Photo : L – R: Deji Alli, Ute Redecker, Philippe Valahu and Jens Zimmerman
Speakers and panellists at the 5th Edition of Africa Business Day (ABD) held recently in Zug, Switzerland discussed the issues of infrastructure deficit in Africa and agreed that Africa should prioritise its power sector to boost the continent’s economy.
Overcoming the infrastructure gap is a big challenge in Africa but is one that can bring huge opportunities, [for the continent and Swiss investors] asserted Mr. Jürg Sprecher, Head of Section Bilateral Economic Relations Middle East and Africa, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in his address at the 5th Edition of Africa Business Day (ABD) a business platform between Africa and Switzerland organised by the Swiss-African Business Circle (SABC).
Under the banner of “International Geneva”, some consider Geneva as a city rich in cultural diversity. While it welcomes a varied cultural life, it is a commonly accepted reality that this diversity must be created and brought to life by those who wish to experience it fully.
William Kentridge during Conversations talk
Art, art and more art!! For art collectors and art lovers, there are a lot of major art events taking place in Europe this year. From the eponymous Venice Biennale to the FIAC in Paris, Frieze in London, to Art Basel in Switzerland, there is a lot to see and buy. It will of course require quite a bit of travelling and an investment in sturdy shoes but it is all worth it.
The South Africans celebrated the 25th anniversary of Freedom Day that ended Apartheid rule in 1994 after decades of obnoxious era.
A PAUWES Class of 2017 graduate smiles at her graduation ceremony on 29 October 2017 (Photo PAUWES)
ALGERIA -- The Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy Sciences including Climate Change (PAUWES) in Tlemcen, Algeria provides higher education and applied research in the fields of water, energy and climate change – an important contribution to sustainable development in Africa.
Verena Utzinger, President, Swiss-African Business Circle, (Photo SABC)
It is no gainsaying that the growth of Africa’s economy has been hampered by poor and inadequate infrastructure. This is notable in poor and unreliable energy, transportation and communication systems, and health among others.
The finalists for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s 2019 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation have been announced. They were chosen for the innovative ways engineering was used to solve every day problems, and come from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda.
As announced earlier by Business in Cameroon, President Paul Biya issued a presidential order May 29, amending and supplementing certain provisions of the 2019 Finance Act.
Dr Bahle Zondo & Leon Rohrs shaking hands and Nuradin Osman standing next to them in a Burgundy silk jacket(Source: AGCO Corporation
SOUTH AFRICA -- Six months ago, founder and chairman of the Bahle Zondo Foundation, philanthropist and entrepreneur Dr. Bahle Zondo walked into the AGCO Africa (www.AGCOcorp.com) office announcing that he would like to set up a successful agribusiness in his community of Msinga. He was quick to add, that he knew nothing about farming.
Cyril Ramaphosa Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
National Treasury has welcomed and noted the key risks identified and proposed policy recommendations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during a recent visit to the country last month.
Government has called on young people to enter an international contest on social anti-corruption advertising by designing a poster or developing a video to raise awareness on corruption.
Group photo of the participants
COMOROS -- The AU Technical Customs Working Group on Pre-Shipment Inspections deliberated on the termination of contracts with inspection companies at a meeting held in Comoros Island on 31 May 2019.
President Lourenco (Photo: African Energy Chamber)
SOUTH AFRICA -- President João Lourenço reform is yielding dividends, evident in the growth in Angolan oil and gas sector and the opportunities awaiting businesses in all sectors for those who are keen to increase their exports into new markets.
On 18 January, the President of the International Criminal Court, Chile Eboe-Osuji, opened the 2019 judicial session, already marked five months later by four major controversies.
For years the Office of the Prosecutor was seen as the problematic organ harming the reputation of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Now the ICC judges have triggered multiple controversies on their morality, integrity or independence. The latest incident involved a French judge.
After its highly successful 5th edition of Seedstars Forum last month, and the launch of $100 million breathtaking pan-African venture fund in partnership with First Growth Ventures on April 17, Seedstars was selected at WorldBlu 13th annual award event that took place in Geneva on May 14, 2019 to receive Worldblu Freedom-Centered Cultures’s certificate.
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Vanessa Moungar (Photo AfDB)
NIGERIA -- MTN Nigeria has paid the whole $1.6 billion fine it received in 2015 for not deactivating 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards. The operator has indeed paid the NGN55 billion, which is the sixth and last tranche of these payments started in 2016.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) will introduce new banknotes, Patrick Njoroge (photo), the governor, announced last weekend.
