Council on Foreign Relations- The Nigeria Security Tracker shows a significant fall in Boko Haram activity over the past year. Following peaks in 2014 and 2015, the levels of violence associated with Boko Haram have returned to the level of 2011. The self-proclaimed Islamic State apparently demoted Abubakar Shekau from his leadership position of the organization’s West African province. Shekau ostensibly accepted… Read more »
Global Risk Insights- South Africa is facing increasing instability as student protests sweep across the country, leading to violent clashes with police. The unrest began last week, and has continued to intensify in response to government plans to raise tuition fees by up to eight percent in 2017. Currently, only nine of the country’s 26 universities are operating, with student… Read more »
Zimbabwean police have announced a fresh ban on protests in the capital Harare, state media said Tuesday, in another attempt to end demonstrations against veteran ruler President Robert Mugabe. The order came hours after a coalition of opposition parties said they would stage mass protests across the country on Saturday to push for reform before elections due in 2018. An… Read more »
The government of South Sudan on Friday denounced what it called a groundless report that accuses the president and other figures engaged in the country’s civil war of fomenting violence in order to amass illegal wealth. The report, released on Monday by the Sentry, a Washington-based advocacy group that seeks to expose corruption in Africa, said that relatives and associates… Read more »
A British historian who spent almost 20 years working as a tour guide in South Africa specialising in the Anglo-Zulu war has died after a savage beating by armed robbers at his home. Robert Gerrard trained under David Rattray, the most celebrated historical storyteller in the region and a close friend of the Prince of Wales. Mr Gerrard later became the resident… Read more »
A politically stable and peaceful environment is essential for economic development. Conversely, a thriving economy is a major factor in securing political stability. International exchange also promotes the transfer of skills and technology. Germany and Europe need to shift their focus from poverty reduction to the promotion of private business involvement.
With the slump in global commodity prices and the slowdown in emerging markets continue to weigh on export revenues and fiscal positions of key companies in the region, operational risk for companies doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa is on the increase. Supply chain risk in Sub-Saharan Africa worsened from 5.526 points to 5.544 during the second quarter of 2016, as… Read more »
A JRC paper published in Nature Energy reveals that changing the existing energy infrastructure that is unexploited or poorly used in sub-Saharan Africa could reduce the cost and lower the chances of risk for investors, and enable 15.4 million people get access to sustainably produced electricity. This attempt requires an investment of € 1 – 1.5 billion to generate an… Read more »
21 September 2016 – Speaking from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Hage Geingob, the President of Namibia, recalled last year’s commitment by UN Member States to a new agenda for Sustainable Development to “join the global drive towards ensuring a life of dignity for all.” “We are all in agreement that effective implementation of this agenda will… Read more »
21 September 2016 – Speaking from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Hage Geingob, the President of Namibia, recalled last year’s commitment by UN Member States to a new agenda for Sustainable Development to “join the global drive towards ensuring a life of dignity for all.” “We are all in agreement that effective implementation of this agenda will require coherence… Read more »