News That Matters To Africa©️
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others…whenever they go.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Kenya top court gives Ruto relief on finance bill
Senegal sets up commission to review oil and gas contracts
Malawi ex-president plots comeback in next election
Powerful Libya Central Bank Chief fired
UN says a record number of aid workers were killed in 2023
MPOX: Latest news and actions.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
Over 100 feared missing after boat sinks in western DR Congo
Key issues on Ethiopia’s road to debt restructuring
Businessman Jimmi Wanjigi challenges Ruto
Kenya’s top court suspends judgment nullifying 2023 finance law
Kenya to bring back some scrapped tax plans, risking more unrest
OpEd: Gen Z demands tangible governance changes
OpEd: Kenya government’s digital tyranny is working – for now
Kenya Police accused of helping accused serial killer escape from jail
Kenya Airways shows first profits in a decade
Al-Shabab ‘bans’ tree-cutting — but not to save the environment
UN warns that South Sudan faces ‘existential crisis’ ahead of uncertain polls
US Envoy: Absence of Sudan army delegation hobbles progress in peace talks
Floods block more than 50 food delivery trucks in Sudan
Tanzania police commander transferred over sex work comment
Motorcycles providing employment and traffic chaos in Kampala
West Africa
No foreign holidays for Gabon government officials
Ghana begins construction of $12 bln petroleum hub
OpEd: Ukraine is losing the plot in Africa
Nigeria’s State oil firm posts rise in annual net profit
Nigeria’s Titanic struggle: Waterline realities, upper deck illusions ?
Paris Paralympics: Team Nigeria tipped to lead Africa’s charge for medals
Senegal sets up commission to review oil and gas contracts
Linguistic shift away from French in Senegal
Southern Africa
Aljazeera: Exposing Africa’s biggest gold smugglers and money launderers
Malawi receives $11m for El Nino-linked drought disaster
Malawi ex-president plots comeback in next election
Should SA force big drug makers to let others make insulin pens too?
SAfr Minister to invite openly Racist fighter for du Plessis’ next fight
OpEd: Air pollution in South Africa: affordable new devices use AI to monitor hotspots in real time
North Africa
Antony Blinken in Egypt seeking progress on Gaza ceasefire deal
Egypt hikes electricity prices for households by up to 50%
Powerful Libya Central Bank Chief fired
Morocco pardons nearly 5,000 cannabis farming convicts
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
HAVE A LAUGH
EASTERN AFRICA
DR CONGO
Over 100 feared missing after boat sinks in western DR Congo
More than 100 people are feared missing after a boat sank Sunday in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local media reported Tuesday. According to local officials, the boat sank at around 7 pm, local time, on the Lukenie River, Mai-Ndombe Province, after hitting pieces of wood underwater, with approximately 300 people on board. Only a few dozen survived, and several bodies have been found, said local media reports, citing officials who claimed it “hard to clarify on the number of the casualties.” Nkoso Kevani Lebon, governor of Mai-Ndombe, said he was dismayed by the tragedy, promising an investigation into the incident to establish responsibilities. “We must have secure boats. This is part of our program, and in a few months, there will already be secure boats…In June, at least 86 people, including 21 children, were killed after a boat sank on the Kwa River, one of the tributaries of the Congo River, also in the province of Mai-Ndombe.
ETHIOPIA
Key issues on Ethiopia’s road to debt restructuring
Ethiopia is ramping up efforts to restructure its $1 billion international bond as part of a broader debt rework. Investors have balked at indications that the government is seeking a haircut, setting the stage for tense negotiations. Here are some key issues in the restructuring process: Why is Ethiopia restructuring its debt? What are the expected outcomes? How will that dispute be resolved? What are the reforms that are working and what are the next steps?
KENYA
Jimmi Wanjigi challenges Ruto
After being released on a personal bond of Sh10 million. In front of his crying mother, Jimi Wanjigi has warned President William Ruto. “WILLIAM RUTO I am coming for you”
Top court suspends judgment nullifying 2023 finance law
The top court on Tuesday suspended a lower court’s ruling that the 2023 finance law was unconstitutional, saying it was important to preserve stability in the budget until the merits of the government’s appeal are heard next month. The finance bills, presented to parliament at the start of every financial year, are the main vehicle for the government to set out its revenue-raising measures including tax hikes. The Court of Appeal’s judgment late last month that last year’s Finance Act was unconstitutional was a blow to the government of President William Ruto, who withdrew this year’s finance bill in June in the face of youth-led protests, the biggest challenge of his two-year presidency. Ruto has been caught between the competing demands of Kenya’s hard-pressed citizens and of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund. “We find that public interest tilts in favour of granting conservatory and stay orders to … maintain stability in the budget and appropriation process pending the determination of this appeal,” Kenya’s Supreme Court said in its ruling. The Supreme Court will hold hearings on Sept. 10 and 11 on whether the 2023 law is constitutional. The government, which has been relying on the 2023 finance law to continue collecting taxes after Ruto withdrew this year’s bill, did not immediately comment.
