The African Development Bank (AfDB) is inviting private sector organizations in the Central Africa region to reach out with plans for viable projects, now that there’s an additional US$5 billion in funding through the AfDB Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) program. Priority projects focus on providing power and connectivity, as…
The best chance of solving the prolonged political crisis over Ethiopia’s Nile River dam project is through negotiations led by the African Union (AU), according to members of the United Nations Security Council who took up the dispute during a meeting Thursday in New York. The UN discussion comes as…
Senegal’s capital Dakar is facing yet another water shortage, though this time concerns have been exacerbated by the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and the greater need for personal hygiene. “How do you wash your hands during a coronavirus crisis when the heat is coming?” Papa Mbodj, the father of a 9-month-old…
Nearly 8,000 people face displacement because of a dam under construction in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, and the Amnesty International organization is calling on authorities to stop the work until the affected Mokhotlong district is properly compensated. “As the construction of the Polihali Dam begins with work on…
Egypt says it is shocked and holds “deep concern” over comments made by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that appear to threaten a military response over the nations’ impasse on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project. Abiy, speaking to the Ethiopian parliament earlier in the day, said Ethiopia could…
There’s good news for the water-weary residents of Cape Town, where 4 million people living under severe-level water restrictions since February will see them ease at the end of September. That’s because Cape Town’s dam system has recovered to a 71.5 percent capacity level, up from the dry and dire…
Would local agriculture benefit if treated human wastewater from cities like Abidjan, Lagos and Kinshasa was applied to nearby fields? Yes, in some cases, say the authors of a new study published in Nature Sustainability. The research team from the University of Illinois in the United States looked at 56…
Officials in Namibia say they’re cracking down on a pollution problem in the country’s Zambezi region, where it’s people who are washing their cars in the river who are causing environmental damage. The country’s Environmental Management Act establishes fines for pollution, but residents either don’t know or care when they…
When it comes to conflict over water resources, the stories are as different as the cultures and the context – and since the 1980s, scientists at the Pacific Institute have been tracking how and why water is at the center of those conflicts. The database of incidents, now updated for…
Veolia, the French multinational firm focused on energy and environmental services, released a message Tuesday urging the public to be careful of “fake news” as its dispute over operations in Gabon deepens. The company, which saw its Société d’Énergie et d’Eau (SEEG) facilities in Libreville seized on February 16, released…
Dangerously high levels of mercury and a related toxin are pervasive in rivers and soils near artisanal gold mines in Senegal, according to a new study from Duke University. “Nearly every sample we collected from in and around four mining villages contained mercury concentrations higher than regulatory standards set by…
In Morocco, independent filmmaker Nadir Bouhmouch is making a documentary on what is the country’s longest protest – now in its seventh year. The people of Imider and its seven villages set up camp on Mount Alebban in August 2011 in order to protect their water resources. Their homes are…
As Cape Town and its water-weary residents prepare for Day Zero – currently, the April 12 date when the taps run dry – attention has turned to the use of groundwater to help avert the looming water crisis. The World Wildlife Fund in South Africa wants Capetonians to understand how…
Tensions in the Horn of Africa are drawing attention to the border between Sudan and Eritrea, raising new concerns – and not a little complexity – about regional instability, and the diplomatic and security touchpoints that have implications extending across the Middle East. Sudan announced a border closure in Kassala…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
In Cape Town, the water crisis isn’t getting any better – and on New Year’s Day, the city of 4 million people will go to new Level 6 water restrictions. That means a 60 percent reduction in water use for agricultural operations, and a 45 percent reduction for urban businesses…