
ECA Price Watch points to construction sector as key driver of growth
ECA “A vibrant construction sector is an indisputable driver of GDP growth in a country,” said Bartholomew Armah, Director of Macroeconomics and Governance at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). He was speaking during a ministerial webinar organised on 23 February to present African member States with the latest in a series of quarterly briefings […]

China’s poverty alleviation model instructive for Africa: expert
Xinhua China’s successful poverty alleviation model is instructive for Africa in its efforts to grow economies and lift millions out of poverty, an Ethiopian expert has said. “The Chinese model is not just lifting people out of poverty, but both the country’s GDP and its development are going in sync with the poverty alleviation program,” […]

Faiths institute asks Gates Foundation to change tactics in Africa
By Fredrick Nzwili, Catholic News ServiceAction NAIROBI, KENYA — An African faiths environmental institute is calling on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to stop funding green revolution technologies and genetically modified seeds for the continent, but instead support natural methods to help Africa achieve food sufficiency and protect its environments. In an open online letter that is […]

Grid connection of the Eastern Electricity Highway is awaiting trial operation
Ethiopian Herald BY DARGIE KAHSAY Kenya expected to complete power interconnection with Ethiopia by next June Ethiopia has fully completed its portion of the construction of the Ethio-Kenya power grid and is awaiting the completion of Kenya’s side for trial operation, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) disclosed while Kenya announced to complete its portion by next […]

Sudan devalues currency to meet key condition for debt relief
Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s central bank sharply devalued the currency on Sunday, announcing a new regime to “unify” official and black-market exchange rates in an effort to overcome a crippling economic crisis and access debt relief. The change is a key reform demanded by foreign donors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but was […]

Africa’s Top 100 Banks 2020: Weathering the storm
How resilient are Africa’s top banks in the face of Covid-19? Our 2020 survey highlights the longer-term trends transforming banking in Africa.r African business by Tom Minney This year’s survey of Africa’s Top 100 Banks looks beyond the doom and gloom of the pandemic, with a ranking based on financial results which nearly all predate […]

A new phase in Africa’s development: Free trade area
When the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) went into effect on Jan. 1, it became the world’s largest such region, and it will help member states overcome chronic burdens on commerce and their economies A new era for international trade, particularly for the whole of Africa, has started. In 2002, thanks to the lessons […]

Italy’s Failed African Gambit
Seeking to grab a piece of Africa during the colonial scramble for conquest, Italy invaded Ethiopia in early 1896. Warfare History Network by By Gregory Peduto Here’s What You Need to Know: Under the cover of the dusty Ethiopian night, the 17,000-man Italian Royal Expeditionary force scrambled over ragged hills and inactive volcanoes in the early morning […]

The Forgotten History of Black Prohibitionism
Politico By MARK LAWRENCE SCHRAD Established history tells us that the temperance movement was driven by white evangelicals set out to discipline America’s Black and immigrant communities. Established history is wrong. Imagine a prohibitionist. The image that jumps to mind is probably of a well-to-do, conservative, white, Victorian-era prude—pinky raised, sipping tea—browbeating Americans with Bibles about […]

President Felix-Antoine Takes Over as the New Chairperson of the African Union (AU) for 2021
African Union The Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) have elected H.E. Felix- Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the new Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2021. The event took place today, Saturday 6 February 2021 during the ongoing Thirty-Fourth (34th) Ordinary […]

Building Africa We Want: NEPAD Turns 20
African Union “An impressive accomplishment of NEPAD has been the strengthening of partnerships with the rest of the world. NEPAD has engaged the G20, G8, OECD, FOCAC, TICAD and the UN system on new development cooperation and aid architecture for Africa. Over its 20 years, NEPAD has promoted programmes in areas such as agriculture, health, […]

Third party’s interest camouflaging Sudan’s actions
By Desta Gebrehiwot With Sudan dilly-dallying over the latest Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Tripartite (GERD) talks, experts cast their doubt if Khartoum’s actions represent the country’s genuine interests while signaling potential intervention and pressure from a third party. Sudan’s latest behaviors are stark departures from its previous approaches which the country has been sticking to […]