Africans League

Thousands of teachers and lawyers in English-speaking regions of Cameroon are on strike, because they think the government is trying to marginalise them by imposing the French language on their schools and courts. Areas controlled by Britain and France joined to form Cameroon after the colonial powers withdrew in the 1960s. As a result, the country now has 10 semi-autonomous administrative regions: eight are Francophone, while the North and Southwest regions are home to approximately five million English speakers. Anglophones in the country have long complained that they face discrimination. They often say that they are excluded from state jobs as a result of their limited French language skills. They also complain that official documents are often only published in French, even though English is also an official language. "There are two national school curriculums in English-speaking regions," said Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi, reporting from Bamenda. "But Frenc...

Yahya Jammeh, the longtime president of The Gambia, has conceded defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow, accepting that the people have "decided that I should take the back seat". Jammeh, who came to power in 1994 as a 29-year-old army officer following a military coup, had won four previous polls. Speaking to the public on Gambian television late on Friday, Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory", saying: "I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best." He said: "If [Barrow] wants to work with us also, I have no problem with that. I will help him work towards the transition," he said, confirming that he would not contest the result." Barrow's victory in Thursday's presidential election brings to an end Jammeh's 22-year rule. Gambians voted by placing marbles into drums marked for each candidate. Barrow received 263,515 votes while Jammeh won 212,099, Alieu Momarr Njai, the electoral commission head,...

The ECOWAS Commission, the African Union and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) have congratulated the President-elect of The Gambia, Mr. Adama Barrow on his stunning victory in the December 1 presidential election. The three bodies, in a joint statement issued on Saturday, also hailed the incumbent Yahya Jammeh for gracefully conceding defeat. Jammeh, who has ruled the tiny West African nation for 22 years, lost the Thursday's election to a property developer, Barrow, who won more than 45% of the vote. The President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to West Africa and Sahel commended "the people of The Gambia for peaceful, free, fair and transparent presidential election, which was in line with the provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the AU Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance." Th...

Six months ago Adama Barrow was unknown in the political field, but he has just been elected president of The Gambia: His victory brings to an end more than two decades of Yahya Jammeh's rule. 263,515 marbles spoke in favour of for him: Adama Barrow, the opposition leader, will be the next president of The Gambia. Barrow was declared winner with 45 percent. He stunningly d Even though his victory came as a surprise, Barrow himself seemed to see into the future when he told DW before the election that Gambia needed a change. "The infrastructure in 1975 is better than now. Road network in the capital is very bad," Barrow said. Six months ago, hardly anyone would have recognized Barrow on the streets. Now his portrait is plastered on car windows, campaign posters and even t-shirts. Barrow entered into politics after top officials from the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) were jailed in July. Under his flag, seven opposition parties and one independent candidate joi...

Yundum, Gambia - The Gambian opposition leader, Adama Barrow, has won the presidential election, ending the 22-year rule of President Yahya Jammeh in the West African country. News of Barrow's victory prompted thousands to take to the streets of the capital Banjul in celebration - some on foot while others rode in cars and trucks and on motorbikes - as confused soldiers looked on. Following his victory, Al Jazeera caught up with Barrow for an interview. The transcript of the interview has been edited for clarity. Al Jazeera: During your address to the nation and during the campaign, you pledged to carry out some electoral reforms, including a two-term limit for president. Can you elaborate? Adama Barrow: We promised to do a lot of things, including electoral reforms. We will look at everything and avoid making any mistake to arrive at a final document. We want the democratic process to be very smooth in the future. We want a level playing field for every politician in the futur...

At least 20 people have been killed in the central region of the Democratic Republic of Congo when fighters loyal to a local chief clashed with security forces, civil society leaders and residents said. The fighting in Tshikapa, the capital of Kasai province, started on Saturday and continued on Sunday, with the armed fighters taking control of three hills overlooking the town, a local journalist told DPA news agency via telephone. Among the dead were ten soldiers, four police officers and six fighters, he added. The AFP news agency reported a higher death toll of 23. The central region of DR Congo had until now been generally peaceful, as opposed to the east of the country, where dozens of armed groups vie for control over territory and mineral resources. The aim of the armed men was to seize local government buildings as well as the airport, according to witness reports. Local government officials, including the deputy governor, had fled Tshikapa when the clashes reached the cent...

