Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Yehuda]

African-French dual citizenship

French far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen has been talking tough on dual citizenship.

After watching Marine Le Pen being interviewed on France Deux network many French with dual citizenship are now worried they’ll be forced to give up one of their passports if not leave the country if she becomes president.

Particularly those with dual nationality outside Europe stand to be worse affected , a good number from Africans will thus be concerned.

Le Pen outlined a policy where dual citizens from non-European countries would be forced to make a choice.

Le Pen in the interview said she wouldn’t ask those who didn’t choose French nationality to leave, which is a bit confusing, does that mean that for example someone with a Nigerian passport can stay in France without visa, well maybe resident permit has to be obtained.

On the other hand, I doubt people denouncing their French passport!

Most people would rather stay in France for greener pastures , let’s not forget that with the French visa you can travel to 25 other countries since it’s valid for the Schengen region.

With the passport, you can virtually travel all around the world, French citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 175 countries and territories, ranking the French passport 3rd most-powerful in the world.

Well, there are others who are not in search of greener pastures, and some whose passports can get them to quite a number of places , countries like the US , Japan , Canada even the African country Seychelles can travel to 126 countries with no visa requirement before departure.

When pressed on which nationalities would be considered in her new policy direction, Le Pen stated that Russians would not be affected – but that Americans and Israelis would be.

In 2013, about 38,000 people became dual citizens, most of them from North Africa and many others from Europe but also of course people from all over the world.

Being European,Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and the USA would not keep their dual citizenship according to her.

Fingers remain crossed for what will happen to African-French passport holders, if Le Pen makes it to the Elysee Palace in Paris.

African-French dual citizenship [Travel on TMC]

 

[Red Shield]

African-French dual citizenship

French far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen has been talking tough on dual citizenship.

After watching Marine Le Pen being interviewed on France Deux network many French with dual citizenship are now worried they’ll be forced to give up one of their passports if not leave the country if she becomes president.

Particularly those with dual nationality outside Europe stand to be worse affected , a good number from Africans will thus be concerned.

Le Pen outlined a policy where dual citizens from non-European countries would be forced to make a choice.

Le Pen in the interview said she wouldn’t ask those who didn’t choose French nationality to leave, which is a bit confusing, does that mean that for example someone with a Nigerian passport can stay in France without visa, well maybe resident permit has to be obtained.

On the other hand, I doubt people denouncing their French passport!

Most people would rather stay in France for greener pastures , let’s not forget that with the French visa you can travel to 25 other countries since it’s valid for the Schengen region.

With the passport, you can virtually travel all around the world, French citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 175 countries and territories, ranking the French passport 3rd most-powerful in the world.

Well, there are others who are not in search of greener pastures, and some whose passports can get them to quite a number of places , countries like the US , Japan , Canada even the African country Seychelles can travel to 126 countries with no visa requirement before departure.

When pressed on which nationalities would be considered in her new policy direction, Le Pen stated that Russians would not be affected – but that Americans and Israelis would be.

In 2013, about 38,000 people became dual citizens, most of them from North Africa and many others from Europe but also of course people from all over the world.

Being European,Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and the USA would not keep their dual citizenship according to her.

Fingers remain crossed for what will happen to African-French passport holders, if Le Pen makes it to the Elysee Palace in Paris.

African-French dual citizenship [Travel on TMC]

Surprised she would go after the Israelis

 

[BigMan]

Surprised she would go after the Israelis

France never liked Jews

 

[Red Shield]

France never liked Jews

None of those euro countries ever liked them.


But still.. they do wield serious power in europe.

 

[Dr. Hibbert's Revenge]

Namibia sees full output at Chinese-backed uranium mine by August

Wed Feb 8, 2017 | 10:09am EST

Namibia's mines and energy minister expects the country's flagship uranium mine, the $2 billion Chinese-backed Husab project, to reach full output by August following delays last year due to a fire at its processing plant.

“We expect them to reach full production within six months,” Obeth Kandjoze, Minister of Mines and Energy, told Reuters at an African mining conference.

He said there had not been a "flurry" of activity after a decade-long moratorium on uranium exploration was lifted last month, but predicted a global recovery of uranium prices amid a slew of new reactor projects worldwide.

Kandjoze added that Olso-headquarted BW Offshore will pay $10.2 million to Namibia's national oil company for a 56 percent farm-in stake in the Kudu gas development, seen as a key future power source to the southern African country. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia)

Namibia sees full output at Chinese-backed uranium mine by August

how much of that uranium money is staying in namibia, though? it's become clear that the chinese are colonizers just like the europeans before them. and just like the europeans, they need to be kicked out. they are robbing africa of her natural resources in order to feed their growing economy... and what does africa get in return? crumbling infrastructure and sports facilities?