Kenya to bring back some scrapped tax plans, risking more unrest
Kenya’s government will have to bring back some tax measures that it scrapped after deadly protests in June, the finance minister said, raising the risk of further unrest. John Mbadi told Citizen TV in an interview broadcast on Sunday night that some of the measures would be tweaked and not all would be revived, but they were needed to pay for expenditure including wages for teachers. Some people who were involved in the youth-led protest movement that rocked the East African nation said they were ready to go back onto the streets after the minister’s announcement. “I was going to take a one month break from social media… but it seems that there is no rest for me,” Hanifa, who only uses one name, wrote on X. “The struggle continues. @WilliamsRuto I dare you to bring back the finance bill,” she added. President William Ruto abandoned the finance bill for this fiscal year on June 26, and later dismissed most of his cabinet, bowing to pressure from protesters who had stormed parliament and launched demonstrations across the country. Mbadi, who was brought into the cabinet from the opposition benches as Ruto tried to prop up his government, had ruled out further tax hikes during his first public remarks in the post on Aug. 4. The new moves would raise 150 billion shillings, Citizen TV reported. The minister rejected criticism of the levy by businesses operating in Kenya.
OpEd: Gen Z demands tangible governance changes (Gina Din)
OpEd: Kenya government’s digital tyranny is working – for now
Police accused of helping accused serial killer escape from jail
Eight police officers in Kenya have been suspended on suspicion of helping a suspected serial killer escape from custody, police have said. In July police said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha had confessed to the murders of 42 women, including his wife, since 2022. Mr Khalusha’s lawyer denied the claim, saying his client had been tortured to confess. He had been held at a police station since being arrested in July, but on Tuesday police said that Mr Khalusha and 12 others escaped after being “aided by insiders”. An incident report from the station says police discovered the detainees were missing at 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT) when officers were serving breakfast. The 13 individuals escaped by cutting through a wire mesh roof and scaling a perimeter wall, the report added. The 12 individuals who fled alongside Mr Khalusha were Eritrean nationals detained for entering the country illegally, police said. The murders Khalusha is accused of sparked shock and outrage. Many questioned how officers failed to detect that bodies were being left in a quarry around 100m (109 yards) from a police station. They also wondered how 42 people could be murdered in the space of two years without police noticing – and how, after not suspecting anything for so long, officers made an arrest in less than three days after the bodies were discovered in the quarry.
Kenya Airways makes first half-year profit in over a decade
Kenya Airways reported on Monday its first half-year profit in more than a decade, helped by rising passenger numbers, and said it was hopeful it could break even for the full year. The airline made a profit after tax of 513 million Kenyan shillings ($4 million) for January to June, overturning a 21.7 billion shilling loss in the first half of 2023. Chief Executive Allan Kilavuka told a briefing the company was seeking to finalise negotiations with a strategic equity investor, without giving details. One of Africa’s three biggest airlines, Kenya Airways slid into insolvency in 2018 after an expansion drive left it with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. The collapse in international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with a sharp weakening of the Kenyan shilling and higher interest rates made it more difficult to service that debt. The airline has been in the red since 2013. Kilavuka said the first-half results were a milestone and he was “reasonably confident” Kenya Airways would break even for 2024 as a whole. The airline’s revenue rose by 22% in the first half, he said, helped by a 10% rise in passenger numbers.
SOMALIA
Al-Shabab ‘bans’ tree-cutting — but not to save the environment
The al-Shabab militant group in Somalia has been limiting the extent of tree cutting in the areas under its control for several years. The militant group has also burned down trucks carrying charcoal and arrested workers involved in the business. But the reasons behind the measures have nothing to do with the health of the planet. Since 2022 alone, the U.S. military carried out 32 airstrikes against al-Shabab, killing dozens of militants including commanders. Deforestation was exposing the group’s fighting force. “Al-Shabab uses forest as a shelter,” said Badal Ahmad Hassan, senior environmental adviser to Somalia’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change…U.S. drone attacks have killed many al-Shabab leaders over the years, most notably the group’s co-founder and emir, Ahmed Godane, in 2014. Most recently, U.S. strikes killed Maalim Ayman, the commander alleged involved in the preparation of the Manda Bay Airfield attack, which killed a U.S. soldier and two U.S. Defense Department contractors.
