Opinions

A recent report highlights the urgent need for South Africa to implement reforms to combat state capture, reverse institutional decay, and restore confidence in the constitution. The biggest obstacle is the ruling African National Congress, which is beset by factional infighting. JOHANNESBURG – On January 2, South Africans woke up…

Having committed to pursuing a much closer partnership with African governments and the African Union, the European Union must consider how it can best contribute to Africa’s security and economic prospects. With other global powers competing for influence, much more than trade and investment is at stake. BRUSSELS – After…

While many observers have touted the African Continental Free Trade Area as a game changer for the continent, trade liberalization alone will not necessarily guarantee economic success. Member countries must also implement robust trade facilitation measures, and engage with external partners as a unified trading bloc. CAIRO – The African…

Remittances to low and middle-income countries reached a record high in 2021, forecasted to have increased to $589 billion or 7.3% more than in 2020. Remittance inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa returned to growth in 2021, increasing by 6.2% to $45 billion. In Rwanda, the remittance inflows for 2021 were estimated…

As Africa’s farmers work to adapt to climate change, global leaders must do their part by keeping – and extending – the promises they made at COP26. Increased investment in sustainable agriculture, including research and development, is critical to protect vulnerable people from hunger and ensure food security for all.…

Despite having played a negligible role in creating the climate crisis, African countries already find themselves paying the price for it. More creative and proactive forms of international support are needed to help African countries both adapt and maintain progress toward broader sustainable development goals. KINSHASA – Africa contributes almost…

Mitigating and adapting to climate change require good urban planning, particularly climate-sensitive design. But, despite the need for rapid action, cities like Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, often face high and unnecessary impediments. FREETOWN – With the recent conclusion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that African tax and social-benefit systems are currently ill-equipped to protect households from sudden income losses. Meaningful progress will require policymakers to reduce the size of the informal sector and improve the design and financing of social-protection measures. HELSINKI – Researchers around the world have…

With no sign that Ethiopia’s civil war will end anytime soon, the US and its partners must take action where they can to save lives. In particular, financial sanctions should be broadened to prevent further human-rights abuses, and creative humanitarian intervention is needed to head off mass starvation. WASHINGTON, DC…

Artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics can help Africa’s mining companies optimize their operations and enable them to capitalize on growing demand for the minerals they produce. But new technology also brings new challenges that firms and governments must be ready to confront. WASHINGTON, DC – Mineral resources are a…

The Pandora Papers revealed a wealth of information about the inner workings of offshore finance, leading to calls for international action to combat tax avoidance and evasion. This has been a longstanding problem in Africa, yet organizations on the continent are not leading the push for reform. CAPE TOWN/OXFORD –…

In 2019, the first currency union in Africa seemed poised to become a reality – until an unexpected intervention by Emmanuel Macron disrupted the process. Macron has said he wants to examine France’s legacy in Africa and establish a new relationship with its former colonies, but his actions speak louder…

By blocking the release of all documents concerning the Kennedy assassination, US President Joe Biden has continued what is now something of a White House tradition. It is no wonder that most Americans believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone. AUSTIN – Brood with me on the latest…

While the United States and other rich countries in the Global North start to administer COVID-19 vaccination boosters, only 8.5% of African adults have received one dose of vaccine. Immediate and sustained action is needed both to close the vaccination gap and to reverse a dangerous global health-care divergence. JOHANNESBURG/LONDON…

British writer Michela Wrong; would you choose to believe her publication or independent international platforms? In her latest racist diatribe, Michela Wrong, the author of ‘Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad.’ is taken aback by the fact that despite all that…

The UN General Assembly meeting left its audience with a sense both of dire urgency and of déjà vu. At the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the UN must prove that it can translate calls for action – particularly those made by developing-country leaders – into real progress.…

The free market has never been a free-for-all, yet tech companies have long operated with few constraints on their business models. Perhaps the latest Facebook scandal will finally provide the impetus governments need to take effective action – beginning with the implementation of digital operating permits. SAN FRANCISCO – If…

Paul Rusesabagina lived large from proceeds of his conmanship. He loved the VIP suites. Globe trotting was an addiction. When the invite came through from the Burundian Pastor, in which a private jet had been lined up, Rusesabagina didn’t blink. Rusesabagina was going to meet his troops on the ground,…

After declaring that “America is back” and rejecting almost everything that Donald Trump represented, the Biden administration seemed poised to reclaim the mantle of US leadership within the open market-oriented international order. Yet in its strategy to counter China, it is behaving utterly Trumpian. WASHINGTON, DC – Despite the cantankerous,…

Many aspects of cryptocurrencies are baffling, not least the success of a joke like Dogecoin. But El Salvador’s recent adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar is perhaps the strangest and potentially most worrying example of all. CAMBRIDGE – El Salvador this month became the first country…

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett serves as President of the Foundation which is continuing the legacy of her father, the late Congressman Tom Lantos Ornella Sine Atete would be 16 this year. Her young life was cut short in December 2018 when a vehicle in which she was travelling, was ambushed…

Today, governments must strive to overcome the pandemic, build more inclusive and sustainable economies, and lay the foundations for a fairer and more resilient future. An agreement on food and agricultural trade at the World Trade Organization’s ministerial conference later this year would be an important start. GENEVA – This…

Joe Biden promised to make democracy and human rights central to US foreign policy. But that means not insisting on Israel’s right to defend itself without mentioning its expansion of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, its policy of discrimination, and its denial of the Palestinians’ right to an independent state.…

Last Saturday, July 31, 2021, Cabinet, through the Prime Minister, announced the appointment of Mrs. Yolande Makolo as the new Government Spokesperson and Stéphanie Nyombayire as the substantive Press Secretary to the Presidency. Before these appointments, Cabinet had, on July 14, made interesting appointments at the Presidency, where the new…

In many countries, Facebook is one of the few alternatives to the government-aligned outlets that dominate national media ecosystems. That is why authorities have devoted so many resources to manipulating it, and why the company must take responsibility for stopping them. WASHINGTON, DC – I’ve been a professional free-expression advocate…

German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner has welcomed the possibility of looser restrictions on genetically engineered crops as an “overdue modernization” of EU policy. She is right – and it is not only Europe that needs to rethink its approach. PANCHKHAL, NEPAL – 2020/03/04: A seed-shop that sells GMO seeds, fertilisers…

Like many governments across the world, the Government of Rwanda is still struggling to manage the spread of COVID-19 and limit the scale, scope and depth of its consequences on the nation’s wellbeing. So far, the pandemic has been, socially and economically devastating. It has not only changed how citizens…

Local media outlets exhausted by pandemic-induced financial stresses may fall under the control of oligarchs or repressive governments that strip them of their independence. Six steps can help to prevent this outcome and put smaller news organizations on a sound long-term footing. TOPSHOT – A picture taken on March 15,…

The Communist Party of China’s 1951 annexation of the water-rich Tibetan Plateau – the starting point of Asia’s ten major river systems – gave China tremendous power over Asia’s water map. In the ensuing decades, the country has made the most of this riparian advantage, but at an enormous social…