The first former child soldier to appear at the International Criminal Court has pleaded not guilty and told judges he was a victim too. Lords Resistance Army (LRA) commander Dominic Ongwen said the LRA was responsible and he had also suffered from the atrocities. Ongwen, now in his early 40s, was a boy when he was abducted by the notoriously ruthless rebel cult. He faces 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda Dominic Ongwen and the quest for justice Mr Ongwen is accused of leading attacks on four camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in northern Uganda, murdering and torturing civilians, and forcing women into marriage and children to take part in the fighting. But he told the court the charges should be brought against the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony, not him. "It is the LRA who abducted people in northern Uganda, killed people in northern Uganda and committed atrocities in northern Uganda. I'm one of the people against whom the LRA committ...

"The bells of freedoms are ringing in the four corners of the Gambia. We are free at last and the thousands of Gambians who were forced into exile can now return home and help rebuild their country. We shall no longer be afraid to hold political discussions in the open. We can now sleep peacefully at night without the men in black breaking in our homes and take us away in front of our children. We are indeed really free. ... Alhamdulillah, change has happened in the Gambia." - Jollof News editorial, December 2, 2016 This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a round-up of short articles following the surprise election victory of opposition candidate Adama Barrow and the even more surprising concession speech by strongman Yahya Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years. The first is the editorial from JollofNews quoted above. Others are from the Guardian (UK), African Leadership Magazine (UK), Daily Maverick (South Africa, and Foreign Policy (USA) Also of particular interest are th...

About the project The Bakwena Road consists of a 95km section of the N1 highway running from Pretoria northwards, and a 290km section of the N4 highway running from Pretoria westwards, to the Botswana border. The route was designed to form part of the Maputo development corridor and in turn, stimulate agriculture, manufacturing, mining and tourism by connecting South Africa’s industrial and commercial heartland, the Witwatersrand, with its nearest deep water port in Maputo, Mozambique. The toll road has been fully operational since December 2004, and the blended annual average growth rate from 2004 to 2009 was more than 9%. Financing AFC was approached by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) to co-invest in an equity investment to part-fund the acquisition of Infrastructure Concession South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a special purpose vehicle established to hold 50% of Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concession (Pty) Limited, a toll road concession company that operates t...

The Henri Konan Bedie Bridge is a US$365 million public private partnership (PPP) project in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and consists of a 6.4km highway and 1.9km bridge with three lanes in each direction across the Ebrié lagoon, connecting Abidjan’s residential Riviera district directly with the commercial district of Marcory. The new bridge eliminates the need to use the heavily congested 9km route via existing bridges and includes a toll station on the north side of the lagoon and footbridges for pedestrians. The project involves the design, construction, financing, commissioning and operation of the bridge. Bouygues Group is the main project sponsor and has a 30 year concession with the Ivorian Government to design, construct, develop and operate the new bridge. The bridge was opened to the public in December 2014. Financing AFC was the mandated lead arranger of the mezzanine tranche of the financing and provided an aggregate commitment of US$55 million comprising commitments to...

About the project Ethiopian Airlines is the flag carrier of Ethiopia. The company was founded in December 1945 and started operations in April 1946. During the past sixty plus years, Ethiopian Airlines has become one of the continent’s leading carriers. Ethiopian Airlines aims to ensure that its fleet continues to reflect latest developments in passenger aircraft technology and the airline decided to acquire five Boeing 777-200 LR, for a total cost of US$668 million. Financing The overall financing comprises of senior debt capital of US$568 million, subordinated debt of US$85 million and an equity investment of US$15 million. AFC(Africa Financial Corporation)invested US$23 million alongside Citibank Limited, African Development Bank and PTA Bank.

Copied from Babarere Omotola's Article I've seen this write-up before but its worth reading again. it is definitely thought-provoking. I wish you will forward it to every youth known to you, so they can have a piece of it and let the sleeping giants rise. "My Dear Nigerian Youths", by Prof. Isa. I am very angry and that is why I am addressing you. You are the source of my anger and I want to vent my spleen - maybe not at you directly - but at the arrogance of your ignorance. You sit in front of a computer and rant all day through social media but with every click, you make money - not for yourself - but for Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook). With every megabyte of data you spend complaining and maligning, you make stupendous bucks for Etisalat, Glo, MTN and Airtel. Over the next two years, the number of Nigerian millionaires will jump by 47% but most likely you will not be among because you are too busy whining and complaining, yet about 60% of Nigeria’s 170m population...