SOUTH SUDAN
UN warns that South Sudan faces ‘existential crisis’ ahead of uncertain polls
South Sudan is preparing to stage its first election as an independent country. What should have been a unifying coming-of-age moment for the embryonic state is fast becoming a source of mounting anxiety. The vote was conceived as the finale to a peace agreement signed five years ago to pull the nation from a civil war that left at least 400,000 dead. All the signs, however, suggest the country’s preparation for such a complex, logistical undertaking are nowhere near sufficient. Senior UN officials warn that any election interpreted as unfair, corrupt or simply incompetent risks pushing one of the world’s poorest states back into nationwide conflict. Nicholas Haysom, the head of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), cuts an anxious figure in his frugal quarters in the capital, Juba. Haysom has 14,000 peacekeeping troops stationed across South Sudan in an attempt to prevent a slip into another calamitous civil war, but recently requested another battalion – an extra 1,000 soldiers. He says South Sudan – which acquired independence in 2011 – is facing an “existential” crisis. A chronic food crisis, the pressures of hosting 700,000 refugees from Sudan and a decline in aid for a country where three-quarters of people require humanitarian assistance are all testing the state’s viability. The rupture of a crucial oil pipeline in Sudan might be the final straw. Oil is the glue that holds South Sudan together, with its export accounting for nearly 90% of government revenue. The economy is in freefall.
Kiir fires Bakosoro and appoints Chol as Presidential Affairs Minister
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has sacked his presidential affairs minister, less than a year since his appointment. No explanation was given for the dismissal of Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro, which was announced in a decree on the state television on Monday night. The sacked minister is an ally of President Kiir, and previously served as the minister of public service in the transitional government. Mr Bakosoro, a prominent politician from Western Equatoria State, is currently a member of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). He rejoined the ruling SPLM Party on 15 July 2021 after abandoning his South Sudan Movement for Change (SSMC) Party, which is part of the transitional government of national unity. In a separate presidential decree, President Salva Kiir appointed Chol Mawut Ungwech Ajongo as the new presidential affairs minister. Mr Chol was serving as South Sudan’s Ambassador to Kenya.
SUDAN
US Envoy: Absence of Sudan army delegation hobbles progress in peace talks
Efforts to achieve humanitarian access to millions of desperately needy Sudanese are moving forward but cease-fire negotiations remain dormant because the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) still refuse to send a delegation to the U.S.-sponsored peace talks, a U.S. official says. U.S. special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello told journalists at a briefing Monday in Geneva that given the urgency of the Sudan crisis, delegations from the United Nations, African Union, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been working “through the night” on issues related to humanitarian assistance and civilian protection. Perriello said this work is paying off in that Sudan’s military has agreed to open the Adre border crossing with Chad to allow food and other relief supplies to enter conflict-rattled Darfur. Though only the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have turned up at the talks, Perriello said that active negotiations have been going on with both warring parties since the talks began August 14. “We have worked virtually through phones with the army to accelerate progress that save lives of the Sudanese,” he said, adding that “if the army delegation were here, I guarantee we would be producing more results for the Sudanese people on humanitarian access and on civilian protection than we can do by phone.”
Floods block more than 50 food delivery trucks in Sudan
Flooded and impassable roads have made it difficult for more than 50 trucks carrying an estimated 4,800 metric tons of food and nutrition assistance to across Sudan, World Food Programme (WFP) said. The food and nutrition assistance, it said, are enough for at least 500,000 people…WFP, in a statement, said the rainy season is exacerbating the already devastating situation in Sudan, as floods force more people from their homes, increase humanitarian needs, and cut off communities from vital assistance. Coupled to this, however, heavy rains have destroyed key bridges which has made it extremely difficult for aid convoys to pass through muddy, flooded roads…WFP said it urgently needs all border crossings into Sudan to open so that it is able to use every possible supply route to deliver urgently needed food and nutrition assistance to those in need. This, it further said in the statement, includes opening the border crossing from Adre (Chad) into West Darfur, which was announced last week, and a formal agreement between South Sudan and Sudan to transport aid from the south into Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile.
TANZANIA
Police commander transferred over sex work comment
A police commander in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, has been removed from her post following controversial comments in which she linked an alleged gang-rape victim to sex work. Earlier this month, a video appearing to show a young woman being assaulted went viral, prompting an outcry in the East African nation. Four men on Monday denied charges over the alleged attack. On Sunday, the police commander in the capital, Dodoma, was quoted in a Tanzanian newspaper as saying the “woman in question appeared to be engaged in sex work”. Following a backlash and accusations that the comment minimised the woman’s ordeal, Tanzania’s national police force apologised and said the commander had been transferred…In the video that appeared to show the woman being raped, the suspects reportedly interrogate her, forcing her to apologise to someone referred to as “afande”. In Tanzania “afande” is often used to refer to a soldier or police officer, so many activists and social media users expressed outrage that a sexual assault could have been carried out on the orders of a member of the security forces.