 

[Bawon Samedi]

how much of that uranium money is staying in namibia, though? it's become clear that the chinese are colonizers just like the europeans before them. and just like the europeans, they need to be kicked out. they are robbing africa of her natural resources in order to feed their growing economy... and what does africa get in return? crumbling infrastructure and sports facilities?

OR MAYBE... It can be that China like the rest of the world sees African resources as valuable and the African government THEMSELVES lets them extract them. I wonder when will this silly myth end.

 

[loyola llothta]

i didnt know that Jammeh remove the Brits CommonWealth.....but i guess now the brits must be happy. How do the brits have more power on your land(Gambia)...shyt jokes always running back to the British, barrow is another west puppet agent



Boris Johnson Rejects Questions on Pro-Colonial Views in Africa

The British top diplomat’s press team blocked questions from local reporters in Gambia about his nostalgic comments for British colonialism in Africa.

During a state visit to Gambia, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson refused to answer questions from local journalists regarding previous comments and articles where he voiced support and nostalgia for colonialism.

Before becoming Britain's foreign minister, Johnson was known for his offensive writing as a newspaper columnist. In a 2002 article in The Telegraph he criticized a trip by then Prime Minister Tony Blair to Congo, employing a racially charged term to describe the Commonwealth's African members.

"It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies," Johnson wrote using a term that means “small Black children.”

Longing for British colonialism in Africa, he wrote in a 2002 column in The Spectator: “The continent may be a blot, but it is not a blot upon our conscience. The problem is not that we were once in charge, but that we are not in charge anymore.”


However, during a press conference with Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow Tuesday, Johnson’s press team blocked Gambian journalists from asking questions about his previous comments, saying their questions were “too aggressive” and “insulting.”

Johnson told reporters that Gambia would be readmitted "as fast as possible" to the Commonwealth. “We are going to admit them as fast as possible. Last night I talked to the Commonwealth secretary general, and she is determined to speed it up and get it done as soon as possible."

Longtime leader Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled since seizing power in 1994, fled Gambia last month after regional militaries launched an operation to remove him.

In 2013, the former coup leader pulled his tiny West African nation out of the Commonwealth, the grouping including Britain and most of its former colonies, branding it a "neo-colonial institution." He also sought to pull the country out of the International Criminal Court and declared the country an Islamic republic.

However, Barrow, who won a Dec. 1 election that Jammeh rejected, vowed to return the country into the Commonwealth and to improve relations with the former colonial ruler Britain.

He lived in the United Kingdom for years where he worked as a security guard at various high-street shops, including the shoe shop Office. He said in previous interviews that he had “learned a lot” from his time in England.

link article:
Boris Johnson Rejects Questions on Pro-Colonial Views in Africa

 

[loyola llothta]

 

[Red Shield]

i didnt know that Jammeh remove the Brits CommonWealth.....but i guess now the brits must be happy. How do the brits have more power on your land(Gambia)...shyt jokes always running back to the British, barrow is another west puppet agent



Boris Johnson Rejects Questions on Pro-Colonial Views in Africa



link article:
Boris Johnson Rejects Questions on Pro-Colonial Views in Africa

Why rejoin the commonwealth you fool

 

[Yehuda]

Tanzania, Zambia and DR Congo to build bridge for boosting trade relations

AUTHOR
Torinmo Salau
PUBLISHED
February 17, 2017

Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are planning to construct a 700 km bridge in an effort to boost intra-Africa trade.

DRC’s Katanga Province governor, Jean-Claude Kazembe stated that the bridge which is set to be constructed at Kasenga on the border between Congo and Zambia will cost $85 million (about Sh190 billion on the prevailing exchange rate). This bridge will make it easier to cross the Luapula River, which is a section of the River Congo.

The Congo River is Africa’s second-longest river and forms part of the border between Zambia and the DRC. Data shows that goods destined for DRC and Zambia account for 35 percent and 24 percent respectively of all cargo in transit that pass via the Dar es Salaam Port, hence the need for three countries to foster their trade relations by embarking on joint projects to improve infrastructure.

“So far, we have already held talks with the relevant ministry in Tanzania (the Ministry of Works, Communication and Transport) and they have shown a positive interest in the implementation of the bridge,” Mr Kazembe told journalists yesterday.

According to the DHL Global Connectedness Index, Africa is still the world’s least connected continent when considering the ease of moving people, trade, information and finance. It is therefore important for more emphasis to be placed on trade partnerships among African countries to drive seamless intra-Africa trade.

