Electricity providers in Zimbabwe have been forced to stop generating hydropower at the Kariba South power station due to the ongoing low water levels affecting the Kariba Dam at Lake Kariba. The site supports power for both Zimbabwe and Zambia, with the Zambezi River Authority governing the use of resources…
The African nation of Chad has one of the world’s lowest rates for electricity access, but new investment in renewables is expected to reverse the situation, beginning with a solar plant expected to be fully operational in early 2023. Just 8% of Chad’s population had electricity in 2019, with access…
Officials in Mozambique are reporting a polio outbreak, the first in the country since 1992. The case was found in Tete province in the country’s northeast. It was found in a child who experienced paralysis that began in late March, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Tests taken from…
Zambia’s overall debt on loans made by Chinese entities is nearly double what was reported by the former administration under Edgar Lungu, according to a new report from the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) in the United States. The report puts the actual figure at US$6.6 billion in August 2021….
Zambia, Sudan and Cameroon are just a few of the nations that United States President Joe Biden mentioned during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, as world leaders gathered in person after last year’s virtual UNGA because of the COVID crisis. Speaking on the values of…
Samantha Power, head of the USAID agency in the United States, pressed for Zambia’s commitment to democratic values during a congratulatory call to president-elect Hakainde Hichilema. Power and Hichilema also focused on Zambia’s fight against corruption, and the role of civil society in delivering a peaceful and credible election that…
In Zambia, President Edgar Lungu said he has deployed military personnel to assist police in controlling political violence ahead of the country’s August 12 election. “Defense personnel have already been deployed in some parts of Lusaka and will be deployed in other parts of the country where need arises,” said…
With Zambia’s recent default on debt repayment and global concern over pandemic-related economic impacts, the G20 meeting in Riyadh wrapped up Sunday with a commitment through June for the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to allow developing nations to defer debt payments. “The coronovirus pandemic is not only the greatest…
With the COVID-19 pandemic and its many sorrows has come a new appreciation for essential workers, and now a Roman Catholic nun in Zambia has been named one of “seven unsung heroes” by wealthy philanthropist Bill Gates. Gates recently featured Sr. Astridah Banda in his popular “Gates Notes” newsletter and…
Another locust outbreak is threatening southern Africa, this time with the potential to affect some 7 million people in four more countries. Botswana has seen smallholder farmers lose entire crops, with the growing region of Pandamatenga and its key sorghum crops at risk as the country seeks to step up…
Africans celebrated the end of wild poliovirus on the continent on Tuesday, making good on an international promise that dates to 1996 and the Nelson Mandela era. “This is a momentous milestone for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti,…
In Zambia, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) announced Tuesday that three universities have been deregistered and are prevented from any further operations. They include Citizen University, Pamodzi University, and University of East and Southern Africa, according to an HEA statement. The decisions followed compliance audits at the institutions. In the…
Opponents of a bill to amend Zambia’s constitution were dealt another setback on Friday, as the country’s Constitutional Court ruled against a legal team hoping to interrupt a process many believe is meant to consolidate power for President Edgar Lungu and his ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party. The court ruled…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Young environmental activists in Zambia released a new video on Monday to call attention to the longstanding problem of lead poisoning in Kabwe, where more than a century of mining impacts led to environmental disaster and lasting health consequences disproportionately affecting children. “Several neighborhoods in our town, Kabwe, have some…
Some promising news in the fight against tuberculosis came Tuesday from India, where results from trials of a new TB vaccine, the first in nearly 100 years, were presented at the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health. The vaccine, developed by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and known as…