UGANDA
Motorcycles providing employment and traffic chaos in Kampala
About half of the estimated 700,000 boda-bodas operate in Kampala, mostly driven by men who say there are no other jobs for them. Their bikes are a vital tool to earn their living, be it transporting goods or passengers. Road safety regulations for motorcycles, first approved in 2004, are difficult to enforce. The boda-boda riders who operate mostly unregulated, have resisted recent attempts to dislodge them from Kampala’s central business district (CBD). Jobs are scarce and well-paying ones even harder to find in an economy where just one per cent of 22.8 million employees make $270 USD or more in monthly pay, according to central bank figures released earlier in 2024. In what has been seen as an attempt to weaken support for his opponents among unemployed people, president Yoweri Museveni gifted boda bodas to his supporters and pledged to cause a reduction in five-year licensing fees from nearly $100 USD to about $27 USD under new rules set to be announced later this year, according to the Transport Licensing Board. That decision would make it even easier for Ugandans to become boda boda owners. “Our problem is not the Boda Boda, the problem is regulation and regulations that applies to everyone equally where you have a certain category of people trying to ride above the law, they drive on the wrong side of the road they respect no traffic rules they run through traffic rules you are going to have a problem,” says Charles Mwanguhya, the corporate affairs manager of Tugende, a company that has been financing thousands of young men in their dream of buying motorcycles…
WEST AFRICA
GABON
No foreign holidays for government officials
Gabon’s interim president who seized power in a coup a year ago has barred members of his transitional government from holidaying abroad. There is speculation that Gen Nguema may be softening the ground to run for president in next year’s election – the first since he seized power in the Central African state. News of the holiday restrictions comes days before the first anniversary of the coup – when the junta’s record will inevitably be scrutinised. Gen Nguema may be hoping to draw favourable comparisons with the man he overthrew, cousin Ali Bongo, who was known to travel overseas regularly and whose family owned multiple properties in France and the UK. Yet Gen Nguema is himself said to own multiple properties in the US, and when asked about these in recent years he has said that his private life should be respected. Nonetheless it is thought the new holiday restrictions will apply to Gen Nguema too. But he will no doubt be entitled to go abroad for official purposes. Details of the new holiday rules were read out on state television, with viewers told that the goal was to “immerse” government officials “in the realities and expectations of their compatriots”.
GHANA
Ghana begins construction of $12 bln petroleum hub
President Nana Akufo-Addo has broken ground on the construction of a 300,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery that the government hopes will turn the West African country into the region’s petroleum hub, but critics say the project is flawed. Ghana, the world’s second biggest cocoa producer, became an oil producer in 2010. Output is currently around 132,000 bpd of crude oil and about 325 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas. Phase one of the project, estimated to cost $12 billion, will be funded and constructed by a consortium of Touchstone Capital Group Holdings, UIC Energy Ghana, China Wuhan Engineering Co., and China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co, he said on state-owned Ghana Television (GTV). The petroleum hub aims to supply enough refined and by-products to supply the region by 2036, according to an agreement signed in June 2018. Not everyone is convinced by the plan, however. Bright Simons, a vice president at Accra-based think tank, IMANI Africa, said the consortium behind the project “is not primed for investment (and) the project has no bankable business plan.” “Our position is that this is a speculative attempt to grab a landbank for cheap,” he said. Some residents of the hub’s proposed 20,000-acre site have protested the plans, demanding the project’s footprint be reduced to 5,000 acres. Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a senior partner of the law firm representing some affected farmer cooperatives, said his clients would not stand down. “The abrasive manner that the government is proceeding discounts valid concerns around the social and environmental impact of the project, the livelihoods at risk by the displacement of farmers and the unsettled questions of ownership and community land rights.”
MALI
OpEd: Russia-Ukraine war spills into west Africa: Mali attacks signal dangerous times ahead
NIGERIA
State oil firm posts 28% rise in annual net profit to $2.1 billion
Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC on Monday posted a 28% rise in annual net profit to 3.297 trillion naira ($2.14 billion) and declared a dividend. “Despite inherent challenges of our operational and economic environment, we have improved the productivity and the financial performance of this great company,” Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya said. The NNPC declared a dividend of 2.1 trillion naira and said it would announce its initial public offering plans once shareholders and the board give their approval. NNPC said it is targeting 2 million barrels per day crude oil production by the end of the year, following improvements in the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. Earlier this month, Nigeria’s Navy Chief Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla said the Nigeria’s oil output had risen to between 1.6 million and 1.7 million barrels per day after the government beefed up security to curb crude theft. NNPC has grown profitable since 2020 when it posted its first ever profit. It posted a loss in 2018 and 2019 following its transition to a commercial entity, in a move the government has said would deliver profits and accountability.
