Tag Archives: economy

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the signing of trade deals with Algeria on Tuesday as he visited the country on the first leg of a tour of Africa. Erdogan said the agreements would allow Ankara and Algiers to diversify trade pending the signing of “an …

Lubumbashi, DR Congo | AFP | Rebels have wanted to kill him, NGOs accuse him of exploitation and Chinese newcomers have rattled his Congo mining empire, but George Forrest, one of Africa’s biggest businessmen, remains unbowed. The head of the Forrest Group, which is worth an estimated $800 million (650 …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | South Africans were hit by the first sales tax increase since apartheid when the country’s finance minister delivered a tough budget on Wednesday, dampening optimism spurred by the country’s new reformist president. President Cyril Ramaphosa took over last week from the scandal-plagued Jacob …

Different kinds of commercial farming will have different effects on the economy COMMENT | RUTH HALL, DZODZI TSIKATK, IAN SCOONES | Colonialism brought large-scale farming to Africa, promising modernisation and jobs – but often dispossessing people and exploiting workers. Now, after several decades of independence, and with investor interest growing, …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Sudan on Sunday released dozens of opposition activists arrested last month in a crackdown on protests against rising food prices, an AFP correspondent reported. The release of detainees, including some top opposition figures, came three days after the US embassy voiced concern over the arrests …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Women in Saudi Arabia can now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative, as the kingdom pushes to expand a fast-growing private sector. The policy change, announced by the Saudi government on Thursday, also marks a major step …

Aye Ywar , Myanmar | AFP | A free app on farmer San San Hla’s smartphone is her new weapon in the war against the dreaded stem borer moth that blighted her rice paddy in southern Myanmar for the last two years. As she watches her workers haul in this …

Reports of African economies among fastest growing show long dream turning into reality COMMENT | GERALD MBANDA | The concept of African Renaissance has been on the lips of progressive Africans for decades as a renewal of the way of doing things to overcome Africa’s challenges and advance the well-being of …

It’s no surprise that as the Davos consensus has ebbed, a wave of populist nativism has rushed in COMMENT | LARRY HATHEWAY | The World Economic Forum’s annual flagship meeting in Davos has always been an easy target for caricature, even ridicule. Over the years, it has gained a somewhat deserved …

Specific interventions needed as uncertainty and variability of rainfall threatens economic progress COMMENT | MILDRED BARUNGI & FLORENCR NAKAZI | In the past five years, Uganda has experienced climate change and variability. This has been mainly exhibited through uncertainty of rainfall patterns for the two main cropping seasons (i.e. March to May …