Ghana: Ama Failing Accra ...World Bank Funded Survey Reveals The Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Dr. Alfred Vanderpuije and his backroom staff at the Assembly have been nailed by a World Bank-funded survey as administrators doing little to better the lot of the territory they are mandated by the state to oversee, that is (...)

Ghana: Making AMA Effective The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is not doing a good job managing the national capital. This is not meant to put down any individual or administration.

Eritrea: Administrator Urges General Public to Apply Judicious Utilization of Water Resource The Administrator of the Central region, Mr. Kahsai Gebrehiwet, called on the general public to apply judicious utilization of water resource so that the micro-dams and reservoirs would play increased role in ensuring potable water supply and facilitating development (...)

Eritrea: Construction of Water Sources to Be Stepped Up in Logo-Anseba Sub-Zone The Administrator of Logo-Anseba sub-zone, Mr. Osman Mohammed Furuj, highlighted the need for reinforcing the task of constructing micro-dams and water reservoirs so as to enrich underground water resource and boost production.

Nigeria: Aba - Unido Donates Machines for Shoe, Garment Production The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has donated sewing machines to the Abia Government to boost shoe and garment production in Aba.

Mozambique: Govt Backs Down on Price Rises In the wake of last week’s riots in Maputo against price increases, the Mozambican government on Tuesday announced that it will subsidise bread, and reduced the announced increases in water and electricity tariffs.

Africa: Signs of Success in Fight Against Poverty Five years before the deadline set by world leaders in 2000 to achieve 8 major development goals, Africa is making progress. But more efforts are needed to reach the targets. Africa Renewal’s André-Michel Essoungou reveals the (...)

Burkina Faso: UN Agencies Launch Appeal to Assist Flood Victims United Nations aid agencies and their partners today launched an appeal for more than $14 million to help the victims of flooding in Burkina Faso rebuild their homes and livelihoods over the next six month. The emergency humanitarian action plan unveiled today estimates that about 105,000 (...)

Mozambique: Urban Poor Ignored Carlos Matos, who has worked as a policeman in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, for the past 12 years, has to borrow a few dollars each month to supplement his US$52 wage.

Africa: South Still Battling to Stop North's Biopiracy The United Nations declared 2010 the Year of Biodiversity. But 17 years after the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the issue of biopiracy is still pitching North against South.

Africa: Continent's Uphill Climb to the Millennium Development Goals Africa is facing big challenges in achieving the world’s anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The overall statistics may be sobering, but some countries are showing bright spots of progress. Africa Renewal sums up the success and the (...)

Africa: World Must Change Perceptions of Continent, Says UN Official Cheick Sidi Diarra, from Mali, is the UN Special Adviser on Africa. His job description includes increasing international support for Africa’s development and security, especially for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (...)

South Africa: Rooibos Agrees to Change Anti-Competitive Ways THE wholesome image of rooibos tea was stirred yesterday when Rooibos Ltd - the company that controls more than 90% of the South African market for the healthful drink - agreed to a settlement with the Competition Commission not to engage in murky practices with (...)

Nigeria: Jonathan - Why FG's Spending Debt Relief Fund on Teachers' Training President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday justified the decision of the Federal Government to fund the training of over 557,155 primary school teachers nationwide through the utilisation of the savings from the Debt Relief Gains (DRG), saying it is all in an effort to tackle the shortage of (...)

Sudan: Thousands Flee South Sudan Floods Floods in south Sudan have forced more than 50,000 people from their homes, health officials said on Tuesday, warning that the situation could worsen.

Zambia: New Orange Maize Breed Coming Zambia will this year introduce a new breed of orange maize to further curb the high vitamin A deficiency levels among people in the country especially the children.

Rwanda: Name, Redesign Kigali Roads Kigali City Council has embarked on the rehabilitation of the road network to ease the flow of traffic in the city. The multi million dollar project has transformed the roads.

East Africa: Why Are Our Cities Left to Be Filthy? Bujumbura and Kigali streets are cleaner than most other cities in East Africa. Its no wonder, they both have general cleaning days.On these days, the general public clean their areas of abode, the drainage, the roads leading to their homes, etc, and the city is also given a thorough (...)

Biofuels and the Scramble for Farmland in Africa The European Union has been urged to drop its pledge to produce 10 per cent of all transport fuels from biofuels by 2020 because of the effect this has had on the purchase of African land by multinational companies.

East Africa: First EAC Lake Victoria Investment Forum for December Preparations are underway for the first-ever EAC Lake Victoria Basin Investment Forum, planned for later this year.

Rwanda: Nation's Exports Increase by 26 Percent Rwanda’s exports rose by 26% in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, boosted by increased cross boarder trade that has also improved the country’s trade balance with its neighboring countries.

Namibia: Japan Seeks Increased Trade Namibia is very attractive for Japanese companies to set up base, and the two countries are pushing to have a formal trade cooperation policy in place, a senior Japanese government official said.

Kenya: 400 Families Displaced By Floods More than 400 families have been rendered homeless in South Rift and North Rift by floods.

Africa: Erratic Rainfall Poses Growing Threat to Rural Poor, New Report Says Against a backdrop of extreme weather wreaking havoc around the world, a new report warns that increasingly erratic rainfall related to climate change will pose a major threat to food security and economic growth, especially in Africa and Asia, requiring increased investment in diverse forms of (...)

South Africa: Effective Waste Management Projects Have Economic Benefits EFFECTIVE waste management can create jobs, generate electricity and provide valuable resources for economic growth. But although consumers are becoming more interested in recycling initiatives, SA still has a lot of work to (...)

South Africa: Acid Mine Water 'Needs Rapid Response' The government is in a race against time to come up with a plan to halt acid mine drainage within the next 17 months before the polluted mine water reaches the critical level of 150m below the streets of Johannesburg.

South Africa: China May Absorb Grain Surplus - Agriculture Ministry THE government yesterday brought hope to grain farmers who are struggling to find alternative markets to dispose of surplus maize following a bumper crop that drove prices down.

Mozambique: Brewery Considers Using Cassava in Beer Production The brewery in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, owned by CDM, the local subsidiary of South African Breweries, is considering using locally grown cassava in beer production, to reduce the financial burden arising from the import of raw (...)