A Tax Solution for Nigeria in Under 20 Minutes
South African fintech startup TaxTim has made Nigeria its second international market after partnering with PwC to offer virtual tax assistance to its clients. Founded in 2011 with seed funding from Google by Evan Robinson and Marc Sevitz, TaxTim allows users to file their tax returns online with step-by-step guidance through a chat-based platform, with […]
Is Zimbabwe’s Opposition at the Brink of Collapse?
Zimbabwe’s top court upheld the decision of a lower court that Nelson Chamisa was not the legitimate leader of the country’s largest opposition party. Chamisa’s leadership was contested by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party’s vice-president Thokozani Khupe who had claimed she was the legitimate leader to replace Morgan Tsvangirai after his death in February […]
Addis’ Plans to Go Cashless
Ethiopia’s central bank will allow locally-owned non-financial institutions to start offering mobile money services as it seeks to boost non-cash payments in the country. The Horn-of-Africa nation is in the midst of massive economic reforms including the privatization of state-owned telecommunications monopoly Ethio Telecom. The new directive would allow Ethio Telecom, as an Ethiopian-owned company, […]
Leaders Using Pandemic to Flout Human Rights
Police in Uganda have charged 20 LGBT people with disobeying rules on physical distancing and risking the spread of coronavirus, in what campaigners say is a clear case of authorities abusing newly imposed restrictions to target sexual minorities. Fourteen gay men, two bisexual men and four transgender women were taken into custody on Sunday when […]
Kenya Goes Online to Decongest its Prisons as a Way to Curtail Coronavirus
In the past month, the East African country has released 4800 prisoners in different parts of the country, according to Anne Amadi, the chief registrar of the judiciary in Kenya. “We prioritized getting a lot of people out of prison, especially petty offenders. Those who are in prison for a short term and those who […]
Nigerians are Disappointed in the Finance Minister’s Tweet
Some Nigerians are bewildered on social media following the official Twitter handle of the Ministry of Finance and Budget begging for ventilators from industrial engineer, Elon Musk. On the last day of March, Elon Musk tweeted that “We have extra FDA-approved ventilators. Will ship to hospitals worldwide within Tesla delivery regions. Device & shipping cost […]
Why #Sisi’s Palaces should be Used for Quarantine is Trending
Egyptians have taken to Twitter to call for palaces belonging to President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to be turned into quarantine centres during the coronavirus outbreak. The hashtag #قصور_السيسي_للحجر meaning “Sisi’s palaces should be used for quarantine” is trending in the North African country. It comes amid controversy over who should cover the quarantine costs for […]
Preparing Africa’s Largest Slum against a Coronavirus Nightmare
In Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi and one of the largest slums in Africa, the biggest defenses against the spread of COVID-19—social distancing and frequent handwashing—are nearly impossible. Families cluster in 10-foot-by-10-foot shacks, and residents share one latrine with 50 to 150 people. Water in the pipes is often contaminated […]
Former Somali Prime Minister Succumbs to Coronavirus
Somalia has entered a three-day mourning period after Nur Hassan Hussein, the former prime minister, died in a London hospital on Wednesday after contracting the new coronavirus. He was 83. Hussein’s family said the former leader will be buried in London. In a statement, the family said he had been receiving treatment at King’s College […]
Africa Sorts COVID-19 Myths from Facts Using Tech
Governments across Africa are teaming up with technology giants including Facebook and WhatsApp to fight misinformation about coronavirus on social media platforms that could propel the pandemic on a continent with shaky healthcare systems. South Africa, which has more infections than any other African country, with more than 1,400 confirmed cases, has launched an information […]
