Politics

South Africa: Ruling ANC ex-official, Magashule forms new party, ACT

Published

3 months ago

August 31, 2023

Ahead of next year’s presidential elections in South Africa, former Secretary General of the ruling African National Congress, Elias “Ace” Magashule, on Wednesday announced the formation of a new party.

The new party, the African Congress for Transformation (ACT) was launched on Wednesday during a press briefing in Soweto where Maagashule described it as “a new ship for freedom.”

“I want to say to all South Africans, come along and join us. All those who are weary and politically abused. We have suffered collective betrayal as a people and a nation at the hands of the people who claim to be our leaders. We have been sold out, with few pieces of silver,” he said.

Magashule represents an ideological shift as left-leaning electorates still find him appealing despite his protracted legal battles. The politician also claimed that the ANC was “going quickly towards the right and abandoning its centre-left posture.”

Magashule was first suspended from the ANC in 2021 over graft charges in a move seen as a political victory for President Cyril Ramaphosa in the divided party.

“I’m disgruntled because the ANC of Oliver Tambo, the ANC I joined for more than 43 years, is not the ANC we know today,” he said.

Some former ANC members are now part of the new party. It is unclear if the party has registered with the Election Commission of South Africa yet.

The 2024 general election will be the seventh under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. With barely a year to the poll and strong competition from fourteen other national parties, it is not clear how well the ACT would perform.

Related Topics:Elias Magashule Featured South Africa

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Politics

Morocco joins PPCA to phase out coal

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco has joined an international campaign to phase out coal, Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), an effort to secure renewable energies in the next seven years.

With Morocco, PPCA has 60 national governments united by the desire to make a clean break with coal-fired power generation.

The United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Kosovo, Malta, and Norway joined the global initiative earlier at the COP 28 climate summit, according to a statement from PPCA.

Without providing a timeline, the PPCA stated that Morocco “will work together with the PPCA to develop a plan for phasing (coal) out.”

Africa bears the least responsibility for climate change, yet it is already experiencing more severe effects than most other regions of the world.

The continent has the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita of any region, contributing less than 3% of global energy-related CO2 emissions to date. Africa is home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s current population.

According to official figures, about 70% of Morocco’s electricity is generated from coal, with 20% coming from renewable sources thus far this year. By 2030, Morocco wants to increase the proportion of renewable energy in its energy mix to over 52%.

Politics

Seychelles declares emergency following explosion, flooding

Published

3 days ago

December 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Officials in the Seychelles have confirmed that a blast at an explosives store wrecked buildings and caused massive damage to an industrial zone.

The explosion has prompted the president, Wavel Ramkalawan, to declare a state of emergency on Thursday.

The president called for a minute of silence on Thursday after telling reporters that the blast rocked the island and caused flooding due to heavy rains. Three people died as a result.

National television footage showed streets strewn with uprooted trees buried in deep mud and covered in debris.

“Following an explosion at the CCCL explosives store that has caused massive damage to the Providence Industrial area and the surrounding areas and major destruction caused by flooding due to heavy rains, the President has declared a state of emergency for today, December 7th,” President Wavel Ramkalawan’s office said in a statement.

“Everyone is being asked to stay at home. All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons travelling will be allowed free movement.”

Tourists can still use the international airport and the ferries that travel between the islands, according to the government’s official social media.

Comprising 115 islands, the Seychelles is the least populous country in Africa, home to only 100,000 people.