The advent of COVID-19 has exacerbated challenges in Africa’s education and training systems and reinforced the need for innovative solutions that are fit for purpose and can be scaled up sustainably to meet the continually evolving context of education and training. Although the education deficit in Africa is large, significant progress has been made over the past decade. About a fifth of children between the ages of 6-11 are out of school, whereas for children between 12-14 exclusion is about 33%; and an estimated 60% of youth between the ages of 15-17 not in school, with girls more negatively affected. Thus, access remains a challenge at different levels.
Hello, my name is Teresa, I am 13 years old, I stopped studying when I was in seventh grade in 2018 due to financial problems. All these kids who are here with me don't study either.
However, I would like to recite a poem about Covid-19:
There are diseases that are worse than diseases
There are diseases that are more than disease
That make things more urgent and more difficult
I fear coronavirus and zeal for my life
Our faith is the vaccine
The pandemic that now dominates the world haunts me
I didn't want this plague
Protect yourself and protect us
There is no evil that lasts forever
Have resilience because everything passes!
After reciting the poem, Teresa decided to leave an appeal to all sponsors and investors:
Coronavirus is one of the reasons that these children do not study. I hope that a sponsor will appear to finance the school for all the girls.
After all we had a basic class in which the children learned to speak English.
The class was so fruitful that at the end of the program, the children shouted in chorus "We want to study, we want to study"!
A post-pandemic spending euphoria, supported by copious government spending was set to drive the economy and help fatigued households regain a sense of normality after two dreadful years.
But all that changed on Feb. 24 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Normality is gone and crisis has become permanent.
A recession is now almost certain, inflation is nearing double digits and a winter with looming energy shortages is fast approaching.
Though bleak, this outlook is still likely to get worse before any significant improvement well into 2023.
“Crisis is the new normal,” says the Alexandre Bompard, the Chief Executive of retailer Carrefour (CARR.PA). “What we have been used to in the last decades – low inflation, international trade – it’s over,” he told investors.
The change is dramatic. A year ago most forecasters predicted 2022 economic growth near 5%. Now a winter recession is becoming the base case.
The recent rise in euro zone inflaiton has been dramatic in historical context
Households and businesses are both suffering as the fallout of the war – high food and energy prices – is now exacerbated by a devastating drought and low river levels that constrain transport.
At 9%, inflation in the euro area is at levels not seen in a half a century and it is sapping purchasing power with spare cash used up on petrol, natural gas and staple food.
Retail sales are already plunging, months before the heating season starts and shoppers are scaling down their buys. In June, retail sales volumes were down nearly 4% from a year earlier, led by a 9% drop recorded in Germany.
Consumers turn to discount chains and give up high end products, switching to discount brands. They have also started to skip certain purchases.
“Life is becoming more expensive and consumers are reluctant to consume,” Robert Gentz, the co-CEO of German retailer Zalando, told reporters.
Businesses have so far coped well thanks to superb pricing power due to persistent supply constraints. But energy intensive sectors are already suffering.
Close to half of Europe’s aluminium and zinc smelting capacity is already offline while much of fertilizer production, which relies on natural gas, has been shut.
Tourism has been the rare bright spot with people looking to spend some of accumulated savings and enjoy their first care-free summer since 2019.
But even the travel sector is hamstrung by capacity and labour shortages as workers laid off during the pandemic were reluctant to return.
Key airports, such as Frankfurt and London Heathrow were forced to cap flights simply because they lacked the staff to process passengers. At Amsterdam’s Schiphol, waiting times could stretch to four or five hours this summer.
Airlines also could not cope. Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) had to publish an apology to customers for the chaos, admitting that it was unlikely to ease anytime soon.
RECESSION LOOMS
That pain is likely to intensify, especially if Russia cuts gas exports further.
“The gas shock today is much greater; it is almost double the shock that we had back in the 70s with oil,” Caroline Bain at Capital Economics said. “We’ve seen a 10 to 11 fold increase in the spot price of natural gas in Europe over the last two years.”