Since the rise of Boko Haram, the media have painted a picture of Borno State in Nigeria as a place of death and destruction. Photojournalist Fati Abubakar, however, is using social media to challenge perceptions about her hometown. In ‘Bits of Borno’, her acclaimed online photo series, she documents the resilience of ordinary people in difficult times. Enajite Efemuaye caught up with her to talk about the power of visual storytelling, her love for photographing children and what media attention means for her work. Enajite Efemuaye (EE): What do you see through your lens as you photograph the people of Borno? Fati Abubakar (FA): What I see in Borno is strength, and that is what I photograph: A people who have been through difficulties beyond imagination but are still trying to live a normal life and are keen to move on. EE: How do you separate yourself emotionally from the subjects of your photographs? FA: I love photographing children. They are a joy. The reason that you see a lo...

Photography is a powerful medium for the telling of untold stories – such as that of the Saharawi women of Western Sahara. While the influx of refugees into Europe has been making the headlines, the Sahawari have been living as refugees for more than four decades. Photographer Raffaele Petralla has documented the harsh reality of their daily lives in a striking series of images. This is Africa’s Jorrit Dijsktra takes a closer look. It might be the refugee crisis across Europe making news, but the people of Western Sahara have been experiencing a refugee crisis for over 40 years. Last November was the 40th anniversary of Morocco’s invasion of Western Sahara, which forced thousands of refugees into the Algerian desert. They are still there today, living in refugee camps, dependent on international aid. There it is the Saharawi women who play a fundamental role in a matriarchal society. During the war against Morocco (1975-1991), they were forced to take shelter in the most hostile par...

NAIROBI, Kenya — A suicide bomb rocked the Somali town of Galkayo on Sunday, killing at least 20 people and showing that Islamist militants, despite recent setbacks, can still plan and execute deadly attacks anywhere in the country. Galkayo, a mid-sized town in central Somalia, had been quiet in recent months. Yet that suddenly changed at 10 a.m. on Sunday when militants detonated a deafening bomb in a market, sending a column of black smoke shooting into the sky. A squad of militants stormed a nearby government building, engaging in gun battles with security forces. “One of the blasts was so huge, I was really shocked,” said Abdirahman Abdweli, a student in the city. The explosion ripped the roofs off several buildings, scattering sharp pieces of corrugated metal and debris across the area. The death toll was not immediately clear. The Shabab militant group, which took credit for the attack, said 30 people had been killed. Somali health officials and residents said the number was...

2016 is turning out to be a year of global disruption and uncertainty — disruption in the sense of dangerous ruptures and broken links, but also in the positive sense of innovation and fresh ways of thinking. How well can Africa manage these trends? The answer to that question will heavily influence the continent’s ability to pursue the deep transformation it needs. Brexit has sent shock waves through the global economy that could endanger progress in African countries. And for Africa it matters whether Britain will maintain its roles as a driving force behind international development initiatives and a leading aid donor. Brexit is also a symptom of broader trends: populist challenges to established power, rising mistrust of elites, deep concern over inequality, and social fragmentation. All these contribute to a sense that the world is spinning out of control. At the same time, 2016 is proving to be a year of inspirational global advances in technology, finance and energy, as well...

Women Advancing Africa Initiative launched at an intimate gathering of African women leaders hosted by Mrs. Graça Machel Johannesburg, South Africa, August 15, 2016 – The Graça Machel Trust (GMT) announced today that it will launch a pan-African initiative to ‘Multiply the Faces and Amplify the Voices’ of African women as a force for economic and social transformation. The Trust will convene the first-ever Women Advancing Africa (WAA) Forum in 2017 to highlight the critical role that women play in shaping Africa’s development. Over the past decade, Africa has experienced unprecedented economic growth but women and children have shared least in its prosperity. Today, African women constitute 70 percent of the informal economy, while one third of Africa’s formal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are owned by women but only 47 % of these are financially served. Africa’s women are a powerful untapped force and creating more opportunities for women to participate in the economy w...