Current estimates indicate that trade volumes in sub-Saharan Africa will more than triple from 102.6 million tonnes in 2009 to 384.0 million tonnes in 2030, if the trade pathways are completed. In 2009, Southern Africa was driving trade volumes in the region, accounting for approximately 64 percent of total trade. By 2030, Southern Africa’s contribution to total trade volumes is estimated to be reduced to 53 percent as trade in other regions improve. Trade in East and West Africa is expected to grow to 181 million tonnes and 300 million tonnes respectively, with growth in West Africa slightly faster than that of East Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is plagued by poor and under-developed transportation infrastructure, limiting accessibility to consumers, hampering intra-regional trade and driving up import and export costs. African countries ought to be focused on developing ease of transportation on the continent and building trade relationships.

According to Kazembe, the bridge will ease transportation of people and cargo across the three countries. He also stated that a Chinese company had completed the first phase of the project’s feasibility study. “As soon as we finalise talks with Zambia, actual construction will start soon.”

These 3 countries are committing $85 million to boost intra-Africa trade.

 

[Yehuda]

South Africa Land Redistribution Debate Gains Momentum

February 17, 2017 12:50 PM
Anita Powell

Black First Land First activists gathered Friday morning in Pretoria, South Africa, to demand that land be given to black South Africans as compensation for colonial-era land seizures. (A. Powell/VOA)

PRETORIA — A small but noisy group of South African activists gathered Friday in the nation’s capital to bring attention to an issue that is gaining momentum at the highest levels of government: How to resolve long-standing issues that leave black South Africans economically worse off than their white counterparts more than 20 decades after the end of the racist apartheid system.

Some 200 Black First Land First activists gathered Friday morning in a soggy Pretoria park named after a long-dead colonial-era president who helped the British empire claim vast tracts of South African land. On this rainy day, protesters wearing “LAND or DEATH” T-shirts sang protest songs seeking restitution for apartheid-era profits from a major South African bank.

As its name indicates, this pressure group has its sights set on something far bigger. Members want land to be given to black South Africans as compensation for colonial-era land seizures.

This debate has reached the top echelons of government. Just kilometers from the park, President Jacob Zuma, from his office, referred a bill back to parliament that seeks to redress racial imbalances in land ownership.

‘Right to defend ourselves’

Activists say the government’s efforts are insufficient. This far-left group objects to the current policy that allows landowners to hold out until the selling price is acceptable. Lindsay Maasdorp, national spokesman for Black First Land First, says Zuma’s constitutionally based approach is also not enough, and that change needs to come sooner -- and that it may not be pretty.

Activists chant during a rally at a Pretoria park demanding faster action on land restitution. (A. Powell/VOA)

“Black people must stand up and literally take back the land,” he told VOA. “We will not wait for a constitution that is anti-black and enshrines land theft to determine when we take back land…. We’re saying black people should not be buying back stolen land. We agree that we should not. White people didn’t come here and just start speaking to us and say, ‘let me just take it.’ It was a violent process, and it continues to be a violent process…. When we confront violence we will do so with violence too. Sometimes it will be with words, sometimes it will be through dialogue. But other times, it will be physical as well. Why? Because we have the right to defend ourselves against those who have taken our land from us.”

In recent years, anger over land inequality has been accompanied by violence against owners of farms and small-holdings. South African police typically report about 500 incidents each year. Unemployed protester Simon Kgofelo, 45, says his lack of land affects him deeply.

“When talking about the debate of land, I’m becoming too emotional,” he said. “Because at this present, we shouldn’t even be talking about this. We have had about 23 years into democracy and there is nothing that is happening with the land distribution. Eighty percent, it’s still whites having 80 percent of land. And we, the majority, we are having 20 percent.”

That 80 percent statistic has been thoroughly debunked by analysts who refer to the government’s own land surveys.

A recent private survey looking at residential property says black South Africans own 52 percent of the value of the nation’s homes, and that the figure is rising; however, nearly 80 percent of South Africa’s population is black, meaning they are still underrepresented in this domain.

Earnest effort or maneuvering?

This imbalance clearly preoccupies President Zuma, who spent about 15 minutes of his recent 90-minute address to the nation talking about the need for what he called “radical economic transformation” -- a plan to use government programs and resources to encourage more economic participation by black South Africans.

A woman activist at the rally sports a shirt with the slogan "Land or Death" reprentative of the uncompromising stance taken by activists on land redistribution. (A. Powell/VOA)

“It will be difficult -- if not impossible -- to achieve true reconciliation until the land question is resolved,” he said.

