Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered what he called “total support” for Africa, including in the struggle against terrorism and extremism.

The speech was read out at a summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to his African counterparts.

Several African governments have cut ties with traditional Western allies and are looking to Moscow for help in tackling frequent attacks by jihadists.

During the summit, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said Russia was a more suitable international partner than the former colonial power, France.

It is a view shared by several of France’s former colonies – and was reiterated by Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, who contrasted the Kremlin’s “sincere” partnership to the “neo-colonial” relationship of Western powers.

He said that as well as military co-operation, Mali was exploring other joint projects in the energy, telecommunications, technology and mining sectors.

“Russian companies are working in all these areas with the Malian government and [private] partners in Mali to provide solutions to the challenges facing the Malian people. The two parties have agreed to step up the pace to ensure rapid results,” he said on the second and final day of the conference of African foreign ministers.

Wagner mercenary fighters – now rebranded under the Africa Corps banner by Russia’s defence ministry – were the preferred choice for the military leaders who ordered French and UN troops to leave.

Russia’s help, often in exchange for access to raw materials, also comes with a promise that there will be no meddling in a country’s internal affairs or lessons on how to run an election.

However, Russia’s military expeditions to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have helped protect the junta leaders there, but have failed to make much progress in the fight against Islamist militants.

Nonetheless, the Kremlin is trumpeting about these new-found friends, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying the conference had dashed Western hopes for Russia’s isolation.

The conference taking place on Saturday and Sunday comes after two Russia-Africa summits in 2019 and 2023

And Lavrov said Russia’s relations with Africa were strengthening “more and more” with progress “on all axes”.

Putin’s speech underlined this point.

“I would like to reiterate that our country will continue to provide total support to our African friends in different sectors: ensuring sustainable development, the struggle against terrorism and extremism, combating epidemics, food problems and the consequences of natural disasters,” it said.

Emanuela Del Re, the EU special representative for the Sahel region of West Africa, told the BBC the West needed to accept the shifting sands of allegiances.

While Russia was “certainly a very malicious actor”, the Italian diplomat explained it had a strong bond with Africa going back to before independence and was not alone in its interest in the Sahel.

“It’s largely a desert but in reality the region is very crowded: because at the moment you see Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran… all member states of the EU and the UK,” she said.

In fact, African leaders were pragmatic about their need to “diversify their partnerships”, Ms Del Re said, adding it was not a time for the EU to abandon what she called the “three difficult countries” of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which have all experienced coups in recent years.

Her point was that it should not be seen as a competition.

Rwanda, which has strong ties with the UK and the West, is one of several African countries that have already signed deals with Moscow to get help building a nuclear power plant.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, who is also in Sochi, told the AFP news agency hundreds of Rwandan students had graduated from Russian universities, including “those who specialise in nuclear science”.

“We hope to be able to train a certain number of scientific managers specialising in this field,” he added.

Five years ago, Putin promised to double trade with Africa – this has not happened.

But using other means, which the West sees as destabilising the continent, Russia’s influence has grown significantly.

Source: BBC

Niger bid goodbye to the Avenue Charles de Gaulle on Tuesday as its ruling junta renamed several historic sites in the capital Niamey which previously bore references to old colonial master France.

Since taking power in a coup in July 2023, the Sahel nation’s military rulers have turned their backs on Paris, instead forging ties with fellow juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali – as well as Russia.

With the sound of marching bands blaring in the background, several junta officials took to the streets to witness the new names’ inauguration.

“Most of our avenues, boulevards and streets… bear names that are simply reminders of the suffering and bullying our people endured during the ordeal of colonisation,” said Major Colonel Abdramane Amadou, Minister for Youth and a junta spokesman.

“The avenue which once bore the name of General Charles de Gaulle is henceforth christened ‘Avenue Djibo Bakary’,” Amadou added.

A socialist politician who died in 1998, Bakary was a key figure in the struggle for Niger’s independence, which it obtained in 1960.

A few hundred metres further on, the memorial to those who died in the two world wars now pays “homage to all civilian and military victims of colonisation to the present day”.

