20,000 activists petition Kenya to reject US plastics export deal
Despite publicly retreating on the push to force Kenya and by extension to allow trade plastics and petrochemical products, American Chemistry Council (ACC) is said to be quietly lobbying Washington to force concessions for exports during ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations between the two countries. The push by ACC has...
How stealthy owls inspired the design of silent flights
Every owl fancier has a story of the first time they heard an owl – or, rather, did not hear one. It is unforgettable to see an enormous bird, whose wingspan can reach more than six feet, slipping through the air without even a whisper. Justin Jaworski’s first close encounter...
Au revoir Nzayadio, the Cavacha artist who breathed life into sedate rhumba
When he arrived at Orchestra Lipua Lipua, the band was in a flux – nay, anarchy – with musicians leaving and others joining the band. However, Paul Nzaya Nzayadio who had just returned to Kinshasa from a trip to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he had accompanied Madilu System, did not...
12 multilateral lenders team up with IMF to finance Africa’s SDGs
Twelve multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have teamed up to pool resources to finance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. Africa’s leading financier, the African Development Bank, announced in Ivory Coast capital, Abidjan, on Thursday this week that it had joined hands...
Kenya Rugby taps high performance wonk Harding for national teams
High performance consultant Peter Harding has been seconded to the Kenya Rugby Union on a three-month renewable contract by World Rugby. Harding’s immediate task will be to prepare Kenyan rugby teams for KRU, specifically KRU Women’s 7s for Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. iIn a statement, KRU said Harding “will also...
Corporate Council on Africa launches US-Africa health resilience initiative
Corporate Council on Africa will launch the US-Africa health security and resilience initiative at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on December 15 formally. The two-year initiative brings together US and African opinion leaders, corporations, multilateral organisations, foundations and other players in the health sector to create strategic...
Cocoa farmers in West Africa earn a pittance as chocolate manufacturers bank billions
Recent statistics on world chocolate industry lay bare how exploitative the beverage’s market is, with cocoa farmers in West Africa forced to make do with a paltry six per cent of total revenues. Leading chocolate companies have since 2001 made pledges to end widespread abusive labour practices, but continue to...
Fund launched to speed up access to clean energy in Kenya
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) has launched a results-based financing programme aimed at unlocking new markets for clean energy companies in Kenya. The $4 million programme will support commercially viable companies to establish new markets and accelerate access to clean energy for 87,000 unserved and underserved households in Kenya....
Road to energy transition might be bumpy, but banning fossil fuels is treacherous for Africa
What can be done to take natural gas off the banned fossil fuels list? The biggest concern about the continued use of natural gas comes down to one word: flaring. Flaring is the practice of routinely burning off associated natural gas that is produced from the reservoir during oil production....
African countries require balanced approach to the energy transition
Africa stands at a precarious juncture, where the transition from fossil fuels to renewables intersects with the economic benefits of a strategically managed oil and gas industry. Down one road, the continent expands exploration and production of its vast natural gas and oil reserves to bring electricity, fuel and financial...