Nigeria’s Titanic struggle: Waterline realities, upper deck illusions?
Discover how Nigeria’s economic crisis provoked nationwide protests, with voices from every layer of society. A year after Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, the nation faces soaring inflation, a devalued currency, and tripled fuel prices, turning daily life into a battle for survival. Despite government claims that no lives have been lost, Amnesty International reports 22 deaths among protesters. As similar frustrations spread across Africa, analysts warn of a potential “African Spring”.
Paris Paralympics: Team Nigeria tipped to lead Africa’s charge for medals
According to Samson Deen, president of the African Paralympic Committee, Nigeria is among the top African countries that have consistently performed well in the Paralympics…Nigeria’s success in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, where the country earned 10 medals, four of which were gold, is a testament to the country’s potential in para-sports…The sports Nigeria will be featuring include Para Athletics, Para-Badminton, Para Powerlifting and Para Table Tennis…With 205 African para-athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, Mr Deen is optimistic that Africa will return with many medals.
OpEd: Onyeka Onwenu remembered: Nigerian pop star, activist and voice of national unity
SENEGAL
Govt. sets up commission to review oil and gas contracts
Senegal has set up a commission of legal, tax, and energy sector experts to review its oil and gas contracts and work to rebalance them in the national interest, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on national television on Monday. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who defeated the ruling coalition candidate in a landslide victory in March, ordered an audit of the oil, gas and mining sectors after coming into office, and vowed to renegotiate the terms of contracts with foreign operators in the country if needed. Authorities have not shared details on the audit or updates on any renegotiation plans. Sonko said they were committed to their promise to the Senegalese people “to come back to these various agreements to re-examine them and work to rebalance them, obviously in the national interest.” He said the commission will have sufficient resources to look into the contracts and hire experts from abroad if necessary. He did not say how long the review would take. The move comes soon after Senegal became an oil producer for the first time. Australia’s Woodside Energy announced in June that its Sangomar oil and gas field had produced its first oil. Gas production is also due to begin by the end of the year at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, operated by BP.
Linguistic shift away from French is underway
A linguistic shift is underway in Senegal. Wolof is spoken by 80% of the population and has progressively overtaken French, the country’s official language, as the dominant language of communication. Private Wolof classes have flourished as the publishing sector races to meet growing demand for books and other content written in local languages for local readers
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Gold Mafia: episode 1 – The Skeleton Key
Aljazeera goes undercover to expose some of Africa’s biggest gold smugglers and money launderers. They take you inside a scheme to wash millions of dollars by trading gold from Southern Africa to the Middle East and back again. Find out why gold is the key that unlocks it all.
The remaining 6 episodes can be found on the same site:
Note: The video episodes have already aired on AlJazeera
MALAWI
Malawi receives $11m for El Nino-linked drought disaster
The Malawian government has received an insurance payout of $11.2 million for a crippling El Nino-linked drought that led the southern African nation to declare a state of disaster earlier this year. The payout was given to Malawi this month, the African Development Bank said Monday. Malawi had a drought insurance policy through the bank and the African Risk Capacity Group, an agency of the African Union. The funds will support food assistance to around 235,000 households in some of Malawi’s hardest-hit regions and also help with direct relief payments to more than 100,000 households, the African Development Bank said. Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said the payout was “a lifeline for our vulnerable populations.” Malawi, which is already one of the world’s poorest countries, has had its food supply ruined by the drought, which has been attributed to the El Nino natural weather phenomenon that lasted a year before ending in June.
Malawi ex-president plots comeback in next election
Malawi’s former president, Peter Mutharika, has been chosen to lead the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) into next year’s presidential election. It marks a comeback for the 84-year-old, who governed Malawi for six years and later suggested he would not run for office again. He surprised many with a change of heart, saying recently that his supporters want him to save the country from being ruined by President Lazarus Chakwera. Mr Mutharika lost to Mr Chakwera in 2020, in a re-run that was ordered by the country’s Constitutional Court after it annulled the previous year’s election. Judges had ruled that there was widespread tampering in the 2019 vote, including the use of Tipp-Ex correction fluid on ballot papers, and that Mr Mutharika’s declared victory in that poll was void. Malawi’s judiciary were praised for their bravery in refusing to accept a second-rate election, and the political fallout in the former president’s party has been ugly. Following a period of internal squabbling, the DPP has expelled several members including those who wanted to challenge Mr Mutharika for the party presidency, paving the way for him to be re-elected party leader unopposed.
