Author: NLM Correspondent

The Kenya government aims to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in the country in the next five years with a goal to have 5 percent of all registered vehicles in Kenya being electric vehicles by 2025. According to a new government strategy, all new public buildings will have charging stations in the next five years. The number of registered motor vehicles in Kenya reached 3.28 million in 2018, consisting of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, buses, heavy goods vehicles and motorcycles. Governments across the world are embracing electric vehicles due to their cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness. Some African countries…

African payment solutions are critical to minimising fraud while improving the free flow of funds to boost business and economic activity Digital payments are now, more than ever, the key to unlocking business growth on the continent By Murray Gardiner The statistics that hover uncertainty around Africa are not ones that should make the continent proud. The World Bank has estimated that Africa could potentially hold 90 percent of the global poor population by 2030 and has recently cut its economic growth predictions to between -2.1 percent and -5.1 percent in 2020 from the 2.4 percent of 2019. The situation has been significantly worsened…

Egypt replaced South Africa as the top ranked destination by projects in the region, experiencing a 60 percent increase from 85 to 136 projects in 2019, the report said. Along with a $12bn IMF-mandated reform programme, the government has embarked on massive infrastructure spending in sectors ranging from energy to construction. South Africa follows Egypt at 123 projects, though it easily outdoes all other African countries in terms of the number of projects it financed outside its own territory last year. FDI Intelligence, a product of the Financial Times, found that South Africa invested in 81 projects outside the rainbow…

Closer cooperation, co-learning and co-design can help engage the African ‘genius’ and support native innovation in addition to the traditional imported innovation and aid its adoption.. By Emanuela Colombo Africa is running fast towards its history, but the marathon is always a long-haul challenge, in which the way in which energy is mastered can make a difference between success and failure. Energy is the lifeblood of society, but the energy-climate-development requires a good balance between over-exploitation of resources and their use for human activity. That is why Africa needs a sustainable energy system providing reliable, affordable and clean energy for…

Governments are failing to convey sufficient and credible macroeconomic data and other important information to rating agencies and other interested parties. By Misheck Mutize A number of African countries have recently been contesting decisions by credit rating agencies. Some have raised objections that the rating agencies lack understanding of their economic environment. Others have challenged the correctness of their ratings on the basis that the agencies had not discussed them with the country’s representatives. The United Nations has questioned the timing and basis for rating downgrades. The eurozone rating watchdog – the European Securities and Markets Authority – has also cautioned agencies against deepening the coronavirus crisis through “quick-fire” downgrades of…

Expanding taxation in the telecoms sector could be a suitable way of mobilizing resources for post-COVID Last month in Cameroon, president Paul Biya ordered the deferment of the collection, by digital means, of custom duties and taxes on imported phones and other electronic devices. A new automated system for the collection had been scheduled to go operational on October 15. But the move sparked widespread outrage, especially online with the hashtag #EndPhoneTax, in a country where manifestation of dissent can easily spiral into violence. The pressure was enough to push the government to halt the tax collection system which would have…

By Janine Zacharia and Andrew Grotto Journalists face a tough dilemma when reporting on hacked documents. Authentic documents obtained by illicit means and leaked to the public can provide information that is very much in the public interest, but reporting on them can at the same time play into an information operation launched by whomever hacked and leaked the documents. Researchers are trying to understand how to balance those interests. Reporting on information of murky provenance takes time, which can clash with the competitive instinct to publish as quickly as possible. To deal with this, the playbook, “How to Report…

Kenya: innocent bystander or invested stakeholder? By Fuad Abdirahman In February 2021, Somalia will go to the polls to elect a new president. About half a dozen political heavyweights, including the incumbent Mohamed Farmaajo, as well as former presidents, have thrown their hats in the ring to compete for the votes of 329 members of parliament for the top seat. MPs electing the president come to the parliament through a clan-based power sharing model known as 4.5 – a power-sharing arrangement that incorporates the four largest clans, while the rest of the minority clans share the point five, or half…

In the current environment, with clan-based selection processes, institutionalized quotas are the only way to ensure women’s inclusion in the political process By Samiya Gaid As the global community marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, it affords nations like Somalia the opportunity to take stock of progress against the critical commitments of women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in politics and peacebuilding as well as the protection of women and girls in times of peace and war. Increased reports of incidents of violence against women and girls in recent months highlight why this resolution…

Can Somalia harmonize its clan identity and politics – which have grown into a legitimate political culture – with a multiparty system to mature the country’s democratic model? By Mohamed Salah Ahmed Mid this year, Somalia President Mohamed Farmaajo signed an electoral law that was expected to move the country from a clan-based political system to a multiparty system. This move sparked hope of ending the clan-based power-sharing model of the 4.5 formula, which gives equal seats in Parliament to the four major clans and lays the groundwork for the long-awaited multiparty system. In other words, the move meant that…