Neglected Tropical Disease Mycetoma Research Gains Momentum
By Geoffrey Kamadi The disease burden and distribution of mycetoma—a neglected tropical disease—are not very well understood. However, it is known to affect people in Sudan, Senegal, Mauritania, Kenya, and Niger, as well as people in Nigeria, Ethiopia, India, and Cameroon. Cases have also been reported in Djibouti, Somalia, and Yemen. “It is currently unknown what […]
White Paper on “The Politics of African Debt Restructuring”
Many debt-distressed African countries will have successfully restructured their most unaffordable loans and be better placed to attract a new wave of sustainability capital through private investment by 2024, says a new report from special intelligence advisory Pangea Risk. The report argues that debt transparency, sound fiscal and monetary governance, and candid bilateral relations with […]
Africa on the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index
The ability to export products or import inputs efficiently will be key to helping African countries engage more comprehensively with global trade, as they try to boost their economic fortunes. To that end improving customs operations and transport infrastructure would have a huge impact on logistics in sub-Saharan African countries, explains to a new World […]
What Lessons Might there be for African States from the UK’s Rollercoaster Brexit?
It is increasingly evident that leaving the European Union — the world’s richest single market — was a monumental act of self-harm for the UK. African countries should take heed and cooperate to ensure the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Coming into force in 2019, AfCFTA includes all African countries except Eritrea. […]
Africa’s Valuable Ocean Resources have Drawn the Interest of Foreign Nations
How they exploit these resources can be problematic because these oceans offer a wide range of important resources – from fish to minerals and hydrocarbons – that are also crucial to the continent’s economy and food security. But, in some countries, foreign interests dominate. For instance, the continent’s oil exploration, shipping, ports infrastructure, and industrial […]
How Kenya is Leading the Way in Developing its Geothermal Energy Resources
Africa is breaking apart – literally. From the Gulf of Aden in the north, all the way to Mozambique in the south, the African continental plate is splitting along the East African Rift Valley. The good news is that the forces deep beneath the Earth’s surface that are responsible for this tectonic divorce provide Africa […]
Ugandan Mayor Urges the World Bank to Press for the Prompt Completion of Projects it Finances
Contractors in western Uganda have been ordered by the World Bank to finish their projects by the specified dates. The World Bank’s senior urban development specialist, Mr. Stephen John Ajalu, said in a statement that contractors, particularly in Kabale Municipality, must “ensure that ongoing works are kept within agreed project timelines” at the beginning of […]
Concerns that Kenya is Heading towards Default are Ramping Up
The extra yield investors demand to hold the nation’s dollar bonds over US Treasuries indicated a rise to 1,019 basis points on Monday, above the 1,000 level widely considered by bond traders as distressed. The bonds yielded 993 basis points at the close on Friday, according to a JPMorgan index. Yields on dollar bonds due […]
Central Bank Offers Zimbabweans an Alternative to the US Dollar
Zimbabwe’s central bank plans to sell a gold-backed digital currency to the public from May 8 in another attempt to stabilize its tumbling currency. The tokens, to be sold through banks in local and foreign currency at a 20% margin above the interbank mid-rate, will be introduced in two phases, central bank governor John Mangudya, […]
DRC Auditor Reveals Huge Public Payroll Fraud
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government is paying more than 145,000 employees who may not exist, according to an audit by the nation’s inspector-general of public finances. Double payments and salaries for fake government employees or for people with no clear job description cost the country about $73.2 million monthly, the General Inspectorate of Finances, […]