He added, “The skewed nature of ownership and leadership patterns needs to be corrected. There can be no sustainability in any economy if the majority is excluded in this manner ...Today we are starting a new chapter of radical socioeconomic transformation. We are saying that we should move beyond words, to practical programs. The state will play a role in the economy to drive that transformation.”

But, says associate professor of economics Christopher Malikane of the University of the Witwatersrand, Zuma’s ambitious plans may just be political maneuvering. Analysts say Zuma’s growing unpopularity led the long-ruling African National Congress to lose ground in last year’s local elections. As a result, the party is now divided and scrambling to gain support ahead of crucial national elections in 2019. This radical economic transformation, Malikane says, may be a casualty of the current rift in the ruling party between those who support Zuma and those who don’t.

“It is the struggle between these two factions within the ANC that is going to lead the ANC to not coherently implement what the president is talking about,” he told VOA. “Because his faction is not 100 percent in control of the ANC.” Many protesters on Friday said they have little interest in watching this complex debate go through the political and legislative motions.

They want land, they say, and they want it now.

South Africa Land Redistribution Debate Gains Momentum

 

[Poitier]

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

South Africa Land Redistribution Debate Gains Momentum

February 17, 2017 12:50 PM
Anita Powell

Black First Land First activists gathered Friday morning in Pretoria, South Africa, to demand that land be given to black South Africans as compensation for colonial-era land seizures. (A. Powell/VOA)

PRETORIA — A small but noisy group of South African activists gathered Friday in the nation’s capital to bring attention to an issue that is gaining momentum at the highest levels of government: How to resolve long-standing issues that leave black South Africans economically worse off than their white counterparts more than 20 decades after the end of the racist apartheid system.

Some 200 Black First Land First activists gathered Friday morning in a soggy Pretoria park named after a long-dead colonial-era president who helped the British empire claim vast tracts of South African land. On this rainy day, protesters wearing “LAND or DEATH” T-shirts sang protest songs seeking restitution for apartheid-era profits from a major South African bank.

As its name indicates, this pressure group has its sights set on something far bigger. Members want land to be given to black South Africans as compensation for colonial-era land seizures.

This debate has reached the top echelons of government. Just kilometers from the park, President Jacob Zuma, from his office, referred a bill back to parliament that seeks to redress racial imbalances in land ownership.

‘Right to defend ourselves’

Activists say the government’s efforts are insufficient. This far-left group objects to the current policy that allows landowners to hold out until the selling price is acceptable. Lindsay Maasdorp, national spokesman for Black First Land First, says Zuma’s constitutionally based approach is also not enough, and that change needs to come sooner -- and that it may not be pretty.

Activists chant during a rally at a Pretoria park demanding faster action on land restitution. (A. Powell/VOA)

“Black people must stand up and literally take back the land,” he told VOA. “We will not wait for a constitution that is anti-black and enshrines land theft to determine when we take back land…. We’re saying black people should not be buying back stolen land. We agree that we should not. White people didn’t come here and just start speaking to us and say, ‘let me just take it.’ It was a violent process, and it continues to be a violent process…. When we confront violence we will do so with violence too. Sometimes it will be with words, sometimes it will be through dialogue. But other times, it will be physical as well. Why? Because we have the right to defend ourselves against those who have taken our land from us.”

In recent years, anger over land inequality has been accompanied by violence against owners of farms and small-holdings. South African police typically report about 500 incidents each year. Unemployed protester Simon Kgofelo, 45, says his lack of land affects him deeply.

“When talking about the debate of land, I’m becoming too emotional,” he said. “Because at this present, we shouldn’t even be talking about this. We have had about 23 years into democracy and there is nothing that is happening with the land distribution. Eighty percent, it’s still whites having 80 percent of land. And we, the majority, we are having 20 percent.”

That 80 percent statistic has been thoroughly debunked by analysts who refer to the government’s own land surveys.

A recent private survey looking at residential property says black South Africans own 52 percent of the value of the nation’s homes, and that the figure is rising; however, nearly 80 percent of South Africa’s population is black, meaning they are still underrepresented in this domain.

Earnest effort or maneuvering?

This imbalance clearly preoccupies President Zuma, who spent about 15 minutes of his recent 90-minute address to the nation talking about the need for what he called “radical economic transformation” -- a plan to use government programs and resources to encourage more economic participation by black South Africans.

A woman activist at the rally sports a shirt with the slogan "Land or Death" reprentative of the uncompromising stance taken by activists on land redistribution. (A. Powell/VOA)

“It will be difficult -- if not impossible -- to achieve true reconciliation until the land question is resolved,” he said.

