Tag Archives: South Africa

24Apr/23

Sudan: violence between army and militia is a symptom of an old disease that is destroying Africa

Paul Jackson, University of Birmingham

A three-day ceasefire to mark the Islamic festival of Eid-al-Fitr in Khartoum appears to be dead in the water as fighting continues in the Sudanese capital. According to the World Health Organization, more than 330 people have been killed over the past week. Now, with reports emerging that arms are being sent from Egypt and Libya, there are growing fears the situation could develop into a civil war that could draw in regional powers.

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18Apr/23

Debt dangers in Africa: how defaults hurt people, and why forgiveness isn’t the answer

Philippe Burger, University of the Free State

Public debt repayments in some African countries are at their highest levels since 1998. The Conversation Africa’s founding editor Caroline Southey talks to dean and economics professor Philippe Burger about the danger of debt problems some African countries face.

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15Apr/23

Why democratic countries around the world are not prepared to support Ukraine – and some are shifting closer to Russia

Jose Caballero, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

After over a year of the Ukraine war, efforts at building a global consensus against Russia seem to have stalled, with many countries opting for neutrality.

The number of countries condemning Russia has declined, according to some sources. Botswana has edged towards Russia from its original pro-Ukraine stance, South Africa is moving from neutral to Russia-leaning and Colombia from condemning Russia to a neutral stance. At the same time, a large number of countries have been reluctant to support Ukraine.

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14Apr/23

CANTU BEAUTY CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL BLACK WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, ANNOUNCING FOURTH YEAR OF PARTNERSHIP WITH WOMEN EMPOWERING NATIONS TO CULTIVATE FEMALE LEADERSHIP


Cantu Beauty, an award-winning textured hair care brand, once again joins Women Empowering Nations (WEN) to host the 2023 Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) Global Cohort: an immersive, high impact leadership coaching experience beginning this month through July 2023 for women of color across the globe. This year’s cohort builds on the 2022 program and received applications from more than 2,500 young women from seven countries — the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, France, Germany, Ghana and Nigeria. This year’s investment will eclipse $1 million in total by Cantu toward community efforts across programs and partners including Women Empowering Nations. Continue reading

03Apr/23

Remarks by Vice President Harris and President Hichilema of Zambia in Joint Press Conference

State House
Lusaka, Zambia

3:37 P.M. CAT

ZAMBIAN OFFICIAL: Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia; Honorable Madam Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America; cabinet ministers present from both countries; members of the press; distinguished invited guests; ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to the press conference being held here at State House this afternoon.

And to begin the process, I now have the singular honor and privilege to call upon the President of the Republic of Zambia to deliver his remarks.
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30Mar/23

Industry players call for a ‘non-stop’ approach to Africa’s banking digitisation

If banks want to remain competitive in the face of neo-bank and fintech upstarts, they’ll have to fundamentally change the way they do business to be digital first. And if they’re going to achieve that goal, then working with technology partners to ensure that they have the right infrastructure in place will be crucial. That was the overriding message from the speakers at a media roundtable event hosted during the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit for Africa 2023, recently held in Cape Town, South Africa. Continue reading

01Dec/22

FTX collapse crushes crypto dreams in Africa and beyond

  • FTX’s bankruptcy hurts small investors across the world
  • Young African crypto backers fret about damage to sector
  • Regulators repeat warnings about risks of crypto dealing

LAGOS/BANGKOK – Days before his FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed, co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted “Hello, West Africa!” – his latest nod to a region where a growing number of kitchen table investors had put their faith, and savings, in FTX.
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17Oct/22

Will South Africa’s street vendors go bust in a cashless world?

Kim Harrisberg

Published: October 12, 2022

  • Digital payments on the rise in South Africa
  • People without mobile phones, bank accounts excluded
  • Calls for innovation to include informal economy

JOHANNESBURG – For more than a decade, musician Thomas Nhassavele has been busking next to the parking payment machine at Johannesburg’s Rosebank Mall, where drivers often dropped their change into his guitar case. Continue reading

13Oct/22

What is cultural appropriation and why is it so harmful?

Adam Haupt, University of Cape Town

Die Antwoord is a South African band that uses hip-hop music to create a style it calls “zef”. Since it first appeared in 2009, Die Antwoord has been criticised for cultural appropriation (using cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative way). It’s accused of copying the lyrics and styles of Cape Town artists rapping in South Africa’s Kaaps language, and of mimicking the visual styles of Cape Flats gang members. Adam Haupt has researched and written extensively on hip-hop and identity. He discusses cultural appropriation and the role of power in interactions between dominant and marginalised subjects in a case like Die Antwoord’s.

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26Sep/22

South African teens skip school to chase risky crypto dreams

  • Young South Africans see crypto as way to quick wealth
  • Poverty, high unemployment pushes them to crypto
  • Users not fully aware of risks, vulnerable to scams

By Kimberly Mutandiro

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – John first heard of cryptocurrency three years ago, when the teenager came across slick YouTube videos and Facebook posts of other South Africans claiming to have become wealthy overnight with bitcoin.
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