East

On 31st January, 2024 a historic milestone to boost trade in Africa has made as South Africa started exporting under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) highlited the results of South African industry and innovation.

“we are forging a path of mutual growth and shared prosperity. This is a powerful instrument to promote meaningful, impactful trade that benefits all corners of our continent.” H.E. Wamkele Mene said.

Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi won reelection with more than 70% of the vote, the country’s election commission said Sunday.

The preliminary results of the 20th Dec 2023 election were announced in the capital, Kinshasa, amid demands from the opposition and some civil society groups for the vote to be rerun due to massive logistical problems that put the validity of the outcome into question.

Tshisekedi was followed by businessman Moise Katumbi, who received 18% of the vote, and Martin Fayulu, who received 5%. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a physician renowned for treating women brutalized by sexual violence in eastern Congo, got less than 1%.

Voting in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s high-stakes presidential election has been marred by lengthy delays at polling stations.

Voters waited in long queues at many polling stations in the capital, Kinshasa, and other cities as they opened about two hours late.

Ballot papers were delivered at the last minute in an election that has proved to be a logistical nightmare.

In the eastern cities like Goma and Beni, some people struggled to find their names on voter lists, which were only made available at their polling stations on Wednesday morning, according to Reuters witnesses.

While Rwanda is one of the seven countries that have started to implement the African free trade program, there are some producers who say that they are still facing challenges in finding packaging for their products, such that they find themselves using expensive packaging or not meeting the international standards.

These are what some of the participants of the intra Africa trade fair that was held in Egypt from 9-15 November 2023 had to say:

Burundi has become the 100th country to implement FIFA’s Football for schools programme in a ceremony held in a celebratory atmosphere at the Urunani Stadium in Buganda, outside Bujumbura, and attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Burundi Minister of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, Gervais Abayeho, and the President of the Football Federation of Burundi, Alexandre Muyenge.

“Thanks to this wonderful Football for Schools project, FIFA and Burundi are uniting the world. We’re uniting the world with a football project, with an education project, with a project that gives chances and opportunities to the youth, to the boys and girls of this wonderful country, Burundi,” the FIFA President told the crowd.

East African Community (EAC) Heads of State on Tuesday extended the mandate of its regional force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by a further three months to December 8 this year.

The decision arose after the leaders gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for the 22nd Extra-ordinary Summit of the Community, agreeing that three extra months will bring certainty to the security situation as further discussions go on about the actual plan for the troubled eastern DRC.

Rwanda has seen its tourism sector thrive through strategic collaborations with sports giants such as Arsenal, PSG and the Basketball Africa League. As of August 27, another football powerhouse has joined the ranks – Bayern Munich Football Club.

Inking a partnership with Visit Rwanda, the German-based football club has taken on the role of the official platinum and tourist**.** This significant partnership carries far-reaching implications for both parties, as elucidated by Clare Akamanzi, CEO of Rwanda Development Board.

The first Trace Awards and festival in Africa will be held in Kigali, Rwanda on October 21 at the BK Arena, and the Trace Awards and Festival will be presented by Visit Rwanda and Martell. The awards will be broadcast live to some 500 million people in 190 countries as a global TV spectacular that celebrates the creativity, talent and influence of African and Afro-inspired music and artists.

The awards will celebrate genres such as Afrobeats, dancehall, hip hop, mbalax, amapiano, zouk, kizomba, genge, coupé décalé, bongo flava, soukous, gospel, rap, rai, kompa, R&B and rumba.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said a military offensive against al-Shabab aims to eliminate the al-Qaeda linked group in the next five months.

Correspondents say a promise to eliminate the group is hugely optimistic seeing as it has been around since the early 2000s, is deeply embedded in communities and has adapted its tactics in the face of international military pressure.

Yet thousands of government soldiers have been gathering in a town in central Somalia to take part in a new military campaign against the jihadists.