With the ruling junta frequently accusing France of wishing to topple it, the renaming of monuments and streets marks a symbolic confirmation of Niger’s break with its former imperial ruler.

Since the coup, Niger’s authorities have expelled both the French soldiers fighting against the region’s persistent jihadist threat and the French ambassador, while the Franco-Nigerien cultural centre is no longer run as a joint venture and has been renamed after Niger’s filmmaker Moustapha Alassane.

‘Honour our ancestors’

Other monuments across Niamey will bear new names from Tuesday onwards.

A portrait of French commander and explorer Parfait-Louis Monteil, engraved for decades in stone, was replaced by a plaque bearing the effigy of neighbouring Burkina Faso’s iconic communist leader Thomas Sankara.

An anti-imperialist hero nicknamed Africa’s Che Guevara, Sankara was killed in a 1987 coup his widow and supporters accuse France of having a hand in organising.

Amadou hailed Sankara as a man whose “struggle for liberation” and “emancipation of peoples” was “still inspiring people” today.

Meanwhile the Place de Francophonie was renamed after the Alliance of Sahel States – a confederation created with Mali and Burkina Faso in 2023, cementing relations between the coup-hit countries.

All three had their membership suspended to the 88-state International Organisation of La Francophonie in the wake of their coups.

From now on “we are going to honour our ancestors”, vowed General Assoumane Abdou Harouna, the capital region’s governor and a junta figure.

Oumarou Abdourahamane, president of the Niger branch of the NGO Urgences Panafricanistes, welcomed the new names.

“It makes no sense for our streets to continue to bear the names of former colonists… and so justice is being done by renaming these streets, by naming them after our country’s heroes,” he said.

Urgences Panafricanistes is headed at the international level by activist Kemi Seba, known for his virulent anti-Western views, who was arrested on Monday in Paris for as-yet unknown reasons.

Seba, who was born in France to Beninese parents, holds a Nigerien diplomatic passport as special adviser to junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani.

The controversial militant, who was recently stripped of his French nationality, is a radical black power activist who is regularly accused of anti-Semitism and has been sentenced in France several times for incitement to racial hatred.

In June 2023, shortly before the coup that toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum, Niger also adopted a new national anthem titled “For the honour of the fatherland”, which references the anti-colonial struggle.

It replaced “La Nigerienne”, whose lyrics were written by French composer Maurice Albert Thiriet in 1961, a year after the country gained its independence.

Source: AFP

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has been a key player in Africa’s agricultural development efforts for more than four decades. In this regard, IFAD engages with governments in the region to encourage them to increase their investments in agriculture, with special emphasis on climate-smart practices and green technologies which sustainably boost agricultural productivity.

The Rome-based organization has been supporting rural communities in West and Central Africa (WCA) to enable them to lift themselves out of poverty. The region accounts for one quarter of IFAD’s global active portfolio. 

Its programmes address the root causes of poverty by enhancing production, increasing access to markets and strengthening climate resilience. 

In response to the enormous challenges facing young rural people in the region, IFAD funds initiatives which provide training, encourage entrepreneurship and boost the creation of decent jobs.

Together with government partners, IFAD is piloting innovative programmes in the region. For example, the Joint Programme for the Sahel tackles the transborder challenges of COVID-19, conflict and climate change, while the Regional Programme for the Integration of Agricultural Markets boosts intra-regional trade. 

In a context where government spending on agriculture is low and small-scale farmers often struggle to access funding, IFAD is a leading investor in smallholder farming. It invests in production, market linkages, access to finance, policy engagement and building the capacity of rural institutions.

IFAD channels climate finance to small-scale farmers to enhance their climate resilience through the Adaptation for Smallholder Agricultural Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund. 

Fragmentation makes scaling up climate adaptation and resilience a challenge. To address this, IFAD supports producers’ organizations and brings diverse stakeholders together.

The West and Central Africa (WCA) region is as intricate as it is vast. Its population has quadrupled over the last 50 years. Agriculture is vital to livelihoods in West Africa, employing 60 per cent of the workforce and accounting for 35 per cent of the region’s GDP. 