While the EU has unveiled plans to accelerate its transition to renewable energy and wean the bloc off Russian gas by 2027, making it more resilient in the long run, supply shortages are forcing it seek a 15% cut in gas consumption this year. read more
But energy independence comes at a cost.
For ordinary people it will mean colder homes and offices in the short run. Germany for instance wants public spaces heated only to 19 degrees Celsius this winter compared with around 22 degrees previously.
Further out, it will mean higher energy costs and thus inflation as the bloc must give up its biggest and cheapest energy supplies.
For businesses, it will mean lower production, which eats further into growth, particularly in industry.
Wholesale gas prices in Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, are up five-fold in a year but consumers are protected by long term contracts, so the impact so far has been far smaller.
Still, they will have to pay a government mandated levy and once contracts roll over, prices will soar, suggesting the impact will just come with a delay, putting persistent upward pressure on inflation.
That is why many if not most economists see Germany and Italy, Europe’s no. 1 and no. 4 economies with heavy reliance on gas, entering a recession soon.
While a recession in the United States is also likely, its origin will be quite different.
SILVER LINING
Struggling with a red-hot labour market and rapid wage growth, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates quickly and has made clear it is willing to risk even a recession to tame price growth.
By contrast, the European Central Bank has only increased rates once, back to zero, and will move only cautiously, mindful that raising the borrowing cost of highly indebted euro zone nations, such as Italy, Spain and Greece could fuel worries about the their ability to keep paying their debts.
But Europe will go into a recession with some strengths.
Employment is record high and firms have struggled with growing labour scarcity for years.
This suggests that companies will be keen to hang onto workers, especially since they head for the downturn with relatively healthy margins.
This could then sustain purchasing power, pointing to a relatively shallow recession with only a modest uptick in what is now a record low jobless rate.
“We see continued acute shortages of labour, historically low unemployment and a high number of vacancies,” ECB board member Isabel Schnabel told Reuters earlier. “This probably implies that even if we enter a downturn, firms may be quite reluctant to shed workers on a broad scale.”
Kenyans who were forcibly evicted from the Rift Valley by British colonisers have filed a case at the European Court of Human Rights, according to their lawyers.
They argue that the UK’s treatment of their complaints has violated the European Convention on Human Rights to which the UK is a signatory.
The lawyers also said the UK Government had refused to engage with the victims or their representatives, and a request in May 2022 to meet Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was refused.
“The UK Government has ducked and dived, and sadly avoided every possible avenue of redress. We have no choice but to proceed to court for our clients so that history can be righted,” lawyer Joel Kimutai Bosek said.
“We have taken all reasonable and dignified steps. But the UK Government has given us the cold shoulder. Our people have no choice except to take them to court,” Kericho county Governor Paul Chepkwony said.
Ten police officers have been arrested in Colombia on suspicion of involvement in the killing of three youths.
The three were shot dead while in police custody in northern Sucre province on 25 July.
A police colonel, the highest-ranking officer suspected in the case, is on the run and thought to be abroad.
Prosecutors say the policers officers had alleged that the youths were members of the Gulf Clan criminal group that had earlier shot dead a policeman.
Colombia has a dark history of “false positives” – cases in which civilians were murdered by the military and passed off as rebels to boost its kill rate.
An inquiry found last year that Colombia’s military killed more than 6,400 people between 2002 and 2008 and falsely labelled them as enemy combatants.
While the majority of “false positives” occurred during the height of Colombia’s armed conflict with left-wing rebels – and were carried out by the military rather than the police – the case of the three youths has caused alarm.
The outgoing head of the country’s police force, General Jorge Luis Vargas, said that any officer found to be responsible would face the full weight of the law.
Gen Vargas also ordered that the police commander in Sucre province be suspended.
The three youths were detained shortly after a 25-year-old police officer, Diego Ruiz, was shot dead in a bakery by armed men suspected to belong to the Gulf Clan.
During the search for the gunmen, police detained Jesús Díaz, José Arévalo and Carlos Ibáñez and took them away in a van.
