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The changing chess game in West African politics

No Author — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:46:00 EST

The former President of ECOWAS, James Victor Ghebo, was a catalyst in the dawning of West Africa�s changing political culture. And now, not to be out-done, the larger African Union body has come out swinging with jaw-dropping insinuations about the abominable political lethargy of the past. Africa�s political leaderships can no longer expect safe shelter behind the infinite

Helping the �collateral victims� of AIDS

No Author — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST

Sitting on an old mattress in front of a small house in Kimukunda village in the Rakai District of southern Uganda, Teddy Nakawoeisi, 60, is waiting for her grandchildren to bring home something for supper. Between the ages of 4 and 8 years, they are at a nearby farm �working as daily labourers.

Malian women create beauty and profit through local fabrics

No Author — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:05:00 EST

Hand-dyed polished cotton � called bazin � is the mainstay of Malian fashion. The blind singers Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia extolled the fabric in a song released in 2005, �Beaux dimanches� (�Beautiful Sundays�). The song�s scintillating lyrics include the lines:

Optimising Africa�s megacities

No Author — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:13:00 EST

As African cities implode, leaders on the continent are intensifying efforts to address the challenges of urbanization. A forum bringing together Africa�s housing ministers was

Senegal/Gambia Relations: Diplomatic Niceties Won't Solve Cassamance Conflict

Yankuba Jambang, Editor & Publisher — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:23:00 EST

I will not take his words as empty verbiage or mere political rhetoric. I hope you won't either. If there is something one can glean from Yahya Jammeh's statements to the press during President Macky Sall's visit to Banjul last Sunday, it is that he remains defiant in the Cassamance question. Simply put, Yahya Jammeh made it clear to President Sall that if the Senegalese president expels Gambian asylees from Senegal, he will reciprocate by stopping funding and arming Cassamance insurgents.

Beyond the Nigeria fuel subsidy crisis

No Author — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:13:00 EST

One would think that being a citizen of a country with the second-largest oil reserves in Africa came with some perks. Not so in Nigeria where scores of people are up in arms after being stripped of a petrol subsidy in effect since 1973. The price of gas at the pumps more than doubled, sparking massive protests around the nation in early January.

Prophet T.B Joshua and Africa�s Ex-Leaders

No Author — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:13:00 EST

The socio-political topography in Africa is littered with much uncertainty, penury, hopelessness, despair, despondency, cynicism, starvation, moral rottenness, corruption and misgovernance.

Orange to offer customers free online access to Wikipedia

No Author — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:46:00 EST

In what is being promoted as the first partnership of its kind, millions of mobile phone owners in Africa and the Middle East will soon have free access to Wikipedia, an online encyclopaedia. Wikipedia is available for free on the internet, but to access it, mobile phone users have to be enrolled in a data plan that can be costly for most people, especially in low-income African countries.

Mobile phones are getting smarter in rural Africa

No Author — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:11:00 EST

Imagine you are in Yokadouma, a rural community in eastern Cameroon with little electricity and inaccessible roads. You have an old, inexpensive mobile phone with which you can only make and receive calls. The good news is that it is now possible for that phone to be smarter � to send and receive e-mails, check a Facebook account and chat online, even without internet access.

The Gambia: �Custer�s Last Stand� and the promise of a new tomorrow

No Author — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:51:00 EST

My fascination with the American Indian story back in the seventies led to books about their mind-numbing experience, which in the process developed in me an all consuming admiration for a people; an admiration which to this day has not diminished. And if their story alone is not incredibly mesmerizing, their names exude mysticism and the steely determination with which their iconic struggles have prefaced America�s tortuous history; talk about great Indian Chiefs;

Power from the wind in South Africa

No Author — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:10:00 EST

Three blades � each the length of a tennis court � revolve atop a wind energy tower reaching 50 metres into the sky, equal in height to a 17-storey building. There are four such turbines whirling in the hot, dry and windy landscape near the town of Darling in South Africa�s Western Cape, generating 7 gigawatt hours per year of green energy. This first commercial wind farm in South Africa, reflecting the collaborative efforts of international donors, government

Gambian lawyers need to look up to their Zimbabwean colleagues for inspiration

No Author — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:09:00 EST

If there is anywhere Gambian lawyers need to look for inspiration, it's Zimbabwe, where the country's Human Rights lawyers group has urged NGOs to defy a provincial governor's suspension. It's been reported that Governor Maluleke had chosen to announce the suspensions of 29 NGOs in the presence of senior officials from the army, police and prison services. But that did little to frighten the lawyers.

African Peer Review Mechanism is making progress

No Author — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:03:00 EST

Interview with Amos Sawyer

In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa�s Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Since then 30 countries have joined

Combating HIV infections among African women

No Author — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:49:00 EST

Schoolgirl Nomasonto Masango giggles as she lists the things she and her friends want boyfriends to buy them. �If you have an older boyfriend, he can buy you things and it is nice to show your friends that you have things,� says Nomasonto.

Cross-border telephone remittances increase in Africa

No Author — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:56:00 EST

More people in Africa�s poorest countries have mobile phones than have bank accounts. That reality is spurring mobile service companies to explore how they can capture a share of the potential banking market by enabling migrants from these countries to transfer funds back home

NEPAD on the ground

No Author — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:20:00 EST

Over the past 10 years, the New Partnership for Africa�s Development (NEPAD) has launched a number of bold and innovative programmes. In some instances the plan is already scoring notable yet underreported gains. Africa Renewal highlights NEPAD�s impact in five key areas.

Norway: Reminiscing of a time long gone

No Author — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:27:00 EST

I picked up the phone and dialed. It rang twice. A subdued voice came alive from the other end. Hello, the voice said. Even after more than thirty years, the crisp voice sounded familiar. Hi, I replied. This is Mathew Jallow. Do you remember me, I asked? There was a second�s pause that seemed to last forever, then a loud burst of surprised laughter. Mathew, the voice

The Gambia: Just where is Yahya Jammeh; who cares anyway

No Author — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:50:00 EST

Look; it is a mannequin; no it is a statue; no it is a scarecrow; no it is Yahya Jammeh. Over the past couple of days, the Washington, DC and New York City areas have been abuzz with false sighting of Yahya Jammeh and his military entourage; days filled with frustrating guesses and disappointing anticipation. It was like a game of wits fraught with intoxicating

Ebou Gaye's New Year Message

No Author — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:03:00 EST

As a new year- 2012 dawns, I would like to spare a moment to key my reflections on the past one- 2011 and give suggestions on the way forward, with the aim of making the New Year a more peaceful, enjoyable year.

Social media stimulates Nigerian debate on sexual violence

No Author — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:46:00 EST

�Kill me, kill me, you people should just kill me,�an unidentified woman begged as she was being gang raped by five men while her ordeal was filmed with one of their mobile phones. The crime is believed to have taken place at a private off-campus hostel near Abia State University, Nigeria, in August 2011.