This volatile region, where 11 out of 24 countries are classified as fragile, faces some of the toughest challenges in the world.

One in three people live in extreme poverty. Women and young people are the most affected as they have less access to employment opportunities, land and financial resources.

Growing food insecurity shows no sign of abating, with the number of hungry people set to reach almost 50 million in 2024. This is exacerbated by conflict, climate change and the degradation of natural resources.

WCA has one of the world’s youngest populations, with more than three in five people under the age of 25. However, many of these young people have left rural areas in search of job opportunities in cities or abroad. Increased investment could provide them with better access to education, professional development and decent employment.

A fast-growing middle class means demand for food in Africa will continue to grow. This demand could be met by local small-scale farmers if they are given the tools and investment to work the region’s arable land and sustainably use its array of natural resources.

Agriculture-led GDP growth is at least three times more effective at reducing poverty than growth in any other sector. Despite this, only a handful of countries regularly achieve the Africa Union’s target of 10 per cent government spending on agriculture.

IFAD engages with governments in the region to encourage them to increase their investments in agriculture, with an emphasis on climate-smart practices and green technologies that sustainably boost agricultural productivity.

IFAD has been supporting rural communities in WCA so they can lift themselves out of poverty for over four decades. The region represents one quarter of IFAD’s global active portfolio. 

Its programmes address the root causes of poverty by enhancing production, increasing access to markets and strengthening climate resilience. 

In response to the enormous challenges facing the region’s young rural population, IFAD funds initiatives which provide training, encourage entrepreneurship and boost the creation of decent jobs.

Together with government partners, IFAD is piloting innovative programmes in the region. For example, the Joint Programme for the Sahel tackles the transborder challenges of COVID-19, conflict and climate change, while the Regional Programme for the Integration of Agricultural Markets boosts intra-regional trade. 

In a context where government spending on agriculture is low and small-scale farmers often struggle to access funding, IFAD is a leading investor in smallholder farming. It invests in production, market linkages, access to finance, policy engagement and building the capacity of rural institutions.

IFAD channels climate finance to small-scale farmers to enhance their climate resilience through the Adaptation for Smallholder Agricultural Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund. 

Fragmentation makes scaling up climate adaptation and resilience a challenge. To address this, IFAD supports producers’ organizations and brings diverse stakeholders together.

 By Cecilia M. Manjang

Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Thursday vowed investigations into what he described as “widespread corruption” under the administration in power before April, accusing it of having manipulated financial figures.

“The policy of unbridled indebtedness (under former president Macky Sall) has led to the use of resources that is not transparent and that is conducive to widespread corruption,” he told journalists, denouncing the “embezzlement of public funds en masse”.

Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye swept to power in Senegal in March on a pledge of radical change in the West African nation.

The pair ran on a ticket of social justice, sovereignty and leftist pan-Africanism—raising hopes in the country battling a high cost of living and widespread unemployment.

After being sworn in in April, Faye requested that Sonko conduct a thorough review of the country’s financial situation.

The government shared the conclusions of the stock-take on Thursday.

“We had no idea that things were so catastrophic,” Sonko said, accusing the former authorities of having lied and falsified figures, particularly with international partners.

Also speaking at the press conference, Justice Minister Ousmane Diagne said the actions appeared to be “criminal in nature, which the competent judicial authorities will have to determine by means of investigations that they deem appropriate”.

Source: AFP

A row between a prominent journalist and a king has captivated many in Ghana.

It began when Afia Pokua criticised the Ashanti king’s handling of tensions with other ethnic groups, the deference that politicians show him, and expressed her frustration about the apparent supremacy of the Asante community.

“Even the president… bowed to show respect to the chief,” Ms Pokua said in an interview with Mona Gucci earlier this month on local channel Onua TV.

“Asante is not the whole of Ghana. If you are only thinking about Asante, they can amend the laws so that you can separate yourself from the rest of the country.”

The comments were not well received by the traditional ruler.

