Airtel Africa has launched a new data centre business aimed at building new networks of data centres in Africa to meet the continent’s growing needs for trusted and sustainable data centres. Dubbed Nxtra, the new product which is founded on Airtel’s commitment to meet Africa’s growing data needs, will also seek to increase the company’s capacity to serve the rising African digital economy. Airtel says that Nxtra’s ambition will allow it to serve the growing needs of African enterprises and its data centre infrastructure. The product will be designed to host the next generation of computing, while providing multi-MW capacity…
Author: NLM Editor
By Carmel Rickard A combination of factors led the UK’s apex supreme court to hold that the government’s deal with Rwanda wasn’t lawful. Among them was Rwanda’s poor human rights record, and the Rwandan judiciary’s lack of independence. The deal, outsourcing the management of asylum-seekers to Kigali, is a key element of the UK government’s policy. But it has also been hotly contested, both in political debate and in the UK courts. Initially, the divisional court dismissed a challenge to the deal, but that approach has now been twice rejected, first by the court of appeal and more recently, by…
By Sethi Ncube Four women, living with HIV, received compensation of U.S.$20,000 each after undergoing involuntary sterilisation without informed consent. In interviews with the BBC, they shared their harrowing experiences, after a nine-year legal battle. Penda, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said she underwent surgery shortly after having twins at the state-owned Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi. The process is known as bilateral tubal ligation (BTL). It involves cutting, tying, burning, clipping, or partially removing the fallopian tubes, closing them off to avoid future pregnancies. The father of her twins left before they were born, and her husband…
Following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on December 5th 2023, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has raised the benchmark lending rate from 10.5% to 12.5% percent in yet another attempt at containing the devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar. As a result of the devaluation opf the shilling, debt servicing costs have increased for the country while the price on imports increases as well. According to the MPC, the exchange rate depreciation continues to exert upward pressure on domestic prices thereby increasing the cost of living and reducing the purchasing power. According to CBK…
The Conversation Within a few years of independence, African governments asserted sovereignty over their metal and mineral resources. Prior to this, the resources were exploited by European mining corporations. Since the 1990s, transnational corporations have once again become the dominant force as owners and managers of major mining projects. Ben Radley has researched economic transformation in central Africa, with a particular focus on resource-based industrialisation. He argues in this excerpt of his new book, Disrupted Development in the Congo: The Fragile Foundations of the African Mining Consensus, that the return of transnationals was carried out through a three-stage process beginning with…
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has filed a petition seeking orders to compel Treasury to allocate enough funds to enable political parties perform their duties effectively. ODM through its lawyer Awele Jackson stated that the party has been unable to perform its function due to poor distribution of funds. He stated that the party being one of the biggest political party in Kenya should be considered when funds are being released. “The net effect of these reductions is that the petitioner/applicant, a political party with grassroots offices, several employees, member programmes and work plans in the whole of the Republic…
Eight dynamic African young women-led businesses emerged as winners of the 2023 YouthAdapt challenge. Each business will receive grant funding of up to $100,000. They will also receive a comprehensive mentorship and coaching as part of a 12-month accelerator program. Since its launch in 2021, the YouthADAPT initiative has provided more than $5 million to 33 young entrepreneurs from 19 African nations. Jointly organised by the African Development Bank Group and the Global Center on Adaptation, supported by the Africa Climate Change Fund, YouthADAPT is an annual competition for young entrepreneurs leading micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in Africa with innovative…
The National Transport and Safety Authority has said that the printing of the smart driving licenses may delay much longer following the breakdown of a machine used to print the documents. NTSA director-general George Njao, said that his team has been unable to print the licenses due to what he termed as compatibility issues between the current printer and the cards’ prototypes. The DG therefore said that as such, drivers seeking the licenses may have to wait a bit longer as NTSA looks for an alternative solution to the problem. He added that as a result of the ongoing compatibility…
Dr Nyakang’o’s arrest is in connection to a complaint made against her and 10 other people in 2016 before she became CoB The Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has been arrested by police. Nyakang’o was arrested by police in Mombasa on Tuesday and is expected to face charges, including a charge on conspiracy to defraud. The charges are in connection to a complaint made against her and 10 other people in 2016, before she became the CoB. According to the allegations, Nyakang’o and ten others are said to have committed a crime of conspiracy to defraud contrary to Section 317…
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community – at no cost. By Velma Pamela The first thing that the new arrivals at Kairat Medical Centre receive is breakfast. “We start by giving them Uji because most of them have travelled a long distance and haven’t had breakfast, so they need the energy,” explained Amina Omar, project manager at a groundbreaking medical scheme hosted by the medical centre. The other thing the new arrivals tend to notice is the man in the white coat…