He added, “The skewed nature of ownership and leadership patterns needs to be corrected. There can be no sustainability in any economy if the majority is excluded in this manner ...Today we are starting a new chapter of radical socioeconomic transformation. We are saying that we should move beyond words, to practical programs. The state will play a role in the economy to drive that transformation.”

But, says associate professor of economics Christopher Malikane of the University of the Witwatersrand, Zuma’s ambitious plans may just be political maneuvering. Analysts say Zuma’s growing unpopularity led the long-ruling African National Congress to lose ground in last year’s local elections. As a result, the party is now divided and scrambling to gain support ahead of crucial national elections in 2019. This radical economic transformation, Malikane says, may be a casualty of the current rift in the ruling party between those who support Zuma and those who don’t.

“It is the struggle between these two factions within the ANC that is going to lead the ANC to not coherently implement what the president is talking about,” he told VOA. “Because his faction is not 100 percent in control of the ANC.” Many protesters on Friday said they have little interest in watching this complex debate go through the political and legislative motions.

They want land, they say, and they want it now.

South Africa Land Redistribution Debate Gains Momentum

@TTT said something interesting about farming in SA:

The last part is about land, SA is a very urbanized country because of apartheid spatial planning rendered bantustans economically useless. Many people have no collective memory making a living off the land apart from rural people. They are the ones to benefit from land the most. Some young activists screaming they want land wouldn't last a week of farming if they are not used to it

 

[Yehuda]

Poor men to be legally barred from polygamy - Emir of Kano

February 20, 2017 | 19:41

Nigeria’s second most influential Muslim leader – the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has disclosed that there will soon be a law which would stop men from taking more than one wife if they did not have the means to support them.

The Emir averred that for people in the largely Muslim north of Africa’s most populous country, there was a clear link between polygamy, poverty and terrorism, the reasons that necessitated the proposed law.

He said a sub-committee of scholars in the Kano palace had been working for over a year on the bill, which will be passed by the State Government into law.

Local media quotes the former governor of the central bank as saying:

“Those of us in the north have all seen the economic consequences of men who are not capable of maintaining one wife, marrying four. They end up producing 20 children, not educating them, leaving them on the streets, and they end up as thugs and terrorists.

“It is a big law which covers a whole range of issues from consent to marriage, to maintenance to divorce, to maintenance of children to inheritance. It will be the first time in Nigeria that a Muslim law on personal status will be codified,” he added.

He however stressed that there was nothing wrong with polygamy for as long as it was practiced properly adding that at all material moments women needed to be given the opportunity to thrive.

The powerful Muslim leader, who is next only to the Sultan of Sokoto in the country’s northwest was speaking over the weekend at the 50th anniversary of the death of a Nigerian ambassador, Ambassador Isa Wali – the then High Commissioner to Ghana – died on active duty on February 19, 1967.

The event was graced by the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and a former president of Nigeria, Yakubu Gowon.

Poor men to be legally barred from polygamy - Emir of Kano

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Poor men to be legally barred from polygamy - Emir of Kano

February 20, 2017 | 19:41

Nigeria’s second most influential Muslim leader – the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II has disclosed that there will soon be a law which would stop men from taking more than one wife if they did not have the means to support them.

The Emir averred that for people in the largely Muslim north of Africa’s most populous country, there was a clear link between polygamy, poverty and terrorism, the reasons that necessitated the proposed law.

He said a sub-committee of scholars in the Kano palace had been working for over a year on the bill, which will be passed by the State Government into law.

Local media quotes the former governor of the central bank as saying:

“Those of us in the north have all seen the economic consequences of men who are not capable of maintaining one wife, marrying four. They end up producing 20 children, not educating them, leaving them on the streets, and they end up as thugs and terrorists.

“It is a big law which covers a whole range of issues from consent to marriage, to maintenance to divorce, to maintenance of children to inheritance. It will be the first time in Nigeria that a Muslim law on personal status will be codified,” he added.

He however stressed that there was nothing wrong with polygamy for as long as it was practiced properly adding that at all material moments women needed to be given the opportunity to thrive.

The powerful Muslim leader, who is next only to the Sultan of Sokoto in the country’s northwest was speaking over the weekend at the 50th anniversary of the death of a Nigerian ambassador, Ambassador Isa Wali – the then High Commissioner to Ghana – died on active duty on February 19, 1967.

The event was graced by the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and a former president of Nigeria, Yakubu Gowon.

Poor men to be legally barred from polygamy - Emir of Kano

Chai! The North