Politics

Egypt: President al-Sisi promises more investment, social spending as 3rd term begins

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Tuesday saw the inauguration of Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for a third term in the nation’s new capital at one of the biggest of the mega-projects that have come to represent his administration.

Speaking at the recently constructed parliament building, Sisi outlined the difficulties Egypt had faced recently and pledged to continue the country’s progress, which many Egyptians claim they are left out of.

“The past few years have shown that the path of nation-building is not paved with roses … between terrorist attempts at home, sudden global crises abroad, fierce wars around us,” Sisi told lawmakers and religious, government, and military officials.

During his speech, Sisi pledged to augment funding for initiatives aimed at the impoverished and involve the corporate sector, adhering to the pledges that facilitated the completion of the enlarged $8 billion agreement with the IMF last month.

In an election held in December of last year, Sisi easily won with 89.6% of the vote and no real opposition. His message of security and stability struck a chord with some voters as the conflict raged in Gaza’s neighbouring country. Still, many others, consumed by their financial struggles, showed no interest in the election and said the outcome was inevitable.

“You carry a heavy load!” shouted one attendee during the ceremony, while another interjected, “If God is with you, then no one can be against you!”

After constitutional modifications that increased the duration of presidential terms to six years and gave Sisi the ability to run for office a third time, his term as president ends in 2030.

Egypt has undergone an infrastructure boom led by the military since Sisi took office in 2014. He claims this is necessary for economic growth and to accommodate the country’s population, which has increased by 6 million since it reached 100 million four years ago.

The largest of the mega projects, which also include building a significant number of new roads, expanding the Suez Canal, and creating other new towns, is the $58 billion New Administrative Capital, which is located in the desert east of Cairo.

Opponents claim that these projects raise Egypt’s debt load and take funds away from other pressing requirements, which is what is causing the country’s economic problems.

Related Topics:Egypt Featured President al-Sisi

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Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.