Fayez al-Sarraj
LIBYA -- The national unity government (GNA) has threatened to suspend the activities of 40 European firms among them Total and Siemens operating in the country.
Government’s political will is to ensure the tough enforcement of the implementation of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila wanted his successor, Felix Tshisekedi, to appoint Albert Yuma, a Kabila ally and chairman of state mining company Gecamines, as prime minister, but Tshisekedi refused, sources familiar with the matter said.
President George Manneh Weah. (Photo: Executive Mansion)
LIBERIA - The President, His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah, has signed into law two major legal instruments, the Kamara Abdullah Kamara (KAK) Act of Press Freedom and the Act to name certain Roads and Bridges within the Republic of Liberia.
The eCommerce Africa Conference and Exhibition, delivered by DHL, is hosted by South African conferencing company, Kinetic
SOUTH AFRICA – DHL Express (www.DHL.com) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has announced that the company has once again signed on as lead sponsor for the 2019 DHL eCommerce Africa Conference and Exhibition, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Center on the 19thand 20thof March 2019.
The Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Manuel Sager presented Water Management at the agency's annual press conference held recently as the agency's priority for 2019 and its main focus on international cooperation for 2021–2024.
[The Herald] Victoria Falls -The medical regulatory authorities have been urged to address the challenges of affordable healthcare to the general public and ensure access to medication to realise Vision 2030, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo has said.
[The Herald] Treasury should provide funding for family planning in next year's budget as part of wider efforts to promote women's health and reduce the maternal mortality rate.
[SNA] Khartoum -The first campaign on eradication of the measles, polio and vitamin(A) deficiency was launched Monday at Gen. Ahmed Mohamed School for Girls in Jebel Aulia Locality.
[Cameroon Tribune] The three-day training workshop took place last week in Yaounde.
[Nation] Four out of every 10 females attending pre-natal clinics in Meru County are girls below 19 years, a new report has revealed, leaving health and education officials in the region worried.
[CAJ News] Abuja -The World Health Organization (WHO) is intensifying its operations in Nigeria ahead of the rainy season to combat the recurrence of cholera outbreaks that claimed 830 people last year.
[263Chat] Award-winning contemporary musician, Jah Prayzah real name Mukudzeyi Mukombe has come out in defense of his latest single, Sadza Ne Muriwo which is receiving backlash from a section of social media users over its perceived sexual connotations.
[Leadership] Lagos -Dubai-based Nigerian musician cum producer, Badmus Akeem O popularly known as Baddyoosha along with Small Doctor and Qdot have upped the ante and stirred up a new kind of street attitude with release of a new single "911" which became instant success as soon as it hit major music platforms like iTunes, Boomplay, Appstore and Google Play on Friday July 19, 2019.
[The Herald] Gospel musician Mathias Mhere will honour his fans with a musical show slated for Harare Gardens in September.
[News24Wire] Cape Town -This week, the country and fans around the world mourned the death of Johnny Clegg, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer on the 16 July 2019.
[Ghanaian Times] Social media has gone haywire with assertions that the General Overseer of Prophetic Hill Chapel (PHC), Prophet Nigel Gaisie has sold his church one year after his prophecy about the death of musician Ebony Reigns, came true.
[Ghanaian Times] Sensational gospel artiste Ivy-Q, has launched 'Baba God' a new gospel album, which is set to take the country and the continent by storm.
[New Republic] What is Fit?
[The Herald] In the last three decades, there has been keen interest in how education is financed, particularly in Africa.
[Nation] The Kenya National Union of Teachers wants dismissal of a request seeking to suspend a decision that granted tutors reprieve on promotions and career progression.
[Ghanaian Times] The Seventh-Day Adventist College of Education (SDACOE) formerly SDA Training College located at Asokore, near Koforidua in the Eastern Regional capital, has undergone rapid transformation.
[News24Wire] UCT's vice-chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, has dedicated her honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Bristol to the people who contributed in one way or another to her life and career.
[Govt of Liberia] Monrovia, Liberia:His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah has called on Liberians, specifically parents, to make education a top priority for their children upon whom the nation depends for its future development.
[Nation] Bostwana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi is expected in Kenya for a three-day State visit on matters related to agriculture, trade and investment, tourism, defence and security, health, mining and education.
[Nation] The Tourism and Wildlife Principal Secretary Susan Koech has had a short career in the public service, whose only stain is the dam scandal.
