Despite big obstacles, AfCFTA viewed as key to weaving new trade and industrial tapestry

In the grand tapestry of international commerce, Africa’s 55 nations have stood as individual threads rather than a unified fabric of economic opportunity. But a new era of collaboration being... 

Despite big obstacles, AfCFTA viewed as key to weaving new trade and industrial tapestry

In the grand tapestry of international commerce, Africa’s 55 nations have stood as individual threads rather than a unified fabric of economic opportunity. But a new era of collaboration being... 

Politics of vengeance

African politics has always been a big theatre where a recurring spectacle, one that never fails to captivate and intrigue, is the age-old saga of former Presidents clashing with their successors.... 

A misunderstood prophecy

The year was 2008, in the month of September. Back then, a seer from the rugged hills of Nkandla in the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal prophesied that the political party he led, the African... 

Steadfast hold on power

In the intricate tango of politics and military might, one undeniable reality emerges: once soldiers seize State control, they seldom relinquish it willingly. Ibrahim Traore, the 36-year-old... 

Stevie finds rhythm in Ghana

I’m not a great music fan, but I would not be completely honest if I did not own up to my partiality towards Stevie Wonder, the US-born virtuoso of soul who has created music that has reverberated... 

Myth of arbitrary boundaries

Conventional wisdom has it that the political map of Africa as we know it today was solely determined at the Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885 by European actors who knew little about conditions on... 

The great business retreat

The announcement last week by oil giant Shell that it is to divest from downstream operations in South Africa seems to have been a godsend to the political opposition, which did not waste time in... 

Slipping influence

Africa may be the world’s poorest continent – hosting 33 of the 46 economies designated by the United Nations (UN) as the least developed – but it remains the target of courtship by the major... 

A titbit about Tanzania

That the way many of Africa’s countries turned out had less to do with fate than the meddling of external players, especially during the Cold War years, has been well documented by many a scholar.... 

What the voters want

As election day draws ever closer, political parties are pulling out all the stops in their quest to win the hearts and minds of South African voters. All manner of promises are being made – from a... 

Rhian Capostagno

This we profile Rhian Capostagno, a partner at Partners in Performance, a firm of management consultants 

Will the Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, restore currency confidence?

The heightened sense of urgency within Zimbabwe’s government to act as the country’s currency crashed – losing 90% of its value since the beginning of the year – was there for all to see in the... 

Rwanda’s rebirth

The 100-day period from April 7 to July 15, 1994, will forever be etched on the memory of Rwandans and indeed the rest of humanity. That’s when armed militia from the majority Hutu ethnic group... 

Will the Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, restore currency confidence?

The heightened sense of urgency within Zimbabwe’s government to act as the country’s currency crashed – losing 90% of its value since the beginning of the year – was there for all to see in the... 

Spiral of silence around GBV

President by default

It was a birthday present Bassirou Diomaye Faye would not have dreamed of – being announced the President-elect of Senegal on March 25, the day he turned 44, and only weeks after his release from... 

Tertius Zitzke

This week we profile Tertius Zitzke, CEO of 4Sight Holdings, a diversified technology group whose strategic vision is digital transformation for businesses through seamlessly integrating the... 

Fake but believed

It’s surprising how easily news consumers fall for disinformation, or fake news, as it is now widely known since Donald Trump popularised the phrase during the US Presidency campaign in 2016. I say... 

South Africa’s brain regain

East or west, home’s best. Many South Africans who have emigrated to foreign climes in the past two decades to escape the ills besetting this country can vouch for that. Some are coming back. And... 

Fatima-Joyce Packery

This week we profile Fatima-Joyce Packery, CEO of PF Africa Mining, which operates ferrochrome recovery plants 

Fare thee well, Prez Mwinyi

Our neck of the woods, the Southern African Development Community region, last month lost two high-profile personalities, a sitting head of State and a Presidential has-been. While the former,... 

Beasts of burden under siege

Rhino and elephant poaching afflicts many African countries that are home to these endangered species, and the main driver behind this scourge is seemingly insatiable demand by the Chinese and... 

Flying Presidents

What’s the common denominator between Kenyan President William Ruto and his Nigerian opposite number, Bola Tinubu? They both have a remarkable penchant for air travel. This has incurred the ire of... 

West Africa’s Brexit moment

In a televised announcement on January 28, the West African nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger let it be known they had ceased to be members of the regional bloc in that neck of the woods with... 

Proudly artisan

Mention of the word ‘welder’ conjures up images of someone wearing heavy-duty protective gear such as a big steel helmet to shield the face from sparks. You wouldn’t think the person behind the... 

Fake news and Elections 2024

Disinformation by political actors is not a new phenomenon to South Africans. Six short years ago, Bell Pottinger, the Guptas’ now defunct UK communications consultancy, executed a spirited... 

Malaria milestone

Unless one is a football fan or a lover of the music of the late Manu Dibango, one will be hard pressed to say much that is positive about Cameroon, a 475 440 km2 country straddling Central and... 

Ructions in the Horn of Africa

Ructions in the Horn of Africa Martin Zhuwakinyu 

Crystal-ball gazing

It’s difficult to tell with any degree of certainty what lies in store for Africa this year, but there seems to be broad consensus that our continent will experience better fortunes on the economic... 

Rethabile Melamu

This week we profile Rethabile Melamu, CEO of the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association, a not-for-profit industry association that represents close to 700 actors along the solar... 

The year that was

This year has been quite eventful for the African continent, but for me the biggest story has been that, despite the progress made in the two decades to 2020, we don’t seem to have seen the last of... 

Pieter du Preez

This week we profile Pieter du Preez, CFO at Blyvoor Gold, a South African gold mining company that operates the Blyvoor mine, on Johannesburg’s West Rand 

Malawiʼs tone-deaf President

Last week I wrote about the latest African craze of exporting skilled citizens to other countries on the continent or abroad as a way of tackling unemployment, especially among the youth. While the... 

Nitesh Singh

This week we profile Nitesh Singh, communications media and technology lead for for Africa at Accenture, a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other... 

New African export

I’m in mourning as I pen this piece – it’s only hours after my beloved Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 defeat by football nonentity Rwanda in a qualifier for the 2026 World Cup tournament, to be hosted by... 

A refashioned threat

A story claiming that a young mother had given birth to ten live babies in a Pretoria hospital in 2021 – which would have been a world record – not only captured the national imagination but also... 

Crime epidemic

In a stranger-than-fiction incident earlier this month, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga and two of her armed protectors were ambushed and robbed at gunpoint near Vosloorus, on Gauteng’s East... 

Russia’s Africa infowars

Outrage is one of the criteria media outlets use when selecting the news to include in their coverage. The Russian embassy in South Africa appears to be alive to this, which seems to explain why,... 

Sluggish renewal won’t wash

Save for several years after his unceremonious ouster as head of State, triggering what some have described as an understandable sulk, former President Thabo Mbeki has never been one to mince his...