Author: NLM Correspondent

With the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) coming into full force, there are hopes that the resulting economic transformation will lead to vitally-needed job creation for the region’s exploding population of youth. “Africa is the only world region projected to have strong population growth for the rest of this century,” according to a Pew Reach Centre report published in June. “Between 2020 and 2100, Africa’s population is expected to increase from 1.3 billion to 4.3 billion.” Employment is the critical ingredient that will change the lives of young Africans and grow Africa’s middle class, estimated to exceed 300 million. Like in…

To ensure effective implementation of the African continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, African countries must address corruption and abuse of power in the security sector as they could impede and raise the cost of trade, Gen. William Ward, former Commander of the United States Africa Command (Africom), said in Washington D.C. last month. Delivering the third Babacar Ndiaye Lecture, organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Gen. Ward said that corruption and abuse of power in the security sector could become significant non-tariff barriers to trade and to the success of the AfCFTA. “Reforming the security sector, particularly in…

Kenya’s economy is expected to expand by 5.6 percent this year and 6.0 percent in 2020, the International Monetary Fund said in October, lowering its forecasts from earlier this year. The Fund did not say what was behind the lower projections in its latest World Economic Outlook. In April it forecast growth of 5.8 percent for 2019, and 5.9 percent for next year. With a well-diversified economy that does not depend on a single commodity or sector, Kenya has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years, but critics say it is not enough to lift many citizens out of poverty. The…

R apid urbanisation has provided most cities in the world with opportunities to provide more sustainable, vibrant, and prosperous centres for their citizens. But they must first address challenges such as inadequate infrastructure investments, pollution and congestion, and poor urban planning, according to a new report released last month. The report, ‘Creating Livable Cities: Regional Perspectives’, looks at urbanisation trends across emerging and developing economies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, and Latin America and the Caribbean is a joint publication by four regional development banks (RDBs) operating in these regions – African Development…

By Ndung’u Wainaina Since the UhuRuto regime came to power in 2013, the executive treatment of judiciary has been odious. The duo came to power on populist agenda. It had the honour to be the first regime to be elected under the progressive Constitution of Kenya 2010. Unfortunately, it has urinated on that honour. Judiciary was lucky to have a Chief Justice in willy Mutunga who entertained no nonsense from the Executive’s quest to cannibalise, capture and cripple institutions of governance. Predictably, the National Assembly succumbed with devastating consequences. On their attacks on the Judiciary, UhuRuto began with defying court…

By NLM Writer Sustainable funding levels are a prerequisite if state judiciaries are to dispense fair and timely justice and play their constitutionally mandated role in government. Achieving such funding should be a priority for the legislative and executive branches – which together control the purse – as well as the judiciary itself. It is often said in public discourse that court systems must be funded adequately to carry out their responsibilities in an expeditious and constitutional manner – which is to say “open and accessible” and can administer justice wholesomely and without undue delay. Yet “adequate” is usually defined…

By NLM Writer O ne of the promises that Chief Justice David Maraga made to Kenyans when he took office was that he would do everything in his power to reduce the backlog of cases that has historically dogged Kenyan courts. To his credit, he has continued in Mutunga’s footsteps in expanding the physical infrastructure, pushed for the employment of more judges as well as, in a host of circulars setting targets for Judges and Magistrates, compelled them to deal with backlog. But now, alongside his sudden mildness, government policy threatens to derail him. In a recent notice to government…

By Agencies Jagged, charred tree stumps jut out of blackened earth in what was once part of the rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One man, Rafael, standing amid the devastation, reckons he has set fire to around 40 sections of the forest near the city of Bandundu in the past two months. He bags the scorched wood and flogs it as charcoal in the capital, Kinshasa, some 250km away. Most of the city’s 12m residents, unable to afford gas or electric ovens, rely on charcoal for cooking. The Congo basin rainforest is the second biggest tropical forest in the…

BY Shadrack Muyesu The Constitution of Kenya 2010 is hailed as progressive on several accounts. The first is its Liberal Democratic nature. Inter alia, the demand for free, fair and regular elections allows the majority to rule while protecting the minority voice. The second is an elaborate human rights framework which, far from perpetuating a certain public culture and morality, accepts our differences and protects those who would otherwise have no place in this society. Thirdly the Constitution is anchored on the Diceian Rule of Law and separation of powers. In toto, it demands that no man shall be condemned…

By Jonathan Powell, Christopher Faulkner & Joshua Lambert Private military and security companies have been regular fixtures in conflicts across the globe. For Africa, these corporations became increasingly visible with their role in civil wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. More recently, reports in 2015 indicated the Nigerian government contracted a number of companies to aid in counterinsurgency efforts targeting Boko Haram. And a Russian contractor, the Wagner Group, has been actively involved in Sudan and the Central African Republic. Its involvement has included signing contracts that grant it access to potential diamond and gold deposits. Such agreements have been typical of private military and security…