Author: NLM Correspondent

Africa recorded remarkable economic growth in the first 15 years of the 21st century, largely because of positive trends in the export of primary commodities, among other factors. However, this narrative of “Africa Rising” was skewed from the onset, as it focused mostly on economic growth based on gross domestic product (GDP), which is overly one-dimensional. In fact, the economic growth did not generate social inclusion through employment creation, thus failing to derive benefits from the demographic dividend of Africa’s youthful population. Coupled with this, since the 1970s, policy making in most post-independence African states has equated managing poverty with…

Strategic fire management could cut emissions and earn tradable carbon credits, generating funds to save the big cats and benefit Indigenous people By Nancy Averett In 2012 a villager walking through the forest in Mozambique’s Niassa Reserve came across a young male lion caught in a poacher’s snare. The lion lay on the ground, a noose of thick wire squeezing its lower torso. Conservation workers later freed the animal, but most lions are not so lucky. “Poaching has been a major issue over the years,” says Natasha Ribeiro, who has studied illegal hunting in Niassa Reserve and is a forest…

An Ebola outbreak in Guinea that has so far sickened at least 18 people and killed nine has stirred difficult memories of the devastating epidemic that struck the West African country between 2013 and 2016, along with neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, leaving more than 11,000 people dead. But it may not just be the trauma that has persisted. The virus causing the new outbreak barely differs from the strain seen 5 to 6 years ago, genomic analyses by three independent research groups have shown, suggesting the virus lay dormant in a survivor of the epidemic all that time. “This…

By Tim McDonnell The US is getting out of the business of backing high-carbon energy infrastructure overseas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent that message on Mar. 9 in a speech to the US Development Finance Corporation, the federal agency that finances industrial and infrastructure projects in low- and middle-income countries. Development finance, Blinken said, “is a powerful tool for addressing the climate crisis,” and the US will use it to “help drive investment toward climate solutions.” His remarks came after a specific commitment by John Kerry, America’s top climate diplomat, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on…

The Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Kaduna state on Thursday became the fourth school in northern Nigeria fall become victim of abductions by terrorist groups since December 2020. A viral video on social media continues to circulate with the kidnapped students cowering on a forest floor as armed captors hit them with sticks. The more than two dozen students in the video can be heard pleading for help in both English and Hausa. With one victim saying that the captors want a ransom of $1.3m. “If anybody comes to rescue them without the money, they are going to kill…

By Antony Mutunga The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has signed an agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for the implementation of the COMESA Regional Customs Transit Guarantee/bond Agreement. The agreement is part of a larger deal setting stage for the implementation of the Afreximbank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme (AACTGS), a programme designed to facilitate the smooth transit of goods across Africa through a continent-wide single-technology enabled transit guarantee scheme. According to Afreximbank President, Prof. Benedict Oramah, the scheme is a milestone in Africa’s journey towards deepening regional integration. “It is a key tool for…

By Harriet Kanaiza In Kenya’s legal framework exists the Oath and Statutory Declaration Act Cap 15 Laws of Kenya. Over a century old – having come into effect on 22nd March 1919 – the legislation provides for the appointment of commissioners for oath, and also outlines the entire process as regards the administering of oaths and the taking of statutory declarations. The legislation is instructive that the Chief Justice may, by commission signed by him, appoint persons who are practicing Advocates to commission oaths. The powers to revoke such appointments when need be is also vested on the CJ. The…

By Victor Adar The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has received the go-ahead to operationalise the Civil Aviation (Regulatory Fees and Charges for Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Regulations, 2020 after National Assembly acceded to the regulations on 6 March 2021. The proposed charges were gazetted by Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia under legal notice Number 4 of 2021 in January this year, and their approval paves the way for full implementation of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) regulatory framework in Kenya. Under the new cost structure, Kenyans and entities wishing to own and operate Unmanned Aircraft Systems popularly known as drones,…

By Kibe Mungai, Jackson Mwalulu and Charles Wambugu By a Public Notice published in the daily newspapers on Friday, March 5th, 2021, the Joint Committee of the National Assembly and the Senate invited the public for public participation and submission of memoranda on the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Memoranda were to be submitted by the end of the day on Thursday, March 11th, 2021. This notice was extremely short. On such an important matter as the amendment of a Constitution promulgated through a participatory process, a minimum of 21 days should have been given. Notwithstanding the said…

By Antony Mutunga Working online is the normal now. Since COVID hit, sweeping thousands of jobs with it, many have looked to online platforms to earn their livelihoods. Specifically, the number of creatives using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube to publish their work and material and work has risen exponentially over the past year. Recently, Google, YouTube’s parent company, announced plans to start deducting taxes for creators outside of the US starting June this year. The move, Google explained, arises from its responsibility under Chapter 3 of the US Internal Revenue Code which requires it to collect tax…