Musings From Abroad

New British PM, Liz Truss, makes history. appoints four cabinet members with African roots

Published

2 years ago

September 7, 2022

Newly elected British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has received praises from the African continent with her cabinet selection by appointing, for the first time, four cabinet with African roots to man UK’s key ministerial positions.

Truss, on Tuesday, selected a cabinet where, for the first time, a white man will not hold one of the country’s four key as she appointed British-Nigerian Member of Parliament, Kemi Badenoch, as Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.

British-Ghanaian MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, whose parents migrated to the UK from Ghana in the 1960s, was named as Britain’s first Black Finance Minister while James Cleverly of Sierra Leone descent was appointed UK’s first black foreign minister.

Cleverly’s mother hails from the Sierra Leone and while his father is caucasian and has several times in the past, described himself as an African.

Truss also appointed British-Kenyan, Suella Braverman, whose parents moved to the UK six decades ago, the Home Secretary, or the Interior Minister to succeed Priti Patel who resigned shortly after Truss was named as Prime Minister.

Bravernan will also be in charge of the UK Police and Immigration Services.

This is the first time the British parliament will have four cabinet members who have African roots as as the Conservative Party continues to chart a new course in diversity.

According to political analysts, the move by Truss is an indication that the new PM believes in diversity and her resolve to put forward a more varied set of candidates for parliament.

Before the recent appointments, only one African-born MP, Paul Boateng, originally from Ghana, was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

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Musings From Abroad

US President Biden to visit Germany, Angola next month

Published

13 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The White House announced on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden will make his first trip to Africa as president, visiting Germany and Angola from October 10 to 15.

According to the White House, Biden’s first destination will be Germany, where he will thank the country for helping Ukraine’s defence against Russia, among other things.

Biden is scheduled to meet with President Joao Lourenco from October 13–15 while in Angola. According to the White House, the two presidents will talk about stepping up their cooperation on common goals, which include strengthening economic connections and advancing peace and security.

Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out in October of last year, Biden’s intended visit to Angola was cancelled. As Beijing makes significant investments on the African continent, Biden has committed to strengthening US ties with democratic nations there.

According to President Biden, the key to realising the potential of this pivotal decade is for the United States to work in partnership with African leaders as well as leaders from civil society, business, the diaspora, women, and youth.

Musings From Abroad

Eni of Italy to begin exploring in Ghadames basin of North Africa in 2025

Published

2 days ago

September 25, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The director of Eni’s North Africa and Levant division for Italy stated on Monday that the company viewed Libya as a crucial nation for upstream operations and that it intended to begin exploring in the Ghadames basin the following year.

“We have never stopped looking at Libya as a crucial region for oil and gas production,” Martina Opizzi said during a panel discussion on Libya’s energy sector organised in Rome by Energy Capital & Power.

“We estimate that there are still resources to be discovered and we are also planning offshore exploration shortly,” Opizzi added.

Oil exports at major Libyan ports were halted last month. Production was curtailed across the country amid a standoff between rival political factions over control of the central bank and oil revenue.

Production started to recover in the first half of September, but the dispute on the central bank has not be resolved.

Parts of Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya are included in the vast intra-cratonic Ghadames Basin. The three nations are each carrying out separate petroleum exploration projects in their respective basins, employing various play models and, as a result, producing various exploration outputs.