First Independent Mena Newspaper
Hundreds of truckers have stopped working on Cameroon’s border with Chad to protest a ban on heavy trucking into Chad, which depends on Cameroon for 80% of its imported goods. Drivers transporting food and humanitarian assistance slammed what they call Cameroon’s refusal to repair the highly dilapidated road linking northern Cameroon and Chad. The strategically […]
E-mobility start-up Roam recently partnered with M-Kopa, a Nairobi-based clean energy financier, to provide thousands of e-motorcycles to riders in Kenya, after becoming the first startup in the country to convert petrol-powered motorbikes to electric last year, starting with a fleet of 100. “This is one of the biggest leaps for electric mobility in Africa,“ […]
China has announced plans to waive 23 interest-free loans to 17 African countries that were due in 2021 amid a growing rivalry with the West and accusations that it is creating “debt traps” on the continent. The relief was announced on 18 August in an address to Chinese and African diplomats at a follow-up meeting […]
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia — the second largest international exporter after China — the prices of fertilizers in West Africa have skyrocketed, severely aggravating the ongoing food crisis in countries such as Burkina Faso. In the last few months, the Sahel region has been hit by the worst drought in over a […]
Cameroon has sealed at least 30 gold mines, including some owned by Chinese companies, after more than 33 young miners died in landslides this month and scores more were declared missing. On Monday (22 August), the local government deployed several hundred troops to seal at least 30 gold mines in Kambele, a village in Batouri […]
Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group has taken another step forward in its hopes of developing an iron ore mine in Gabon after it signed a majority-owned joint venture agreement with the country’s government. The world’s fourth largest iron ore miner announced Friday (19 August) it had struck an agreement with the government of the West African […]
A spike in tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan has not gone unnoticed in Africa and has prompted responses that underscore the continent’s tilt toward Beijing. Washington announced trade talks with Taiwan on Thursday (18 August) following a US congressional delegation’s visit earlier this week that came on the heels of a […]
Japan, which lags behind other major economies when it comes to investment in Africa, has been increasingly concerned that the pandemic has weakened African economies and worsened their dependence on Chinese investment and aid. US investment in Africa is seven times larger than that of Japan, that of the UK and France is more than […]
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is expected in December to attend the U.S. and Africa summit organized by the American President Joe Biden, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. mission in Tunis has revealed. Natasha Franceschi told Tunisia’s top diplomat Othmane Jerandi Monday that President Biden will extend an invitation to the Tunisian leader. The summit […]
As Kenyans head to the polls on August 9, East Africa’s largest economy could be headed for tough times. With the country’s currency having depreciated sharply, Kenya’s Treasury will face difficulty paying back its huge dollar-denominated debt. Kenya is among developing countries facing an economic crisis, according to a recent report released by Moody’s Investors […]