[State Department] The United States is a steadfast supporter of Nigerian democracy. We commend all those Nigerians who participated peacefully in the February and March 2019 elections and have worked to strengthen Nigerian democratic institutions and processes.
[The Herald] One of the leading retail and hotel groups in Zimbabwe, Meikles Limited, posted financial positives across segments for the year ended March 31, 2019.
[The Herald] Meikles Limited said on Friday it requires at least US$30 million to modernise its prime Harare hotel, which the group is in the process of selling to a Dubai based company.
[Daily News] THE government is committed to ensure that the aviation sector is uninterrupted by spread of communicable diseases in order to ensure travelers and visitors coming into the country remain safe all the time.
Agnes Heller, a dissident under Hungary's communist regime, was a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his nationalist politics. The Holocaust survivor lost most of her family in concentration camps.
International pop music is hugely popular in the Gulf monarchy. But should international stars shun the country because of its poor record on human rights?
Amy Winehouse was an exceptional talent whose wild and too brief career was cut short eight years ago today. On July 23, 2011, the soul singer died of alcohol poisoning and became yet another member of the "27 Club."
The 99th Salzburg Festival began with a repeat of the 2017 staging of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's mystery play "Jedermann." In it, Russian actress Valery Cheplanova is decked out as a vamp in a pants suit.
South Africa's leading contemporary art museum is about to show one of the country's most beloved artists, William Kentridge. Should race still matter when it comes to art? DW's Sertan Sanderson reports from Cape Town.
Brian Eno writes soundtracks for movies that transport people to other galaxies. He shares his memories of the first moon landing in 1969 with DW, as his 1983 "Apollo" album is rereleased.
[Observer] Captan addresses the participants on the importance of women access to electricity, training and jobs.
[Reporter] Tiemert Shimelis is one of the founders of an Ethiopian movement - #MeTooEthiopia - geared towards fighting gender-based violence among Ethiopians. This new effort is an offspring of @ShadesOfInjera, an Instagram account that has hosted important discussions on vital social issues for the last seven years. Tiemert recently held discussions with The Reporter's Samuel Getachew on the movement, its importance, on some of the important yet symbolic gestures in the nation and on what the future holds when it co
[Nairobi News] Married people cannot use photographs as evidence of their union, the High Court in Embu has ruled in a dispute pitting a woman against her stepdaughter.
[Dalsan Radio] United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Mrs. Pramila Patten, conducted a five-day visit to Somalia from 14 to 18 July 2019 at the invitation of the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia. The purpose of her visit was to take stock of ongoing efforts; gain first-hand knowledge of persistent challenges and engage with national authorities on how best to support their efforts in addressing conflict-related sexual violence and ensure effective imple
[Observer] A cross-section of participants, mainly females at the gender equity workshop held at Salala Rubber Corporation
[News24Wire] Pupils at De Kuilen High School in Cape Town have been offered counselling after there were complaints that a pastor, Pickard Henn, made offensive remarks when he addressed them, including an alleged comment that gay people would go to hell.
[Ghana Presidency] Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has explained to a group of Canadian investors why Ghana is the best investment destination in Africa for both local and foreign investors.
[NBA Communications] Johannesburg -The NBA today announced the 10 boys and 10 girls who will represent the African continent in the second Jr. NBA Global Championship, a youth basketball tournament for the top 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world that will be held Aug. 6-11 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.
[Oxfam] Responding to research published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists today that multinational corporations are using the tax haven of Mauritius to avoid paying millions of dollars of tax across Africa, Peter Kamalingin, Oxfam's Pan Africa Director, said:
[African Arguments] The August 2011 Boko Haram bombing outside the UN building in Nigeria's capital Abuja killed at least 21 people. Credit: Gbemiga Olamikan.
[Premium Times] Malaria parasites resistant to key drugs, which were identified in parts of Asia, now has "terrifying prospect" of spreading to Africa, new findings suggest.
[The Conversation Africa] When I first said that I was going to write a book about the history of democracy in Africa, quite a few people responded with a joke. That will be one of the world's shortest books, up there with the compendium of great English cooking, they would say.
[New Zimbabwe] As government intensifies its re-engagement process with the West, plans are afoot to have President Mnangagwa meet with the US President Donald Trump.
[East African] Newly appointed Minister of State in the Vice President's Office (Union and Environmental Affairs) George Simbachawene was sworn in on Monday a day after Tanzanian President John Magufuli fired his predecessor Mr January Makamba.