The head of the Ashanti kingdom – Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II – occupies a powerful position in society and it is considered hugely disrespectful to openly insult or criticise him.

His official title is the “Asantehene” – but he is also referred to as “Nyame Kessie” which means greater god, and as such he is treated with maximum respect.

Royal historian Osei Bonsu Sarfo Kantanka, who works for the Asantehene, told the BBC that anybody wanting to criticise the leader must follow specific steps.

“You go through the queen mother – she is the only person who can rebuke him. If you don’t go through the queen mother and then you do it yourself, then you’re in trouble,” he said.

Mr Osei also criticised Ms Pokua for saying that Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, who is in his 70s, was hard of hearing.

“If you use this word on even an ordinary person, he will not take it as criticism.”

Seeking to apologise for her comments, Ms Pokua on Monday went to Manhye Palace in Kumasi where the Asantehene lives.

Dressed in black and accompanied by elders, she kneeled on the ground and begged for forgiveness, as did Ms Gucci. The whole spectacle was filmed for TV.

But Ms Pokua’s apologies were rejected by representatives of the Ashanti traditional ruler and she was asked to leave the palace.

“Take your cursed self and your troubles with you. Whatever comes your way in the future, deal with it on your own. Do not ever return here,” the Asantehene told her, according to local media.

That was despite her already apologising on social media and live television.

According to the royal historian, it boils down to another failure to follow etiquette.

In order for her apology to be accepted, said Mr Osei, the journalist should have appealed to the Agona traditional authority and taken along with her, her parents and the owners of the TV station that broadcast the critical remarks.

If the apology were accepted, the Agona chief would then convey the message to the Asantehene and then set a date to take her to Manhye Palace for another apology.

But, if she follows these steps now, it may not be too late.

Source: BBC

Senegal’s new authorities have set up a commission of experts to “rebalance” oil and gas contracts, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said, following an election pledge to renegotiate hydrocarbon agreements.

The West African country, ranked among the 25 least developed in the world, joined the club of oil producers in June and is due to start producing natural gas by the end of the year.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who swept to victory in March on a promise of radical reform, declared an audit of the oil, gas and mining sectors as one of his first announcements as head of state.

The new authorities say the contracts signed by the former government are unfavourable to the country.

“We regretted and vigorously condemned the way in which agreements and conventions were concluded, most of the time to the detriment of the strategic interests of Senegal and its people,” Sonko said at the launch of the commission which was broadcast by public television channel RTS on Monday evening.

“We had made a firm commitment to revisit these various agreements, to re-examine them and to work to rebalance them in the national interest,” he said.

The commission is made up of senior Senegalese government officials and experts in the oil and mining, tax and economic fields.

“The logic is to work scientifically, rigorously and methodically on all aspects of these agreements. The first exercise will be to review these agreements in the light of the various legal bases on which they are based,” Sonko said.

Senegal became an oil producer in June when production began at the Sangomar offshore oil field, operated by Australian group Woodside Energy.

Senegal also shares the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas field on its maritime border with Mauritania, jointly developed by British energy giant BP, the American company Kosmos Energy, the Mauritanian hydrocarbons company SMH and the Senegalese state-owned Petrosen.

Production at the gas field, on which the two neighbours are pinning their hopes for development, is scheduled to begin later this year.

Source: AFP

The United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued a Formal Opinion that the detention of Frederik (Frik) Potgieter (a 54 year old South African citizen) and Peter Huxham (a 55 year old dual SA / UK citizen) in Equatorial Guinea arbitrary and illegal, and is calling for their immediate release.

The UN decision is a material finding that definitively confirms Frik and Peter’s innocence, and that their ongoing detention in Equatorial Guinea is a grave violation of various international human rights conventions.

Equatorial Guinea is a signatory to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Arbitrary detention occurs when someone is arrested and detained by a government without due process and without the legal protections of a fair trial, or when an individual is detained without any legal basis for deprivation of liberty.  Arbitrary detention, in essence, is unlawful detention.

