Leaders of EU and African countries met on Wednesday for a two-day summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to improve relations between the two continents and address the problems developing between Africa and the EU. The theme of the summit was to strengthen youth in Africa, providing for opportunities in Africa through sustainable development and investment. It is in the EU's interest to keep migration low, as the population of Africa is set to double by 2050 and considering the fact that money sent by African from the EU to Africa is three times as high as all Western development aid combined.
Read MoreFollowing a week of tensions in Zimbabwe, which found the military intervening in the nation's politics and putting president Mugabe under house-arrest, Robert Mugabe resigned as president of the country. The move ends the 37-year reign of Mugabe, who ruled with a hard hand and who was unable to prevent Zimbabwe's economic downfall. The military coup was greeted with popular support and many Zimbabweans, who have only known one leader in their life, are rejoyced with whatever change may come.
Read More
Today Kenyans go to the polls in order to elect a president, members of its legislature, governors, and county assembly members. Tensions run high as this vote holds the potential of sparking ethnic violence that could be a continuation from a decade ago that left some 1,100 dead and more than half a million people displaced. More than 150,000 security forces have been deployed across Kenya’s 47 counties in an effort to ensure that voting takes place peacefully. Former US President Barack Obama has also chimed in, urging the Kenyan people to reject violence and ‘to work for a future defined…by unity and hope’.
Read More
The African Union has pushed for Djibouti and Eritrea to remain calm in a border spat that, up to June 14, was monitored and mediated by Qatari peacekeeping forces. Following the withdrawal, Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying an area along the two countries’ border. Djibouti’s Foreign Minister has said “Djibouti is a peaceful country and we have prioritised diplomatic solutions, but if Eritrea insists in seeking military solutions, Djibouti is ready for that.” The African Union has said it will send a fact-finding mission to the border area.
Read More
Morocco has been readmitted to the African Union more than three decades after it left when the continental body’s predecessor recognised the independence of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Hopes that the move could pave the way for peace-building were bolstered after Western Sahara – regarded by Morocco as part of its historic territory – welcomed the readmission. Analysts say that while the kingdom’s decision to re-join the AU was driven by a desire to weaken the Polisario Front (the liberation movement for the Western Sahara), it is also a reflection of its economic ambitions on the continent.
Read More
In 2014 Mozambique was host to the MIF’s Africa Rising Conference, when the economy was buoyant, having grown at about 7% for a year for the past decade. Offshore gas promised riches, and investors were optimistic. In 2013 $850 million of bonds were issued by a state owned tuna fishing company, offering high yields. It is likely that the government is going to default on the debt payment due later this month. The downturn in global commodity prices caused economic growth to slump to 3.4% last year, though it should pick up this year. The government’s troubles, however, are rather due to incompetence and fecklessness.
Read More
Even as President Kabila’s second term expired at midnight, the 45-year- old president – who has been in power since 2001 – has not vacated his post. The country failed to hold elections originally scheduled for November. Opposition parties and civil society activists have been protesting for months about the delays, demanding the Kabila leaves office. Whilst tensions are high in the Congo, there have not yet been violent protests on the scale seen in September where security forces killed 50 people.
Read More President Laurent Kabila’s second term is scheduled to end on the 20 th December, and is barred from serving again by the constitutions. However, no dates have been set for future elections, and no preparation for a poll has been take. The country is experiencing a rapid rise in violence, mostly between rebel groups and government soldiers. To try and find a solution, leaders and representatives from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) met in Libreville, Gabon. This follows a power sharing deal under a national dialogue, struck between President Kabila and a fringe opposition politician that seems to guarantee the current President’s tenure until at least late 2017.
Read More
The opposition candidate Adama Barrow wins the 2016 presidential election, defeating the long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. This is the first peaceful and smooth transfer of political power since Gambia achieved independence from Britain in 1965. President Jammeh himself took power in a coup in 1994. Barrow won more than 45.5% of the vote, leading an alliance of seven opposition parties (the largest of its kind since independent). Jammeh took 36.7% of the vote, third-party candidate Mama Kandeh took 17.8%. There is further evidence of democratic success in these elections, with a turnout of around 65% of Gambia registered voters, out of a population of 1.9 million.
Read More Following the historic deal reached at COP 21 in Paris, a further round of negotiations took place at the COP 22 summit in Marrakesh. Leaders from countries at all levels of development — as well as business, cities, regions, civil society and indigenous communities — renewed their commitment to the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. The focus now is on implementation, so that any rise in global temperatures can be limited to 1.5°C or below, an absolute prerequisite for climate justice. The original target of limiting a rise in global temperatures to 2.0°C was adjusted as models still predicted a fifty percent chance catastrophic climate change for such an increase.
Read More