[HRW] Tunis -Mauritanian authorities detained for a week without charge at least three pro-opposition public figures apparently as part of efforts to smother dissent over the outcome of a June 22 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities also shut down the Internet and arrested dozens of opposition activists.
[News24Wire] The Constitutional Court's decision to uphold a cost order against Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Monday only adds to the embattled Public Protector's woes.
[New Zimbabwe] Vincent Tsvangirai, son to late MDC leader and ex-State Prime Minister Morgan, is poised to replace his late sister Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java in Harare's Glen View South constituency after clinching top spot in the party's primary election in the race for party representative for an upcoming by-election.
[allAfrica] Cape Town -Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has filed an urgent application to challenge the implementation of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's remedial actions against him, taking his fight against the embattled ombudswoman to the North Gauteng High Court, Fin24 reports.
[allAfrica] Cape Town -Naspers Group CEO Bob van Dijk received almost R1.9-billion in salary, incentives, and vested share options and shares appreciation rights in the year to March 2019, reports TechCentral, citing a regulatory filing by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed giant company.
[The Herald] The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe has acceded to workers' demands for salary adjustments and agreed to settle for a 35 percent salary hike to cushion them from inflation.
[The Herald] Bulawayo -The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) has implored Government to speed up the amendment of the Mines and Minerals Bill, which is set to address sticking issues in the mining sector.
[The Herald] Information Communication Technologies (ICT) can revolutionise the Zimbabwean farming sector and benefit farmers, including small landholders.
[The Herald] The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)s' continuous calls for protests in the country have been exposed as a way of trying to position the body for the UNI Global Union's Breaking Through Award, which comes with a US$200 000 prize money.
[CAJ News] Chiredzi -Some sugarcane farmers in southeastern Zimbabwe are shifting to solar energy to fend off serious shortages of electricity in the country.
[The Herald] The outrageous decision to overlook CAPS United's in-form midfielder Joel Ngodzo from a 32-member Warriors squad for the first 2020 CHAN qualifier in Mauritius has torched a huge uproar in domestic football.
[News24Wire] Cape Town -South African swimming star Chad le Clos took to the water for the first time at the 2019 FINA World Championships in the heats for the men's 200m butterfly on Tuesday.
[News24Wire] Cape Town -Australia's Nic Berry will referee Saturday's Rugby Championship encounter between the All Blacks and Springboks in Wellington.
[News24Wire] Durban -Imraan Khan has been appointed as the head coach of the Dolphins for the 2019/20 season starting with their CSA 4-Day Franchise Series clash with the Titans on October 7 in Pretoria.
[Nation] Nicholas Musonye has announced he will soon stand down as the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) secretary general after two decades at the helm.
[The Herald] Marvelous Nakamba's self imposed exile at Club Brugge continues with the midfielder looking to force through a transfer to English Premiership side Aston Villa.
[Observer] Senior Staff, Director Swallie, Midwife Ruth Swallie posed at Front view of Lifeline Network Liberia Health and Medical Services at Kpan Town Outside Monrovia
[Shabait] Keren -A workshop on the question of youth in the Anseba region has been conducted on 17 July at the Hamelmalo College of Agriculture under the theme "Integrated effort on Youth: Perfect Choice for Effective Outcome".
[Ghanaian Times] There is some anxiety among ordinary Ghanaians as to the measures the government is expected to introduce in the mid-year budget review to continue the path of stabilisation of the economy and place it on the path of strong, diversified and resilient growth.
[Ghanaian Times] Ghana has presented its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at this year's High Level Political Forum (HLPF) at the United Nations (UN) headquarters at New York.
[Cameroon Tribune] It was presented to the Minister of Finance in Yaounde on July 17, 2019.
[Ghanaian Times] Introduction
[Namibian] With the country still facing tough times, it is imperative that entrepreneurs come up with innovative and creative ways to survive.
[Vanguard] Enugu -The University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, has proposed producing solar-powered cars as an improvement to its 5-seater electric bus it unveil at Nsukka Campus on Monday.
[Times of Zambia] Science communication plays an increasingly important role in promoting a better understanding of issues facing our lives, thereby stimulating wise and timely action.
[SAnews.gov.za] South Africa must not be relegated to catching up to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) but must be part of the innovators, says Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.
[News24Wire] The first aircraft assembled, and flown, by South African teenagers arrived safely in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday, after it jetted off from Cape Town last month.
[This Day] Ilorin -The Kwara State Government has said it is seeking to benefit from the N200 billion intervention fund of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that had been set aside to promote entrepreneurship.