Eyewitnesses said the three were alive when they were put into the back of the van but a short time later, when police took them to hospital in the same van, doctors declared them dead on arrival.
Medical reports suggest their bodies had sustained multiple bullet wounds.
Relatives of the youths, who were between 18 and 26 years old, said that the three had no connections to the Gulf Clan.
Colombia’s new chief of police, General Henry Sanabria, said an Interpol red notice had been issued for the arrest of Colonel Núñez, who he said was the main suspect in the shooting.
Colonel Núñez left Colombia the day after the shooting and is thought to be in Mexico.
The celebration of Africa’s rich cultural diversity was a resounding success when 450 000 spectators attended the 10 day “Rab’Africa Summer Festival” in Rabat.
Organised the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication in the Morocco capital Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, 27 artists performed to big crowds on each of the days, culminating in a record 100 000 fans for the closing ceremony on August 14.
The Rab’Africa Summer Festival as part of the celebrations of Rabat being named the African Capital of Culture.
In February 2020, the Committee of African Capitals of Culture officially announced the choice of Rabat as the Capital of African Culture for the 2022-2023 calendar year.
The first edition of the festival “Rab’Africa Summer Festival” ran from August 5 to 14 at the corniche of Bouregreg. This event was in partnership with the Wilaya of Rabat, the City Council of Rabat and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa).
Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, and as part of the celebrations of ‘Rabat African Capital of Culture’, the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication organized the first edition of the festival “Rab’Africa Summer Festival” from August 5 to 14, 2022 at the corniche of Bouregreg. This event was in partnership with the Wilaya of Rabat, the City Council of Rabat and the UCLG Africa.
The “Rab’Africa Summer Festival” is a program of entertainment that combines music shows and cultural and sports activities, adapted to the summer period.
Renowned African artists such as Mehdi Mozayine, Hatim Ammour, Hind Ennayra, Nouaaman Belayachi, Africa United, Zouhair Bahaoui, Mbokka Project, Jubantouja, Ribab Fusion, Ahmed Chaouki and Hajib performed at the festival.
The festival was a reminder that Rabat as the African Capital of Culture is a very rich international cultural event that will run for a year with the participation of national and international community.
Morocco Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid is on record saying that Rabat being named as the capital of African culture will be at the centre of celebrating Africa’s rich cultural heritage. “It reflects the special interest that His Majesty grants to the African dimension of the Kingdom and the importance of strengthening relations between our country and our African brothers,” he said.
The Minister added that the celebration of Rabat as the capital of African culture is an opportunity to present to the world the bright face of the ancient African civilization, and to highlight the deep Afro-Moroccan ties.
Luanda - MPLA leader João Lourenço exercised his right to vote this Wednesday (24) in polling station 105, urban district of Ingombota, municipality of Luanda.
Along with his wife, Ana Dias Lourenço, and members of the MPLA Board, the party's candidate for the President of the Republic cast vote in ballot box placed on table 5 of the aforementioned polling station.
João Lourenço, who is running for his own succession, is one of the eight heads-of-list eligible for the present suffrage, along with Adalberto Costa Júnior (UNITA), Manuel Fernandes (CASA-CE), Benedito Daniel (PRS), Nimi Simbi (FNLA), Quintino Moreira (APN), Eduardo Chingunji (P-NDJANGO) and Florbela Malaquias (PHA).
This year's elections, which will have the participation of Angolans in the diaspora for the first time, are the fifth in Angola's history, after those in 1992, 2008, 2012 and 2017.
Roughly 14.3 million voters are registered in the country and abroad.
Seven political parties (MPLA, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, PHA, APN and P-NJANGO) and a coalition of parties (CASA-CE) are running for 2022 elections.
This year's general elections aim to elect the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic and the MPs to the National Assembly.
Luanda – At least 559,625 voters aged between 60 and 65 years old, of whom 1,225 are registered abroad, are among the Angolan citizens eligible to cast their ballot on Wednesday, 24 August.
Used to participating in this democratic party, citizens in this age group are looking forward to the moment of exercising their duty of citizenship, with appeals to the contending political parties for serenity and a spirit of peace.
Among those registered is Baltazar Pedro, 64 years old, who is already on his fifth participation.
In an interview with ANGOP, the elderly man said that the fact that the country registered a positive economic development, unlike in 1992, when the first elections were held, is a good variable for this election to run smoothly.
According to the source, in 2008, in the context of peace, the elections were still held with some fear and rancor, stating that in 2012 Angolans began to look more seriously at the electoral process, until the last election in 2017.
Manuel Quindae, 53, a university professor, hopes for highest voter turnout, stressing that the 1992 elections served as a lesson for the following ones, given the country's lack of experience at the time.
Manuel Quindae, who worked in the 1992 election as a brigade member, recalls being stranded in the municipality of Ambaca, northern Cuanza Norte province, due to the outbreak of the armed conflict.
The university professor underlines that one cannot go wrong again as in the first suffrage, emphasising that the 2008 elections served as an experience, and in 2012 Angola taught the world a good lesson, although it lacked civic education as such.
Already in 2017, he commented, the elections were “examination”, as the ruling party managed to present another candidate.
He advised greater serenity and above all citizenship for a plea for peace.
In turn, Filipe Miguel Canda, 62, said he hoped that the one who best managed to convince the electorate during the election campaign would win.
He says he is happy to participate, once again, in this civic process, and therefore asks Angolans not to stop participating in the polls.
This year's elections, which will have the participation of Angolans abroad for the first time, are the fifth in Angola's history, after those in 1992, 2008, 2012 and 2017.
According to the data, the least representative group will be those between 60 and 65 years of age, with a figure of 559,625 voters, of whom 1,225 are registered abroad.
Data from the computer File of Senior Citizens (FICM) show that 3. 056 million young people, from 18 to 25 years of age, are part of the most representative group of voters for the election of 24 August of this year, of a total of 14. 3 million voters.
Of the number of voters in this age group under 25, some 3,618 were registered abroad.
The data also indicate that the next group with the highest number of voting citizens is between 25 and 30 years old, with 2. 121 million, of whom 2, 664 registered abroad.
Angolan voters are evenly distributed in terms of gender, with women having a slight advantage (51% against 49% of men).
Overseas voting will take place in 12 countries and 26 cities, such as South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg), Namibia (Windhoek, Oshakati and Rundu) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Matadi).
Also on the African continent, Angolans residing in Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville, Dolisie and Pointe Noire) and Zambia (Lusaka, Mongu, Kolwezi) will be able to vote.
Outside Africa, voting will be open in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and São Paulo), in Germany (Berlin), in Belgium (Brussels), in France (Paris), in the United Kingdom (London), in Portugal (Lisbon), Porto) and the Netherlands (Rotterdam).
This year's general elections will elect the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic and the MPs to the National Assembly.
Luanda – UNITA president Adalberto Costa Júnior voted this Wednesday (24) at polling station 805, in Urban District of Nova Vida, in Luanda.
Accompanied by his wife and party leaders, the candidate for President of the Republic cast his vote at 08:26 am.
UNITA leader is one of the eight heads-of-list qualified for the present suffrage, along with João Lourenço (MPLA), Manuel Fernandes (CASA-CE), Benedito Daniel (PRS), Nimi a Simbi (FNLA), Quintino Moreira (APN), Eduardo Chingunji (P-NDJANGO) and Florbela Malaquias (PHA).
This year's elections, which will have the participation of Angolans in the diaspora for the first time, are the fifth in Angola's history, after those in 1992, 2008, 2012 and 2017.
Eight political forces are competing for the present elections, for which 14.3 million voters are registered, in the country and abroad.
Seven political parties (MPLA, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, PHA, APN and P-NJANGO) and a coalition of political parties (CASA-CE) are running for 2022 elections.
This year's general elections aim to elect the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic and the MPs to the National Assembly.