Francois Nigrini and Shaun Murphy, spokespersons for the Huxham and Potgieter families, say: “There has never been a shred of doubt about Frik and Peter’s innocence.  The families, Frik and Peter’s employer and the South African government have always believed in their innocence. 

“As families, we believe that their arrests were in retaliation for South African courts having seized the luxury properties and super yacht belonging to the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, the latter just two days prior to Frik and Peter’s arrest.  We have also known that their arrests and detention are illegal, and so feel deeply vindicated by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s declaration that their arrests and detention are unlawful.  

“There should never be a time when one country condones the unlawful action taken against citizens of another country, and we will be leaning firmly on both South Africa and the UK to take firm, decisive and immediate action to release the men.  Frik and Peter’s unlawful and illegal arrest in that country shows that there is scant regard for human rights and the rule of law. They are innocent pawns in an international spat between two countries, and have suffered great hardship for almost 17 months as a consequence.  It’s time that their suffering, and the time stolen from their lives, ends and they are brought back home to their families in South Africa.”

In addition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions ruling, the families have requested the formal assistance of the Pan-African Parliament to secure Frik and Peter’s urgent release.  A formal request was handed over to the Presidency of the Pan-African Parliament on 24 June 2024, asking the institution to intervene to secure the men’s urgent release. They also held a peaceful protest outside the Parliament.  The Pan-African Parliament is the legislative and oversight arm of the African Union, based in Midrand, South Africa.

Background to the case

Frik and Peter, highly qualified and respected engineers, were working in Equatorial Guinea for their employer, a global oil and gas company, providing skilled expertise to projects which contribute two of the main income sources for that country, when they were arrested on fabricated drug charges.  Their arrests took place just two days after the South African courts seized the luxury super yacht belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President, Teodore Nguema Obiang Mangue.  Earlier, the South African courts had also seized the Vice-President’s two luxury Cape Town villas.

These assets were seized following a court ruling in South Africa on a separate matter, completely unrelated to Frik and Peter.  Even though the super yacht has been released, the villas remain impounded in South Africa, and the men remain in prison in Equatorial Guinea. Frik and Peter are caught in the diplomatic and political crossfire between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea.

Their court case took place in June 2023 in Equatorial Guinea. No credible evidence, witnesses, or expert testimonies were presented to the court by the State, nor was any proof presented that the alleged drugs were found on the two men, or that indeed they were drugs. It was alleged that the drugs were found in their luggage, however, their luggage, combination-locked and unopened, was still in their rooms five days later, when their employer collected it in the presence of hotel management and the local police. The accused’s attorneys were also not given the opportunity to challenge or argue the prosecutor’s allegations.

After this sham trial, the men each received a 12-year prison sentence, and are being held in a prison reserved for political prisoners in Mongomo. They were also ordered to pay USD $5 million each in damages, and additional fines to be shared between them.  The sentences were based on outdated penalties for the alleged crimes, indicating an unsettling departure from the country’s new Criminal Code.

Both men are deeply respected and valued within their families, church groups and communities, as well as professionally.  They have received numerous accolades over the years for their achievements and commitment to mentoring and facilitating the promotion of young, mainly local Equatorial Guinean employees, into more senior roles. 

“Frik and Peter are not just names on a distant headline, but fathers, partners, grandfathers and pillars in their communities, as well as valued team members on their respective vessels in Equatorial Guinea. Every passing day without them is an eternity of missed moments and cherished memories that can never be regained.

“I​​t is deeply distressing to consider the toll that this tragedy has had on Frik and Peter’s bodies, and their mental wellbeing.  They have endured over 500 days in prison, and the physical and mental strain they must be experiencing is unimaginable.

“With this important and ground-breaking decision from the United Nations, we now strongly urge all involved, including governments, the oil majors (Chevron and ExxonMobil) that Frik and Peter ultimately work for in Equatorial Guinea, civil society and the international community at large, to steeply accelerate their efforts to bring them home.  Their freedom is not just a legal obligation; it is a moral imperative.”

The families have launched an online petition, website and social media campaign to share their story and demand their urgent release: