– NEWS –
Vote in South Africa’s parliament moves land reform closer: South Africa took a step to hasten the transfer of land from white to black owners when parliament backed a motion seeking to change the constitution to allow land expropriation without compensation. The ruling African National Congress has long promised reforms to redress racial disparities in land ownership and the subject remains highly emotive more than two decades after the end of apartheid. Whites still own most of South Africa’s land following centuries of brutal colonial dispossession. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said after his inauguration two weeks ago that he would speed up the transfer of land to black people although he stressed that food production and security must be preserved. Ramaphosa explained that the previous practice of „voluntary provider – voluntary buyer“ did not prove to be successful.
reuters.com
Al Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for Burkina Faso attacks: A Mali-based al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility on Saturday for attacks in neighbouring Burkina Faso that left 16 people dead, including eight gunmen, at the army headquarters and French embassy. The group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), often uses Alakhbar and other Mauritanian news agencies to claim responsibility for strikes against civilian and military targets across West Africa’s Sahel region.
reuters.com
Ethiopian lawmakers approve state of emergency: Ethiopian lawmakers have approved the state of emergency announced by the government last month to control continuing anti-government protests in various parts of the country. The measure passed with 395 members of parliament voting for it, 88 against and seven abstentions. The opposition is unprecedented in recent Ethiopian politics as all lawmakers are from the ruling coalition or from affiliated parties. However, footage of an Ethiopian parliamentary session posted online on Saturday appeared to contradict official reports of the number of votes cast to validate the state of emergency, though government officials dismissed the discrepancy as a mistake.
washingtonpost.com, reuters.com
Egypt can transfer Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia: Egypt’s top court has dismissed all outstanding legal challenges to a deal transferring two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. The plan to cede the islands to Riyadh, an ally which has given billions of dollars in aid to Egypt, was announced in 2016 and became mired in political protest and legal action. The Supreme Court ruled that no other court had jurisdiction over the matter, blocking two opposing verdicts – one by the Supreme Administrative Court, which was against ceding control of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, the other by the Court of Urgent Matters, which looked to void that decision.
reuters.com
Fisheries agreement does not apply to Western Sahara: The European Court of Justice has ruled that a long-standing fisheries agreement between Morocco and the EU does not apply to the waters off the coast of Western Sahara. In a clear judgement, the European court decided that if the territory of Western Sahara were to be included within the scope of the Fisheries Agreement, that would be contrary to certain rules of general international law, including the principle of self-determination. It went on to say that, as Western Sahara does not form part of the territory of Morocco, the waters adjacent to Western Sahara were not part of the Moroccan fishing zone referred to in the Fisheries Agreement.
forbes.com
Ghana backs Germany for UN Security Council seat during Berlin talks dw.com
Rwanda: Police shot dead 11 refugees in food riot dw.com
Bosch acquires Hytec in Africa produktion.de
– BACKGROUND –
Ramaphosa reshuffles cabinet: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed investor favorites to key economic management roles in a cabinet reshuffle. 24 of the 38 cabinet posts were newly appointed. Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has been reinstated, while Pravin Gordhan, a two-time former finance minister who was most recently sacked by former President Jacob Zuma in March last year, has been restored to the African National Congress (ANC) cabinet as minister for public enterprises. A popular figure with investors, Gordhan served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017. David Mabuza, deputy president of the ANC and a known ally of Zuma, was appointed as South Africa’s deputy president.
cnbc.com, reuters.com
German business discovers Africa: German corporations VW, Siemens and SAP have signed a car-sharing agreement for Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Starting in May, people will be able to rent cars in the city via an app. At the same time, German business associations BDI, DIHK, BGA organized a German-Ghanaian Business Forum in Berlin in cooperation with the ministries of finance and economics. One of the guests at the forum was Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In general, mobility is at the heart of German aid in Africa. The construction of a railway in Tunis is being supported as well as an improved bus system in Namibia’s capital Windhoek.
handelsblatt.com
– NUMBER –
500 donkeys are processed every day in Kenyan slaughterhouses. Donkey-hide gelatin is considered a miracle elixir in China’s growing middle class. But to meet demand, thousands of donkeys are being stolen and slaughtered in Africa.
dw.com
– QUOTE –
„It is of course easier for Turkey to approach countries with which it has this common denominator.“
Cagri Özdemir, journalist for the „Deutsche Welle“, comments on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent trip to Africa. Noteworthy: The proportion of Muslims in the population of all four countries Erdogan visited (Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal and Mali) is 90 percent.
dw.com
– AT LAST –
Evolution theory angers Africans: A new „Deutsche Welle“ format has caused a stir among listeners in Africa. The series „African Roots“ was actually meant to introduce young listeners to African history. The subject of the first episode was Lucy — also known as Dinknesh — whose skeleton was discovered by American researchers in Ethiopia in 1974. According to scientific estimates, Lucy is approximately 3.2 million years old and has been identified by researchers as one of the earliest ancestors of modern-day humans, lending weight to the theory of evolution. However, many African Facebook commenters did not seem to support this idea. Users were particularly troubled by the artistic representation of Lucy in the web comic, where she looks more like a monkey than a hominid.
dw.com