News from Africa

Claim: The South African government is seizing land from farmers. Verdict: It's not currently being seized, but the government has said it intends to introduce measures that would lead to the redistribution of land without compensation. President Trump said on Twitter that he had directed his secretary of state to look into "land and farm seizures" and "the large-scale killing of farmers" in South Africa. He appeared to reference a report on Fox News, including the quote "South African government is now seizing land from white farmers". Mr Trump's message was rebutted by the South African government who tweeted in response a rejection of Mr Trump's perception that "seeks to divide our nation". Skip Twitter post by @GovernmentZA Report End of Twitter post by @GovernmentZA Is white farmers' land in South Africa being seized and is there "large-scale killing of farme...

   The plight of Germans, Russians, Austro-Hungarians and Italians during the 1920s are well documented. Among the major theatres of war, the least discussed among historians is German East Africa (what is now Burundi, Rwanda and mainland Tanzania). To understand the challenges faced in the region following the war, we must first look at the carnage experienced during it by indigenous peoples. The German census in 1911 set the approximate native population of German East Africa at 7.5 million; 1913-14 estimates varied between 7.7 and 7.8 million. By 1921, the British census listed the native population for the same area at approximately 4.1 million. There are many reasons for this drastic drop. While the number of combat dead on both sides was relatively low – somewhere between 16,000 and 18,000 native soldiers were killed – the number of labourers and non-combatants who died is significantly higher. The only reliable way to trans...

T he history of Prester John is the history of a man who never existed. Medieval legend called him into being when it was felt that his presence would be of help in the struggle between Christian Europe and the Islamic world. His name was first recorded in 1145 and continued to appear from time to time up to the beginning of the 17th century. Each reference to Prester John – John the Priest – was compounded of two elements; on one side the European wish for the existence of a strong Christian power beyond the confines of Medieval Christendom; on the other, some historical event or process in a far corner of the earth, on the distorted news of which was based a concrete shape for this wish. Originally the Priest King was heard of in Asia; later it became generally accepted that his kingdom lay in Africa. With the growth of geographical knowledge and the discovery of places in which Prester John was not to be found, the location of the Priest King moved to lesser known regions. The dev...

A huge oil refinery being built in Nigeria by Africa’s richest man is unlikely to start production until 2022, two years later than the target date, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery near Lagos, set to be Africa’s biggest, is expected to boost Nigeria’s growth and turn the country from an importer of refined products into an exporter, transforming global trade patterns. Billionaire Aliko Dangote, who built his fortune on cement, told Reuters last month he hoped to finish building the refinery in 2019 and to start production in early 2020. I’ve never seen a refinery of that scale built in two years. It’s highly improbable due to the sequence of events that need to happen, it cannot be fast-tracked safely. However, the sources, who have been on the site many times, said they do not expect gasoline or diesel output before early 2022 and even then, many units at the refinery and accompanying petrochemica...

Clarence Seedorf has dropped China-based players including captain Benjamin Moukandjo for his first squad as Cameroon coach. As well as Moukandjo, who plays for Beijing Renhe, striker Christian Bassogog from China's Henan Jianye misses out. The duo were key to Cameroon winning the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations title in Gabon. "Good young players don't compete in China or in Asia," Seedorf said. "Players must understand that if they go after more lucrative contracts, then they forfeit their chances of playing in the national team. "But we're not closing the door on anyone, we want disciplined and hardworking players and if someone is in the Middle East yet he can deliver for the team, we'll bring him in." Seedorf was talking as he named his squad to face Comoros in a 2019 Nation Cup qualifier in September. "The best players want to play for the best clubs in Europe and appear in top competitions like the Champions league,...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured South Africa and the Agricultural Sector that land expropriation without compensation will be done in a just manner and so there shouldn’t be fears. He says there is an urgent need for a clear and explicit policy around land reform in the country. He was addressing the African Farmers Association of South Africa (AFASA) Presidential Gala Dinner in Kempton Park, Johannesburg on Monday night. Ramaphosa has appealed to all black and white South Africans to work with government to make the land reform process a success for the country. He says the three day African Farmers Association of South Africa, conference comes at a crucial time where many seek to bring about confusion on how land reform will be implemented. He says consultations will take place concurrently with the debate happening in the country. “Our country’s land must be shared among those who want to work it and those who wish to work it must be given the support and the encourag...

DIASPORA-Ugandans living and working in the diaspora normally find it challenging to invest back home. This is because they are not physically present to supervise the businesses and have often been out of touch for too long to understand the dynamics involved in successfully setting up and running a business. In a bid to provide a lasting solution to the challenge and encourage Ugandans to save and invest back home, organisers of the Ugandans in North America (UNAA) Causes Festival 2018, one of the two major umbrella bodies for Ugandans leaving in North America, have invited finance, real estate and money transfer experts from Uganda to sensitise Ugandans in America on new and convenient investment options in Uganda. The UNAA Causes Uganda Festival 2018 is scheduled to take place between August 30 and September 3, 2018 at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Centre in Washington D.C, USA. “This year, we have partnered with organisations that can provide our people in the diaspora wi...

United Nations is mourning the death of former Secretary-General Kofi Anan, who passed away on Saturday morning, aged 80. Anan’s family in a statement said the renowned Ghanaian diplomat passed away after a short illness. Current UN chief Antonio Guterres hailed him as “a guiding force for good” and a “proud son of Africa who became a global champion for peace and all humanity.” “Like so many, I was proud to call Kofi Annan a good friend and mentor. I was deeply honoured by his trust in selecting me to serve as UN High Commissioner for Refugees under his leadership. He remained someone I could always turn to for counsel and wisdom — and I know I was not alone,” Guterres said in a statement. Kofi Annan was born on 8 April 1938 in Kamasi, Ghana. He joined the UN system in 1962 as an administrative and budget officer with the World Health Organization in Geneva, rising through the ranks to hold senior-level posts in areas such as budget and finance, and peacekeeping. He served as...

Zambia Airways is to be revived after 24 years thanks to a $30m (£24m) deal with Ethiopian Airlines. Africa’s newest national carrier is to begin flights later this year on 12 aircraft to destinations in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. By 2018 is it expected to carry 1.9 million passengers. The Zambian government’s main development agency will hold a 55% stake, while Ethiopian Airlines will maintain a 45% stake. It is hoped the investment will help make the country a Southern African hub, to rival Johannesburg in South Africa. Zambia hopes the deal will accelerate the country’s industrialisation and boost tourism. The Ethiopian carrier has several similar deals in the pipeline and has also put in a bid to run Nigeria Air when it is revived. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-45245119

A world away from the slick systems of Silicon Valley, war-shattered Libya has seen the birth of a new generation of tech entrepreneurs. One such is Fatima Nasser. Born in Sabha, a city in southwestern Libya, she was just 13 when the 2011 Arab uprising began and Libya's long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown. Since then, the country has been plagued by political instability, armed conflict and economic challenges. Thousands of people have been displaced, infrastructure and basic social services have been destroyed. But Nasser insists that the conflict that dominated her teenage years had one positive side-effect. "It helped me grow in a way that would never happen in normal circumstances," she says. "The war and its consequences on the Libyan economy...did somehow push me into aspiring to be an entrepreneur." Crisis and opportunity The now 21-year-old has created a food delivery app called Yummy, that delivers homemade meals cooked by...

Over the past few days, the rand has weakened by 10%, the Russian rouble by 9% and the Turkish lira by a massive 26% relative to the US dollar. On a year to date basis the rand is down almost 11%. This broad emerging market contagion has affected equities as well, with the MSCI Emerging Market Index down 17% from its January peak. China’s Shanghai Composite Index entered a bear market in July, having fallen more than 20% from the January peak, a technical definition of a bear market, while Turkey has been in a bear market territory since May. In US dollar terms equity markets in Brazil, Russia, South Africa and Nigeria markets followed the others on Friday. The rand has also broken through the psychologically important R14/US$ level. The three main catalysts for the sudden acceleration of the sell-off in emerging markets have been US President Donald Trump’s tweet attacks on both Turkey and Russia, higher than expected US inflation numbers, as well as additional trade tariffs o...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Gold Fields said on Tuesday it plans to slash costs at its struggling South Deep mine, including cutting 1,100 jobs, or around 30 percent of its workforce. South Deep, the company’s last South African asset, has faced operational obstacles in a tough geological setting 3 km (2 miles) below the surface. The mine made a loss of 337.6 million rand ($27 million) in 2017. Gold Fields shares opened 3 percent lower at 47 rand per share. The bullion producer, which has invested 32 billion rand in the operation since acquiring it in 2006, said it could no longer sustain losses at the mine, which has missed several production targets despite significant modernisation. “The key challenge has been the difficulty in transitioning the mine from one run with a conventional mining mindset and practices to mining with a modern, bulk, mechanised mining approach,” Gold Fields said in a trading update. The firm also said it expects headline earnings per s...