Month: April 2020

The homeless in Johannesburg South Africa are the most affected by containment measures that have been in place in the country for more than a month. With these restrictive measures, this very disadvantaged section of the population can no longer count on the generosity of motorists, shopkeepers or pedestrians. Without any social safety net, the destitute, mostly migrants living on… Read More

Zimbabwe farmers started selling their tobacco crop on Wednesday after the coronavirus outbreak delayed the opening of auctions, which provide vital foreign currency inflows, by more than a month. Tobacco is the second biggest earner of foreign exchange after gold, and last year generated $747 million in exports mainly to China and Europe, according to central bank data. Industry regulator… Read More

Uganda has stepped up restrictions on trucks passing through its territory – limiting them to one driver and banning them from stopping over in hotels – in a bid to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The landlocked country sits on some of east Africa’s busiest road cargo routes that funnel goods from ports in Kenya and Tanzania further… Read More

The implementation of a mammoth African free trade agreement will not begin on July 1 as planned due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said on Tuesday. “It is obviously not possible to commence trade as we had intended on 1 July under the current circumstances,” Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area,… Read More

The Lesotho senate continues to pile pressure on Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to resign. On Tuesday, the senate imposed limits on Thabane’s powers to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections. The senate adopted a constitutional amendment which will among others, require the Prime Minister to obtain an agreement of a majority of legislators and senators, before proposing to the… Read More

Malawi launches emergency cash transfer programme targeting about 1 million people and small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, President Arthur Peter Mutharika said on Tuesday. Eligible households will receive a 35,000 Malawi kwacha ($40) monthly payment, matching the country’s minimum wage, through mobile cash transfer starting in May, Mutharika said. “This will strengthen livelihoods,” Mutharika said in a nightly… Read More

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has criticised MPs for allocating to themselves 10 billion Ugandan shillings ($2.6 million dollars) in the name of raising coronavirus awareness. He described the action of the parliamentarians as “falling into a trap”. Addressing the country on Tuesday, Museveni said he’s heard that Ugandans are very angry with the MPs, saying he also disagreed with the… Read More

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday its executive board approved $3.4 billion in emergency financial assistance for Nigeria to support the oil exporter’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The global lender said it remained closely engaged with Nigerian authorities and was ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed. The outbreak and sharp fall in oil prices… Read More

More than 300 cases of people infected with Covid-19 were detected in three prisons in Morocco, after a screening campaign conducted in the 73 prisons of the kingdom, prison authorities said Tuesday. Out of 1,736 people subjected to screening tests in prisons, 313 cases of contamination have been recorded so far. In the prison of Ouarzazate (south) 303 positive cases… Read More