May 13
Africa: Wildlife Traffickers Carried On Their Illegal Trade During Covid Lockdown
The world literally stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. But while countries locked down to keep coronavirus at bay, wildlife traffickers carried on their illegal activities.… Read more »
May 09
Kenya: Kenya Floods - As the Costs Add Up Pressure Mounts On a Country in Economic Crisis
There were early warnings that Kenya's long rain season - between March and May - was going to bring above-normal rainfall. The extreme intensity of the rain has resulted in… Read more »
May 08
Africa: South Africa's Plan to Move Away From Coal - 8 Steps to Make It Succeed
The South African government's Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power… Read more »
May 07
Africa: Why Are Algorithms Called Algorithms? a Brief History of the Persian Polymath You've Likely Never Heard of
Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and… Read more »
May 08
Africa: South Africa Will Be President of the G20 in 2025 - Two Much-Needed Reforms It Should Drive
South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union.… Read more »
May 07
Ghana: Walking in African Cities Can Be a Miserable Experience - Accra Study Shows Planners Ignore Needs of Pedestrians
African cities aren't welcoming places for pedestrians. Yet walking is free and, given the shortage of decent public transport, it's often the only way for people to move around.… Read more »
South Africa: Minimum Wage for South African Farm Workers - Study Shows 2013 Hike Helped Reduce Poverty Even Though Compliance Was Poor
Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. Read more »
May 06
Africa: U.S.-Africa Trade Deal Turns 25 Next Year - Agoa's Winners, Losers and What Should Come Next
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) is a landmark piece of trade legislation enacted by the United States in 2000. Its goal is to promote economic growth, development and… Read more »
May 05
Nigeria: Nigeria's Minimum Wage Has Never Protected Workers From Poverty - Here's Why
Wages have become the top issue for Nigeria's organised labour movements in the past year. Reacting to recent increases in the cost of living, the labour movement has been calling… Read more »
Africa: African Countries Can't Resolve Their Debt Crisis Under a System Rigged Against Them
The debt situation in many African countries has escalated again to a critical juncture. Twenty are in, or at risk of, debt distress. Read more »
May 03
South Africa: What's the Job of a Company Chair? South Africa's Rules Aren't Clear and Need Fixing
Historically, the chair of the board of directors filled a procedural and ceremonial role. This was a low bar focusing on the chair's role in meetings. Read more »
May 01
Malawi: Electricity From Farm Waste - How Biogas Could Help Malawians With No Power
In sub-Saharan Africa, over 600 million people (more than 50% of the population) are without access to electricity. Malawi has one of the world's lowest electricity access rates -… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's Devastating Floods Expose Decades of Poor Urban Planning and Bad Land Management
Floods in Kenya killed at least 169 people between March and April 2024. The most catastrophic of these deaths occurred after a flash flood swept through a rural village killing 42… Read more »
April 30
Africa: Jobs for Young Africans - New Data Tool Reveals Trends and Red Flags
An estimated 23.6 million young Africans (aged 15-35) are unemployed - that's one in 22 (4.5%). With this number projected to grow to 27 million by 2030, the need for jobs is… Read more »
April 29
Nigeria: Young Middle-Class Nigerians Are Desperate to Leave the Country - Insights Into Why
Since the 1980s, migration has been a part of the Nigerian middle-class psyche, catalysed by the usual suspects: high unemployment, security concerns, infrastructure gaps, and poor… Read more »
Uganda: Uganda's Tax System Isn't Bringing in Enough Revenue but Is Targeting Small Business the Answer?
Uganda, with a fiscal deficit of 5.6% in 2023, has increasingly turned to local resources to make up for its revenue shortfall since the World Bank suspended its funding on 8… Read more »
April 26
Kenya: Kenyan Doctors' Strike - the Govt Keeps Failing to Hold Up Its End of the Bargain
At least 4,000 doctors are employed in Kenya's public healthcare sector. Almost all of them went on strike on 14 March 2024, demanding the implementation of a labour agreement… Read more »
April 15
Africa: 5 Questions Schools and Universities Should Ask Before They Purchase AI Tech Products
Every few years, an emerging technology shows up at the doorstep of schools and universities promising to transform education. The most recent? Technologies and apps that include… Read more »
April 23
South Africa: Johannesburg in a Time of Darkness - Ivan Vladislavić's New Memoir Reminds Us of the City's Fragility
Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburg's literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later… Read more »
April 18
Africa: Understanding AI Outputs - Study Shows Pro-Western Cultural Bias in the Way AI Decisions Are Explained
Humans are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to inform decisions about our lives. AI is, for instance, helping to make hiring choices and offer medical diagnoses. Read more »
April 22
South Africa: Meerkat - the South African Radio Telescope That's Transformed Our Understanding of the Cosmos
South Africa's Karoo region is a vast semi-arid area that stretches across four of the country's provinces. It is sparsely populated and renowned for its wide open spaces. Read more »
April 18
South Africa: South Africa's Electricity Crisis - a Series of Failures Over 30 Years Have Left a Dim Legacy
In 1994, apartheid ended and the African National Congress (ANC) won South Africa's first ever democratic elections, promising "Electricity for All" as part of its Reconstruction… Read more »
April 16
Kenya: Kenya's Shilling Is Gaining Value, but Don't Expect It to Last - Expert
Shortly after Kenya's 2022 elections, the shilling depreciated rapidly against the US dollar - the country's main currency for international transactions - fuelling a wave of… Read more »
April 11
Nigeria: Technology Makes It Easy for Lawyers to Work Across Borders - Regulations Should Too
The rules of legal practice are highly localised. Every country sets rules that determine how lawyers qualify professionally and what they are allowed to do. Read more »
April 09
Africa: West Africa's Falling Fish Stocks - Illegal Chinese Trawlers, Climate Change and Artisanal Fishing Fleets to Blame
Average fish catches by traditional fishing communities along the west African coast have declined significantly over the past three decades. Read more »