAOP). The company has to date placed over 35,000 previously disadvantaged and unemployed youth and women...
Helpless African frontline health workers die as rich countries stock up vaccines
On January 6, gastroenterologist Leolin Katsidzira received a troubling message from his colleague James Gita Hakim, a heart specialist and noted HIV/Aids researcher. Hakim, chair of the department of medicine at the University of Zimbabwe, had fallen sick and had tested positive for Covid-19. He was admitted to a hospital...
Kenya’s Global Interjapan Ltd joins league of 2,297 AfDB blacklisted firms
A Kenya registered civil engineering company Global Interjapan (Kenya) Limited has been slapped with a 36-month debarment by the African Development Bank Group o for involvement in fraud. The announcement by the African bank means Global Interjapan will be on the dishonourable league of more than 2,297 companies and at...
Lessons from Mexico: How Africa can push for better oil, gas project execution
Mexico’s constitutional reform that injected impetus in the oil and gas industry was swift and it benefited from the support of the major political parties in the country following the Pacto por Mexico (Pact for Mexico) agreed right after the election and signed the day after by President Peña Nieto...
Oil: Mexicans donated money, including livestock, to pay off foreign debt
Once one of the world’s biggest producers, Mexico has had a sweet and sour relationship with the upstream industry. In my experience working in the Mexican oil and gas industry, I witnessed the transition of a nationalised industry, once described by Juan Pardinas, former director of the Mexican Institute on...
Vaccination: Challenge of building ‘herd immunity’
If vaccines do block transmission, and if they remain effective against newer variants of the virus, it might be possible to eliminate the virus in regions where enough people are vaccinated so that they can protect those who are not contributing to herd immunity. A vaccine that is 90 per...
