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Netflix to make further investments in Africa after creating hit shows

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Online streaming giant, Netflix has promised to increase its investments in Africa after seeing its initial £140m investment on the continent since 2016 yield positive outcomes with the creation of some hit shows.

The global streaming platform, which made the announcement at an event in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday where it launched a report on its impact in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, said the company had successfully created 12,000 jobs on the continent and intends to build on the success beyond just three countries.

“We have undertaken this report to reflect on Netflix’s social and economic impact in the key countries,” Netflix’s sub-Saharan Africa policy director, Shola Sanni, said at the event.

“We are still in many ways at the inception stages of our investment journey, so it’s doubly exciting to know that we are poised to deliver even greater impact if we maintain our current momentum, and if the right circumstances for investments in our sector continue to prevail,” Sanni said.

She also gave examples of some of the hit African productions the company had churned out like Aníkúlápó (Nigerian),
Silverton Siege (South African), and Disconnect: The Wedding Planner (Kenyan), as all having at one point made it into Netflix Global Top 10 lists.

“However to keep telling African stories on a global stage, Netflix needs to have the support of governments, civil society, private sector and industry to allow the create industries to thrive,” Sanni said.

“Enabling policy frameworks, flexible regulatory mandates and ease of doing business are inextricably bound to the continued growth of the audio-visual sector and streaming services,” she added.

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Ghana’s Afua Asantewaa begins second GWR sing-a-thon attempt

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Ghanaian singer, Afua Asantewaa, on Saturday, began her second attempt at breaking the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest singing marathon by an individual.

The sing-a-thon which began in the early hours of Saturday, December 21, at Heroes’ Park, Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, will run until December 25, and will see the determined songstress perform non-stop, focusing exclusively on Ghanaian songs.

According to Asantewaa’s manager, Madam Gladys Osei Owiredu, the audacious initiative is aimed at showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Ghanaian music to a global audience.

Owiredu confirmed that preparations for the event had been extensive but expressed confidence in Asantewaa’s readiness to finally break the record.

“I can confirm that she is ready for the task ahead. It’s been challenging—by way of preparations—but I can say she is ready,” Owiredu said.

Asantewaa’s second attempt follows her first effort in December 2023, which fell short of surpassing the current record of 105 hours held by India’s Sunil Waghmare.

But despite the setback, her team remains optimistic about breaking the record this time with corporate sponsors including International Maritime Hospital, Ghana Gas, Nasco Electronics, and Zoomlion Ghana Limited rallying behind her, underscoring the importance of the attempt in amplifying the global significance of Ghanaian music.

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Ghana’s Supreme Court dismisses suit challenging anti-LGBT bill

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Ghana’s Supreme Court has dismissed two separate suits challenging the legality of one of the proposed anti-LGBT legislations awaiting assent into law by the president.

The separate suits were filed by two legal practitioners, Amanda Odoi and Richard Sky, challenging the bill, seeking to declare it illegal and prevent the president from signing it.

The two cases had challenged the constitutionality of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court unanimously decided to dismiss the legal challenges to the new anti-LGBT legislation that has been criticised by rights groups.

The controversial bill was passed earlier this year by Ghanaian lawmakers with three years imprisonment for people identifying as LGBT and five years for forming or funding LGBT groups.

While dismissing the cases, presiding judge, Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, who delivered the ruling on behalf of the seven-member panel, said the cases were premature.

“Until there’s presidential assent, there is no act, the two cases were “unanimously dismissed,” she said.

The ruling is the latest blow to the LGBTQ community in Ghana and paves the way for the president to sign into law what many say is one of Africa’s most restrictive piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose term in office ends on 7 January, had delayed signing it pending the outcome of the Supreme Court challenge but the judges said the case could not be reviewed until it had been signed it into law.

It expected that incoming president, John Mahama, will sign the bill into law as he had always expressed his support for the bill during his electioneering campaigns.

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