A report last week on President Joseph Kabila and his family’s holdings in the Democratic Republic of Congo – copper, cobalt and tin mining among them – offered a comprehensive look at what the Congo Research Group calls “a conservative reading” of assets worth tens of millions of dollars. The…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), based in Kenya, has renewed its call for the African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) to move forward as an African-led organization without the interference of France and the European Union. “The European Union and French Government are interested in imposing and deviating from…
Mozambique will build its first solar PV plant, thanks to funding from the International Finance Corporation. The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced this week that it is providing USD$19 million in funding as part of a $55 million package to support the new utility in Mocuba….
The Ghana Armed Forces, in response to recent media reports, denies that its soldiers are involved in the country’s illegal mining operations or providing security and assistance to those who are. In a statement issued Tuesday, GAF spokesman Col. Eric Aggrey-Quarshie challenged information that surfaced last week during a panel…
Fighting groups have long understood how important it is to secure a stable stream of financial resources in order to sustain the fighting effort over a prolonged time. Fighters need to be fed and remunerated. In other words, no cash, no conflict. In July 2010, the United States passed the…
The mines in Botswana will be the first in Africa to adopt a Canadian model of sustainability that requires members to continuously assess their mining practices and report them to the community. The Towards Sustainable Mining® (TSM) initiative looks at six core areas – including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity conservation and community…
The news that a provision of United States law requiring companies to report “conflict free minerals” information will be lifted by President Donald Trump’s executive order has been met with dismay by human rights organizations and activists. Yet are the conflict free rules really helping in the Democratic Republic of…
The European Union has signed a €65 million grant to support the expansion of electricity access to some 300,000 people in Zambia. The agreement, signed Thursday in Brussels, targets the funding toward infrastructure serving heavily populated low-income areas of Lusaka, the EU said in a press release. “The rehabilitation of…
Nigeria has lost USD$4.9 billion in 2016 oil revenues because of militant attacks on pipelines and other facilities, an economic blow to a heavily oil-dependent nation already hard hit by lower oil prices. Maikanti Baru, a group managing director with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) said the 1.5 trillion…
Niger Delta militants have clashed with Nigerian security forces after another attempt to sabotage oil infrastructure on Tuesday, local media report. The armed group blew up a barge that was being used to repair the Trans-Forcados Pipeline, a target of recurring attacks by militants operating in the heart of southern…
Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a joint oil and gas exploration of Lake Tanganyika, but the deal is likely to receive a lukewarm reception from environmental activists already worried about the lake’s health. Tanzania President John Magufuli and DRC leader…
African economies dependent on oil revenues continue to struggle with high supply levels and low prices, as representatives of OPEC nations meeting in Algeria Tuesday said it will be November before any decision to limit output and stabilize markets could have an impact on their ailing budgets. Nigerian Mohammad Barkindo,…
Abel Rugaju runs RAN power, a social enterprise in Uganda that is dedicated to extending power to offgrid rural communities by building small hydro-power plants. Lois Gicheru is the founder of Solarfrique, a start-up that is dedicated to installing solar panels in Kenya’s rural areas “We are targeting rural offgrid…
Diana Taremwa Karakire is a freelance journalist based in Uganda.
The 2016 Mining Indaba was held February 8th to 11th in South Africa amidst a crucial time for the African minerals industry, the African continent, and the wider international economy. The Indaba evidences the immense growth of mining in Africa’s recent past, but questions remain surrounding future of the industry…
The passage of the Power Africa bill through the US Congress this week will mean the creation of a new beginning for energy on the continent. The US Senate passed the act in mid-December, with a vote expected this week in the House of Representatives. The legislation, officially called…