Politics

Malawi ends visa requirement for China, US, UK, others

Published

10 months ago

February 10, 2024

In an effort to improve its tourism sector, which is one of Malawi’s main sources of foreign earnings, the government has waived the need for a visa for visitors from a number of nations, including China, the United States, and other countries.

This comes after a portion of the nation’s Immigration Act was changed to facilitate foreign tourists’ admittance into the country.

Ken Zikhale Ng’oma, the minister of homeland security for Malawi, signed the amendment to the Act on Wednesday, which listed the 47 nations on the planet free from Malawian visa requirements. Ghana and the Gambia are two of the exempted African nations, while Germany, France, and Russia are all exempted nations outside of Africa.

Furthermore, citizens of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are also exempt from the need for a visa, with the exception of those nations that require one for Malawians.

The change further exempts holders of Laissez-Passers from any of the following: United Nations, African Union, African Development Bank, SADC, Comesa, all diplomats, and government officials travelling on official business.

The gazetted amendment states that the six- and twelve-month validity periods of multiple entry visas in Malawi must be reciprocated with the corresponding country’s multiple entry visa validity.

The country’s business community, in the meantime, has applauded the decision, stating that “it will make Malawi an attractive tourism destination while boosting foreign currency flows in the long term.”

In implementing the MW (Malawi) 2063 Agenda, which aims to make the country self-reliant with more exports than imports, Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule told the local media that the amendment to the Immigration Act augers well with the country’s three priority areas, namely agriculture, tourism, and mining (ATM).

Click to comment

Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

9 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.