The DRC’s 2020 household survey reveals how VAT shapes everyday life–and fairness. Introduced in 2012, VAT offers stable revenue, yet multiple rates and exemptions mostly benefit higher-income households. Tax expenditures cost about 0.82% of GDP, exceeding social safety net spending. Poor families devote more to taxed essentials: about 41% of their spending faces the 16%…
A supermassive black hole violently gobbled up an enormous star, producing a cosmic outburst with the light of 10 trillion suns, according to a new study. The black hole flare, as the phenomenon is known, is thought to be the biggest and most distant ever recorded — it was detected from 10 billion light-years away. “This…
Following the conclusion of its corporate restructuring last week, which included waiving Microsoft’s right of first refusal to be its exclusive compute provider, OpenAI has moved quickly to diversify its cloud infrastructure. The AI giant has just finalized a new, massive multi-year partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), reportedly valued at $38 billion. Read: Nvidia…
On a bright Tuesday morning in Wakiso District, laughter fills the schoolyard of Divine Mercy Junior Primary School. Boys and girls chase one another across the dusty compound, their blue-and-white uniforms fluttering in the breeze. In one corner, a group of pupils crowd around their teacher, acting out a short drama. One boy snatches a…
SADC Mission Says Tanzania’s 2025 Poll Fell Short of Democratic Standards Observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said intimidation, arrests, and an internet shutdown prevented citizens from freely exercising their democratic rights during Tanzania’s 2025 general election. In its preliminary report released on 3 November, the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM), led…
In any successful business, the desire to expand is often powerful, and for franchising it is no different. Once a franchisee has successfully operated a single outlet, the next logical step would appear to be growth by opening a second or third store for multi-store ownership, or even building a regional footprint. “Real, sustainable growth…
The military commander who has ruled Guinea since a coup four years ago has entered the presidential race ahead of next month’s election, breaking an earlier promise to hand power to a civilian government. Gen Mamadi Doumbouya submitted his candidacy at the Supreme Court on Monday, flanked by soldiers and wearing black sunglasses. He did…
JCI Mining says AI-driven analytics and process automation will become essential to staying competitive. JCI Mining positions itself as a leading opencast mining contractor based in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The company operates primarily in the coal mining sector, supplying Eskom power stations and producing export-quality coal for international markets. Known for its extensive use…
Global health experts believe it is high time the World Health Organisation (WHO) reconsidered its Tobacco Control Policy, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which they say has failed to reduce smoking rates, diseases, and deaths over the past two decades. At its inception 20 years ago, the WHO FCTC outlined strategies…
The number of HIV viral load tests is significantly lower than expected, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Laboratory Service which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is significantly less…
