How South Africans who lost jobs since onset of Covid struggle to rebuild lives
Some 40 kilometres outside Cape Town, Leebah Bessick wipes sweat from her forehead as she digs a pitchfork into the earth at a neighbourhood community garden. It’s an unseasonably hot day at Blackheath Secondary School and even a shady corner of the garden offers Bessick and fellow gardeners little comfort...
Tanzanian president dazzles Kenyans, resets creaky EAC trade and diplomatic ties
Not before has a Tanzanian president caught the attention and dazzled Kenyans as did the newly installed President Samia Suluhu Hassan during her maiden two-day tour, effortlessly pulling off a diplomatic coup that at the end of her visit endeared her to her hosts whose perception of her predecessors was...
Global pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca starts 120,000 tree project in Kenya
A reforestation initiative introduced in Kajiado County in Kenya will see AstraZeneca and Global EverGreening Alliance lead the efforts to restore degraded agricultural and forest lands through planting 120,000 trees. The project, 70 kilometres south of the capital Nairobi aligns with AstraZeneca’s Global sustainability commitment to environmental protection. The health...
We in Africa should just let women lead, focus more on managing our economies
.There is a big benefit when a country skips the social upheaval and goes straight to pro-women policies. We in Africa must take an aggressive shortcut through history. We can learn from Rwanda. I’m not saying life is perfect in any of these places, but they’ve moved in the right...
How long are we in Africa going to use our hardships as excuses not to move forward?
Over the last 30 days President Samia Suluhu Hassan has become the most important woman in the African energy industry. She has taken some of the most courageous steps in rebooting Tanzania’s energy sector and economy. The signing of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline with President Yoweri Museveni of...
Kenya opposition leader Raila to allies: You can leave, ‘it’s time for a different path’
Cracks that at first looked fleeting when Kenya’s opposition boycotted repeat presidential election in 2017, when the National Super Alliance began to experience turbulence leading up to late filing of the petition that cancelled the result, are widening. Consequently, there are concerns that the disintegration of Nasa and his party...
How Kenya helped terrorism thrive in East Africa through illicit ivory exports – report
Pummelled on multiple fronts around the world, terrorist organisations and insurgent groups in eastern Africa have been finding it difficult to keep alive their militia activities. After the funding taps running dry, the groups resorted tapping natural resources to fund insurgencies, says Earth League International, a conservation organisation, in a...
Cybersecurity: No time for Africa to bury head in sand or pay for skilled foreigners
The cybersecurity skills shortage is worsening in Africa. This is the definitive view of the ESG report ‘The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals 2020′ and that of multiple other surveys, reports and industry analyses. Organisations are facing an unprecedented threat. Cyber-attacks, fraud, phishing, breaches, hacks have increased in sophistication,...
African countries secure $17 billion facility to double food production by 2030
A coalition of multilateral development banks and development partners pledged over $17 billion in financing to improve food security in Africa. These funds were pledged on the final day of a two-day high-level dialogue with the theme ‘Feeding Africa: Leadership to Scale up Successful Innovations’. The event was hosted by...
Choice of Koome to head judiciary renews ethnic concerns in Kenya’s public service
The independence and integrity of the Kenyan judiciary is once again under intense scrutiny following the nomination of the Court of Appeal Judge Martha Koome to replace David Maraga, who retired at the beginning of this year as chief justice and president of the Supreme Court. To gender activists, the...