SOUTH AFRICA
Should SA force big drug makers to let others make insulin pens too?
Last year Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced a deal with local drug manufacturer Aspen to produce human insulin in vials on their behalf for Africa.
But, says human rights lawyer and founder of the Health Justice Initiative Fatima Hassan, “they’re trying to frame this licence as progressive, but Novo Nordisk’s restrictions are taking us to the dark ages”. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas and controls blood sugar levels by helping cells absorb glucose for energy. If someone’s pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin they have a condition called diabetes and may have to inject themselves with a lab-made hormone called human insulin to mimic the body’s natural sugar control system. Novo Nordisk says it aims to make enough insulin for just over one million people in Africa (about 16 million vials) by 2026 at roughly R45 ($3) a pop. About 24 million people in Africa have diabetes, set to at least double in the next 20 years — but only about 1% of what the world pays towards diabetes care is spent in Africa. The snag, though, is that the medicine will be made available in vials — not injection pens. These pens, which are plastic tubes prefilled with insulin, have a disposable needle on one end and a dial on the other end. Turning the dial makes a clicking sound as it passes numbers in the dosing window, which helps a user set the exact amount of medicine for injection. This makes it especially convenient for users who may have arthritis in their hands or people who can’t see well. But, since May, these pens have been running low in South African public hospitals and clinics after Novo Nordisk decided to stop supplying the health department because of “capacity limitations”. This means many of the people with diabetes have no choice but to switch to syringes and vials, which take many steps to prepare for injection, because public hospitals ration the remaining pen supply to people who can’t safely make the switch from pens to vials. Putting patients in this position is “unconscionable, unconstitutional and a clear abuse of intellectual property rights”, says Hassan.
Sports Minister plans to invite openly racist Ryan Garcia to SA for Dricus du Plessis’ next fight
Sports Minister, Gaston McKenzie has expressed his intention to open the racist boxer Ryan Garcia to South Africa as a special guest for Dricus Du Plessis’ next title fight. Before Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya fought in Perth, UFC boss Dana White promised to bring a UFC fight card in Mzansi if the South African managed to defend his middleweight title. Before the highly anticipated fight on Sunday, Garcia had publicly supported Du Plessis to defeat Adesanya in a series of posts on X, and placed a $500,000 bet on the South African. Following Du Plessis’s victory, McKenzie took X and said he would invite Garcia to South Africa for Du Plessis’s next title. Last month Garcia was expelled by the World Boxing Council (WBC) for using racial slurs against black people and muslims on social media, with the organisation’s president Mauricio Sulaiman saying there was no room for discrimination in the sport. Before that, the 26-year-old was also suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission for a year after he tested positive for banned substances during his last fight against Devin Haney.
OpEd: Air pollution in South Africa: affordable new devices use AI to monitor hotspots in real time
NORTH AFRICA
EGYPT
Antony Blinken in Egypt seeking progress on Gaza ceasefire deal
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken was in Cairo on Tuesday where he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and top diplomats meditating talks between Israel and Hamas. The discussions are part of the latest effort to broker a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Palestinian group, Hamas . Blinken’s ninth trip to the region since the start of the conflict comes amid fears it could widen into a deeper regional war. After meeting yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said Israel has accepted a US “bridging proposal” aimed at narrowing differences between the two sides. He urged Hamas to do the same, as a basis for further talks. The militant group has not explicitly rejected the proposal, but said in a statement that it overturns what was previously agreed on. However, experts believe a ceasefire in Gaza is more likely now because of pressure imposed on various parties, including the threat of Iran and its allies attacking Israel. Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an associate fellow at the prestigious British think tank Chatham House, said US President Joe Biden was also under pressure to make the latest round of negotiations work. She believes Washington has “lost patience with its ally’s behaviour”. “I think Blinken is willing to expose Netanyahu if he is not going to agree, if he’s going to mount conditions, new conditions, if he’s not going to stick to the Biden ceasefire proposal and the Security Council resolution proposal,” she said. “And if he insists on new conditions, which he knows, Hamas is not going to be able to, accept, I think that’s what we should be watching for.”
Egypt hikes electricity prices for households by up to 50%, sources say
Egypt is increasing electricity prices for households by up to 50%, two government sources said on Monday, as the country gradually phases out subsidies as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. A source at the electricity ministry told Reuters the new increase in electricity prices was applied on Saturday for the prepaid meter system, and would be applied for regular meters on Oct. 1. The raises range from 14.45% to 50%, the source added. The latest hike was due to take effect earlier in the summer but was delayed as the country grappled with power shortages, with high cooling demand driving up consumption. Egypt resorted to load-shedding to keep the grid functioning, saying it needed to import around $1.18 billion worth of natural gas and mazut fuel oil to end the long-running cuts. The country generates most of its electricity from burning natural gas. The petroleum ministry said last month that Egypt had received five cargoes containing 155,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas out of 21 cargoes that it had contracted for, with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly later announcing the end of power cuts for the remainder of the summer. Egypt has committed to slashing energy subsidies as part of an agreement to expand its loan programme with the IMF to $8 billion in March, but had repeatedly postponed electricity price increases in recent years as the country struggled with economic pressures.
LIBYA
Powerful Central Bank Chief fired
The presidential council in the capital of Tripoli, which is allied with the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah that controls western Libya, removed Gov. Sadiq al-Kabir, according to a decree issued late Sunday. In his place, the council appointed Mohamed Abdul Salam al-Shukri, an economist and former deputy governor, as the new governor for the Central Bank of Libya. Al-Kabir had led the central bank since October 2011 — the year that Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
MOROCCO
King pardons nearly 5,000 cannabis farming convicts
Morocco’s king has pardoned nearly 5,000 people convicted or wanted on charges linked to illegal cannabis cultivation, the justice ministry said in a statement on Monday. Morocco is a major cannabis producer and has allowed the cultivation, export and use of the drug for medicine or in industry since 2021, but it does not allow it to be used for recreational purposes. The pardon by King Mohammed VI would encourage farmers “to engage in the legal process of cannabis cultivation to improve their revenue and living conditions,” said Mohammed El Guerrouj, head of Moroccan cannabis regulator ANRAC. Morocco’s first legal cannabis harvest was 294 metric tons in 2023, according to official figures. Legal exports since 2023 so far stood at 225 kilograms, Guerrouj said. This year it is expected to be higher as the number of farming permits increases and ANRAC allows the cultivation of the local strain known as Beldia. Nearly a million people live in areas of northern Morocco where cannabis is the main economic activity. It has been publicly grown and smoked there for generations, mixed with tobacco in traditional long-stemmed pipes with clay bowls. The 2021 legalisation was intended to improve farmers’ incomes and protect them from drug traffickers who dominate the cannabis trade and export it illegally. Morocco is also seeking to tap into a growing global market for legal cannabis, and awarded 54 export permits last year.
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
UN says a record number of aid workers were killed in 2023
A record number of aid workers were killed in conflicts around the world last year, more than half of them after the Israel-Hamas war started on 7 October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday. “Last year, 280 aid workers lost their lives in 33 countries making it the deadliest year on record for the entire global humanitarian community,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, head and representative of OCHA in Geneva. He added that shockingly, this was more than double the previous year’s figure of 118 and twice as many deaths as the yearly average over the last 20 years. OCHA said 2024 “may be on track for an even deadlier outcome” with 172 aid workers killed as of 7 August, according to a provisional data. More than 280 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, mainly in airstrikes. The war there is now in its 11th month. The organisation said that “extreme levels of violence in Sudan and South Sudan ” have also contributed to the death toll both this year and last. The UN’s acting humanitarian chief, Joyce Msuya, said “the normalisation of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable” and enormously harmful to aid operations everywhere. In a letter to UN member nations, 413 humanitarian organisations said that “brutal hostilities” seen in multiple conflicts have exposed the terrible truth that “we are living in an era of impunity”.
Analysis: ’A revolution is building’: can young people force change across Africa?
Africa has the youngest population of any continent, and recent protests in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda suggest growing youth disillusionment. Will they be able to turn discontent into action?
OpEd: Ukraine is losing the plot in Africa* Ukraine should be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the Cold War.
OpEd: Africa on the UN security council: why the continent should have two permanent seats
OpEd: Attacks on health facilities and staff must not become the norm
On World Humanitarian Day, we must take a stance against the intensifying attacks on healthcare in conflict zones.
OpEd: Genetically modified mosquitoes and malaria in Africa: top scientist shares latest advances
MPOX: Latest news and actions
Mpox is not the new COVID, says WHO official
A World Health Organization official stressed on Tuesday that mpox, regardless of whether it is the new or old strain, is not the new COVID, as authorities know how to control its spread. “We can and must tackle mpox together,” said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in a media briefing. “So will we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate mpox globally? Or we will enter another cycle of panic and neglect? How we respond now and in the years to come will prove a critical test for Europe and the world,” he added. Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill. The clade 1b variety of mpox has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact. A case of the variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa. Kluge said that the focus on the new clade 1 strain gives Europe a chance to refocus on the less severe clade 2 variety, including better public health advice and surveillance.
