While the European Union has declined to impose additional sanctions against Zimbabwe, there remains much concern over human rights and democratic principles amid the country’s economic and political crisis. “We have seen a crackdown on demonstrations in January – just a month ago – as well as the disproportionate use of force by…
South Africa has issued the latest appeal to the international community to lift longstanding sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe in order to alleviate pressures contributing to its economic and political crises. “Zimbabwe has been going through a challenging socioeconomic situation, which has inadvertently had an impact on South Africa. We have…
Sierra Leone has begun a long-awaited inquiry to determine what happened to millions in funding during the nation’s devastating Ebola crisis – money that government officials and outbreak survivors say never reached Ebola patients and their communities. The funds went missing as more than 14,000 people in Sierra Leone contracted…
Africa is leading the way with mobile money accounts, and its sub-Saharan countries are the only region in the world where more than 10 percent of adults have such access. In some places, including Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire, that’s more people than have a traditional bank account. That’s according to…
The United States on Thursday announced the launch of the new Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (WGDP) with the aim of reaching 50 million women across the world by 2025. The White House rolled out the plan as U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka promoted it in a Wall…
An innovative fintech project in Togo aims to protect street children who work and make money, but don’t have access to banking or similar financial services. It launched this week with the first 30 participants, on the way to a target of 150 youth made safer and more money-smart by…
Investigative reporters in India say they’ve uncovered what appears to be the biggest banking scam in the nation’s history, with a housing finance firm at the center and the money stashed in offshore assets in Mauritius, Dubai and other destination countries. Cobrapost, a nonprofit journalism outlet, presented its case against…
The United States on Monday announced criminal charges are filed against Chinese telecom giant Huawei, including relevant subsidiaries and executives, because of alleged violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran and related financial crimes. The Department of Justice filing targets Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou among them: She is charged with bank…
President Mokgweetsi Masisi returned to Botswana at the weekend, after the southern African nation was invited to participate in the World Economic Forum at Davos for the first time – and he said there was “a lot of excitement” when the delegation told the Botswana story. “We met a whole…
When it comes to a unified African market – the topic of Tuesday’s panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos – Bernard Gautier, deputy CEO of French investment firm Wendel Group, made it easy to see the existing barriers to business and Africa’s economic growth. There’s an office…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
By Miguel Sanz João Lourenço has been president of Angola since September 2017. About one year later, he cemented his hold on power by taking over the chairmanship of the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA). Although he reshuffled the government, for instance by replacing the transport minister, and the…
While the threat of Ebola virus spread in Democratic Republic of Congo remains under close monitoring, the wider fight against HIV infection, tuberculosis and malaria continues across sub-Saharan Africa. The latter remains a special concern, according to the Global Fund. “After years of steady declines, malaria cases are on the…
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed welcomed China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Thursday, as Wang continues a tour that takes him on official visits to African Union headquarters as well as Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Senegal this week. Abiy noted China’s “immense contribution to Ethiopia,” his office said. “Prime…
The World Bank’s 2018 Year in Review report offers insights on global trends, with 14 charts to present the visual data – and the African continent is at the center of a few key metrics as we head into 2019. “Extreme poverty is at the lowest level in recorded history…
Christine Lagarde, managing director for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), completed a recent visit to Angola with a warning that the OPEC nation – Africa’s second largest oil producer, behind Nigeria – needs to shift away from its oil reliance. “Angola has come a long way since the end of…