Politics

ANC branch nominates South African billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, to run for presidency

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2022

The Limpopo, South Africa branch of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), has nominated billionaire businessman, Patrice Motsepe, to run against embattled President Cyril Ramaphosa for the position of party presidency.

The Limpopo ANC branch which is one of the largest and popular branches of the party, in its campaign dubbed ‘Unity 2022’, on Friday, says it believes Motsepe is the only candidate who was “not seen to be corrupt”, and has what it takes to battle against Ramaphosa and former Health Minister, Dr. Zweli Mkhize.

The Unity Forum warned that if the ANC did not change its face going into its upcoming conference, it risked having its electoral support dip below 40% in the 2024 national elections.

“The ANC is in big trouble, everyone can see that, even the senior members agree. We are saying Patrice Motsepe must become the president of the ANC in December 2022 and the face of the party in 2024.

“We strongly feel he can rescue the sinking ship,” the Forum chairperson, Emmanuel Makgoga, was quoted as saying.

The Limpopo Branch Deputy Chairperson, Malekeng Magane, in a statement of endorsement, said an intensive lobbying has been ongoing to woo other branches to support Motsepe.

Magane also dismissed the Limpopo ANC Provincial Executive Committee’s (PEC) endorsement of Ramaphosa for the ANC presidency, saying the PEC was not being truthful toward the elective conference.

“We have comrades in all the provinces lobbying other branches to support Motsepe and we have spoken to him and have written to him. He has not agreed that he would stand nor has he disagreed.

“We don’t expect him to say yes now. Even the current president, Ramaphosa, has not raised his hand to say he is standing,” Magane said in the statement.

According to TimesLive, this is not the first time Motsepe’s name has come up for the role of ANC president as a group of aggrieved ANC members known as ‘Unity 2022 Forum’ has, in December 2021, called for the billionaire to become the country’s next president.

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Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

8 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.