Mpox kills over 570 in DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has so far recorded 16,700 confirmed or suspected cases of Mpox, including more than 570 deaths, Health Minister Roger Kamba said on Monday.
In December 2022, the DRC declared a national outbreak of Mpox, prompting the establishment of an incident management system in February 2023 based on the increasing number of reported cases. The disease, affecting 17 African countries and several others outside the continent, is impacting younger populations, particularly children under 15, said Kamba, describing this as a “novelty” in the context of the outbreak. According to the African Union’s health agency, the number of new Mpox cases reported in 2024 represents a 160 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. According to the WHO, the current outbreak, spreading from the DRC, has been exacerbated by the emergence of a more lethal new variant of the virus, Clade 1b, which has a mortality rate estimated at 3.6 percent, significantly higher than previous strains.
Congo hopes to receive first mpox vaccines by next week
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hopes to receive its first doses of an mpox vaccine by next week, following promises from the United States and Japan to help it fight its outbreak, the Congolese health minister said on Monday. The World Health Organization last week declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years as a new variant of the disease, known as clade Ib, spread rapidly in Africa. In a news conference on Monday, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba said that Japan and the United States had pledged vaccines to Congo. “We’ve just finished discussions with USAID and the U.S. government… I hope that by next week we’ll be able to see the vaccines arrive,” he told reporters. Their arrival would help to address a huge inequity that left African countries with no access to the two shots used in a 2022 global mpox outbreak, while the vaccines were widely available in Europe and the United States. Earlier on Monday, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said in an emailed statement that it was preparing to provide Congo with supplies of mpox vaccines and needles in cooperation with the World Health Organization and other partners. Japan-based KM Biologics is one of the manufacturers of an mpox vaccine. Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic makes another vaccine, called Jynneos, for the disease. Japan holds a stockpile of the KM Biologics vaccine. Outside clinical trials, neither of the shots have been available in Congo or across Africa, where the disease has been endemic for decades.
Emergent to donate 50,000 vaccine doses to address mpox outbreak in Africa
Emergent BioSolutions said on Monday it would donate 50,000 doses of its smallpox vaccine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other impacted countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda to address the current mpox outbreak. The World Health Organization last week declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years as a new variant of the virus, known as clade Ib, spread rapidly in Africa. At least one person in Sweden has been confirmed with the infection, marking the first time the new variant has been seen outside of Africa. Emergent’s ACAM2000 vaccine, approved for smallpox, has been used as an mpox shot but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is yet to approve its application for use against the virus. ACAM2000 is known to cause myocarditis/pericarditis – swelling in or around the heart muscle – in 1 in 175 new ACAM2000 vaccine recipients, according to the FDA. Instead of an injection, the shot is given via a series of small pokes on the skin using a two-pronged needle. The injection site forms a scab, which takes 2-4 weeks to heal. Until the scab falls off, it could spread live virus to other parts of the body or people. ACAM2000 is not recommended for people with compromised immune systems, such as HIV.
After COVID and Ebola, doctors take on mpox amid conflict in eastern DRC
The mpox outbreak puts pressure on the eastern region already struggling with a lack of medicines and an ongoing armed rebellion.
Editorial: The Guardian view on Africa’s mpox outbreak: Covid lessons need to be learned
HAVE A LAUGH
President Idi Amin once tabled to his Cabinet his wish to change the name of Uganda to “Idi”.
Few in the room dared to challenge any of his decisions.
This time, one diminutive Maliyamungu, dug deep within himself to mildly, and in a reverential voice, suggest that ‘His Excellency’ may need to reflect on that decision…
“Why?” thundered back, Amin.
Maliyamungu, responding in almost a whisper, said “Your Excellency Sir, have you heard of a country called ‘Cyprus’?”
With a surprised look, Amin, who was now hovering over Maliyamungu, asked, “What has Cyprus got to do with my decision to change Uganda’s name to ‘Idi’?”
Barely able to stop himself from sliding onto the floor from his seat, and feeling Amin’s eyes burning into him, Maliyamungu croaked, “Well, Excellency, the people of Cyprus are called *Cypriots.*
He went on…”If you change Uganda to ‘Idi’, all of us, including you, Excellency, will be called *’Idiots’!*
To Maliyamungu’s surprise, Amin pulled back, stood up, walked over to him, clasped him to his large frame and said, “Aaah…! Maliyamungu! You are very intelligent! In fact, more intelligent than everyone in Uganda except me!
Let’s leave it!”
Moral of the story:
Maliyamungu took a risk and possibly could have paid it with his life; and we…would have had ‘Idiots’ as fellow Africans.
(I am told the above may have happened…or maybe not)
The Africa Edition ©️ 
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