The pan-African magazine of choice since 2009
Eight West African nations have agreed to use a new single currency, the “Eco”. The new currency is set to be released in June this year, and it is hoped other neighboring countries will adopt it as well. But sharing the same currency may not be the simple solution to solving the serious economic problems …
A single currency in West Africa – Is the timing right? Read More »
A recent catwalk by models in Paris at the Haute Couture Fashion Week sporting gowns made of an indigenous cotton cloth from Burkina Faso were impressive enough, but much moreso when you realize that their designer, Cameroonian Imane Ayissi, has been trying to break that cultural fashion barrier for 28 years. He is now the …
Ayissi finally hits Paris Haute Couture in style Read More »
The conflict in Cameroon is close to escalating, and possibly further fueling the instability in Central Africa, and unless the African Union becomes more proactive in resolving it, there could be chaos ahead. Gabriel Ngah Kiven and Cheryl Hendricks argue. The violent conflict that erupted in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon in 2016 …
China’s official discourse in Africa has always been portrayed as either a “win-win” or an “all-weather” friendship. But recent racist events in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, which is home to the largest African immigrant population in Asia, has changed the whole terrain. Shamed, Beijing has increased its diplomatic efforts in Africa to repair the …
Chinese send Africans flowers after maltreating them Read More »
It’s been one year since the 2019 general election in Nigeria and the courts are still busy deciding who the winners were in dozens of districts. When one looks at the rate at which the courts, and not the electorate, actually end up deciding the winners of the polls in the country, one must agree …
President Nana Akufo-Addo calls his cousin and finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, an economic “magician.” Before taking office in 2017, Ofori-Atta, an investment banker, built a business empire on a real-estate transaction with a state institution – a deal that one of Ghana’s own governmental criminal investigation agencies has deemed fraudulent. As finance minister, he has …
African ambassadors in China have written to the country’s foreign minister over what they call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus. Several African countries have separately also demanded that China address their concerns that Africans, in particular in the southern city of Guangzhou, are being mistreated and …
African ambassadors in China complain to government over ‘discrimination’ Read More »
More Africans are now using smartphones than ever, and 77% of them are under 35. Chinese companies control the African market and Transsion, a Shenzhen-based company, alone has almost a 50% market share. With Chinese prices so low, the African companies that are making their way onto the market are facing a tough time. “I …
If this epic tale of corruption was told on television, it would be considered a soap opera, complete with incestuous financial relationships connected by outrageously greedy schemes and linked by family ties all the way to the president of a nation. Quite unfortunately, Ghanaians have been watching this program unfold in their own country since …
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge made history by running the fastest 26.2 miles ever in Vienna in October, and cementing his legacy as a super extraordinary athlete. An eight-time major marathon winner and three- time Olympic medalist, Kipchoge covered the marathon distance in 1:59:40, and crossed the seemingly impossible barrier of two hours – a feat that …