Andrew Mwenda’s recent remarks on Uganda’s fiscal predicament should resonate far beyond Kampala. When nearly half of government revenue, 46 percent, is consumed by debt servicing, leaving only 54 percent for salaries, roads, bridges, dams, healthcare, education, and other public investments, the challenge is no longer merely fiscal. It is developmental. A nation cannot sustainably…
For decades, Africa’s place in the global oil economy was not merely subordinate; it was designed to be so. Crude flowed out. Refined fuel flowed back in. Value accumulated elsewhere. This was not an unfortunate equilibrium but a system built with precision: refining infrastructure in Europe, currencies of trade external, shipping, and pricing settled far…
A former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has warned that Africa risked deeper instability and democratic decline if leaders failed to strengthen institutions, tackle poverty and resist rising xenophobia across the continent. Fayemi gave the warning while delivering the 16th Africa Day Lecture organised by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation in Cape Town, South…
Africa has to make a critical shift towards self-sufficiency in addressing its HIV challenges, emphasising the need for ownership, sustainable financing and strengthened health infrastructure for lasting impact. The recent Second Global Edition of the African Public Square (APS) open debate, convened during King’s Africa Week at Bush House, King’s College London, on 2 March…
President John Dramani Mahama, the African Union champion of African financial Institutions, has hinted that he is leading advocacy for the repatriation of and investment of part of Africa’s “huge foreign reserves” in African Financial Institutions. According to him, most of these foreign reserves are by colonial construct held in Western financial institutions and, in…
Moscow — Squeezed between import substitution and dependency syndrome, a condition characterized by a set of associated economic symptoms–that is rules and regulations–majority of African countries are shifting from United States and Europe to an incoherent alternative bilateral partnerships with Russia, China and the Global South. By forging new partnerships, for instance with Russia, these…
India and South Africa are both navigating one of the toughest challenges of the 21st century: shifting their electricity systems away from ageing coal-fired power stations while ensuring people still have reliable, affordable energy. South Africa generates about 74% of its electricity from coal, one of the highest shares in the world. Electricity plants are…
Mr Saraki observed that more than six decades after independence, Africa’s project of full sovereignty–economic, political, and intellectual–remains incomplete. Former Senate President of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki, has urged African leaders to dismantle economic and institutional dependency and chart a new course of self-reliance, innovation, and prosperity. Delivering a keynote address at the Democracy Union for…
The sudden winding down of USAID by the Trump Administration, the linchpin of America’s annual $40 billion vast footprint in global assistance programs led to wide ranging discussion on the future of foreign aid. Africa, a major recipient of foreign aid is now in the eye of the storm as United States and Western allies…
As global powers and the tech industry compete for African minerals, the continent needs tech diplomats to negotiate fairer deals. Thirty percent of the world’s critical minerals come from Africa, and their access is a priority for South Africa’s government during its G20 presidency this year. The issue is expected to be a key discussion…
