57% of respondents to a Yazi survey said they had sacrificed essentials to fund online gambling. (Photograph by Nicola Mawson) More than half of online gamblers in a survey said they sacrificed essentials to fund betting and almost a third had borrowed money to gamble. This, even as an international study shows operators are increasingly…
South African businesses are rolling out AI voice agents at speed. Most of those agents were built in the US. They sound American, “think” in English and process calls through servers on the other side of the world. Researchers at the University of Cape Town say the problem goes deeper than anyone selling a product…
Government performance ratings improve slightly, but still overwhelmingly negative. Key findings Six in 10 Africans (59%) describe their country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad.” A slim majority (51%) say their country’s economic situation has worsened over the past year. About half (49%) of citizens are optimistic that their country’s economic situation will…
ARC urges the public to report suspicious investment offers. Investment holding firm African Rainbow Capital (ARC) is warning the public about a criminal syndicate fraudulently using the company’s branding and the identities of executives to lure people into investment scams. It says the fraudsters are primarily operating through social media platforms, particularly WhatsApp groups, where…
Only half are confident that their country’s legal system provides justice for ordinary citizens. Key findings Formal and informal justice systems continue to coexist: Across 38 countries, almost half of citizens see the police (41%) or local courts (7%) as their first point of contact for resolving legal problems, but 26% would go first to…
In my earlier piece in February, Beyond Preferences and Rhetoric: What Africa’s 2025 Integration Moment Really Demanded I argued that Africa’s long-term competitiveness would not be secured by waiting on external trade preferences, but by taking integration seriously as an economic project. I called for political will, industrial strategy, and a human-centred approach to the continental…
The Republic of Congo has announced that it will introduce visa-free entry for all African citizens beginning January 1, 2027, in a policy shift aimed at advancing regional integration and easing cross-border movement across the continent. The decision was unveiled by President Denis Sassou Nguesso during Africa Day celebrations in Brazzaville, on May 25, an…
Africans Communicating Africa (AfriComms Africa), a pan-African foundation committed to strengthening authentic African storytelling and nurturing a new generation of African communicators, will officially launch on Tuesday, May 26 in Accra. Organised to coincide with Africa Day celebrations, the launch would convene thought leaders and communication professionals for timely conversations on how Africa is positioned…
Africa will celebrate Africa Day on Monday. But for many Africans it is just another day off. There will be speeches and sloganeering from the political establishment talking about African unity and integration. In essence, though, the day is just another ritual on the African political calendar. What is Africa Day? Africa Day is an…
Six days after the October 1, 1960 independence of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa stood before the United Nations, UN. The historical mission of Nigeria he said, is to develop Africa, the continent which gave birth to humanity and modern civilization. The date was October 7, 1960 in the hallowed chambers…
