Corporate Council on Africa News Updates

(Posted 10th February 2022)

U.S.-AFRICA RELATIONS
U.S. Prepared to Impose Additional Costs on Sudan’s Military if Violence Continues
Reuters
The United States has made clear to Sudan’s military leaders that Washington is prepared to impose additional costs if violence against protesters continues and is looking at options to increase pressure, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee said on Tuesday, February 1st… Read more>>

AGRIBUSINESS
Livelihoods Lost As Climate Disaster Woes Mount in Kenya
Barrons
Dabaso Galgalo is now used to the smell and grisly spectacle of rotting flesh festering in the scorching heat as Kenya reels from a spate of climate disasters. Surrounded by barren scrubland littered with withered carcasses of sheep and goats, the 56-year-old pastoralist is struggling to keep his beloved animals, and himself, alive. What was left of his herd after a months-long dry spell was decimated by once-in-a-generation floods that hit northern Kenya, the latest in a series of unforgiving climate shocks lashing the region…. Read more>>

Agritech Can Help Reduce the Female Unemployment Rate in South Africa
Mail & Guardian South Africa
Agritech is described as technology and innovations that are applied in agricultural activities that increase production with fewer inputs and make agricultural practices more accurate. Quicker farming machines, crop improvements and digital supply chain monitoring are all visible examples of agritech. These revolutionary technological innovations have the potential to level the playing field for women farmers by making the farming process more efficient and rewarding…. Read more>>

World Bank to Give Kenya $200m Agriculture Loan
The East African
The World Bank will give Kenya $200 million to support various development projects to improve food security in the country. Vinay Kunar Vutukru, a senior agriculture economist with the bank, said on Monday that the institution is negotiating with the State on the new loan that will be channelled to various agriculture value chains. He said they expect to conclude the talks and have the financial assistance approved within the next two months… Read more>>

ENERGY

Exploding Nigerian Oil Vessel Had Up to 60,000 Barrels Before Incident
Reuters
An oil storage vessel that exploded off the coast of Nigeria this week was holding around 50,000 to 60,000 barrels of crude oil at the time of the incident, Minister of Environment Sharon Ikeazor said on Saturday. Nigeria’s Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd said on Thursday that flames had engulfed the Trinity Spirit floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel following a blast a day earlier… Read more>>

Construction of Tanzania Dam by Egyptian Builders Raises Eyebrows

The East African
Later this year, Egyptian engineering firm Arab Contractors is expected to complete the construction of the Julius Nyerere dam on the Rufiji River. Once completed, the $3 billion dam could be Africa’s fourth biggest by power production, producing up to 5920GWH of power annually, enabling Tanzania to close the gap between those with electricity and those who have no access…. Read more>>

HEALTH
Pandemic and Security Top 35th African Union Summit
VOA News
The African Union has begun a summit in Addis Ababa, and the theme this year is ‘’Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on African Continent; Strengthening Agro-food systems, health and social protection systems for the acceleration of human, social and economic capital development.’’ Leaders from across the continent gathered Saturday to discuss issues affecting the continent; mainly the pandemic and insecurity…. Read more>>

Approval of COVID Vaccine Made in South Africa Could Take 3 Years, WHO Says
Reuters
The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine produced at the WHO-backed vaccine hub in South Africa could take up to three years to get approval if companies do not share their technology and data, a WHO official said on Friday. The WHO-backed tech transfer hub in South Africa was set up in June to give poorer nations the know-how to produce COVID-19 vaccines, after market leaders of the mRNA COVID vaccine declined a WHO request to share their technology…. Read more>>

African Leaders Elevate Africa CDC to Autonomous Health Agency of AU

The East African
African heads of state and government have made a historic decision to elevate Africa CDC status to an autonomous health agency of the AU. At the ongoing AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the agency was given full powers to operate autonomously. This independence means that among other things, Africa CDC will now have the legal, institutional, and operational autonomy to, for instance, serve as a channel to mobilise financing…. Read more>>



INFRASTRUCTURE
Out of the Starting Blocks: One Year of the AfCFTA

African Business
In terms of the number of participating states, the AfCFTA is the largest single market since the creation of the World Trade Organization. Over several decades, policymakers hope that the AfCFTA will deepen the economic integration of Africa by forging a trade region with a combined gross domestic product of around $3.4 trillion…. Read more>>

Kenya Drives Sustainable Transport Agenda
African Business
Kenya’s matutus are a popular form of transport but their diesel engines generate a lot of pollution. State-of-the-art electric buses could help clean up the air of Kenya’s cities… Read more>>

ICT

Nigerian Launches Social Media App to Rival Twitter, Facebook, Others

All Africa
A young Nigerian app developer, Mohammed Aliyu, has launched a new app known as ‘ShapClick’ to rival popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and other social applications…. Read more>>

TOURISM


Ghana: Handbook on Eco-Tourism Launched
Ghanaian Times
A 90-page HandBook on the country’s eco-tourism was on Tuesday launched at Duryumu Shai Osuduku District of the Greater Accra Region by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor. The book produced by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission provides basic information of nature-based tourism in Ghana and the key institutions and their mandates in tourism development…. Read more>>

Morocco is Open to Vaccinated Tourists – What to Know
Travel and Leisure
Morocco has officially welcomed tourists back after being closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The North African country has reopened its airspace to flights to and from Morocco on Monday, a milestone which was first announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates in January…. Read more>>