🔅 Africa's Giant Tapestry Raising Awareness at Cop28
Plus: UN Lifts Arms Embargo on Somalia, Mozambique's Energy Transition, Madagascar's Heatwave.
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Mali
Money Matters — Year to Date
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*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five
The Two Giant South African Tapestry That Raised Awareness at Cop28
You may think tapestries are just fancy wall decorations, but for the women of the Keiskamma Trust in South Africa, they’re powerful tools for storytelling and raising awareness. This collective of rural women has been creating monumental artworks for over 20 years, using embroidery, beadwork, wire sculpture, and photographs to depict global issues. Their latest masterpiece, Umlibo (which means pumpkin vine), was commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature and showcased at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai this weekend. It’s a flamboyant six-by-two-metre piece that portrays the fears and hopes of the small community in the Eastern Cape town of Hamburg in the face of the climate crisis. Before they started, they had WWF scientists come to Hamburg to explain the impacts of the climate crisis, whose views matched their own observations—things are getting worse: the soil isn’t producing as much, fishing nets keep coming back empty, the rains are erratic and storms are damaging houses. The women’s art is meant to spread awareness, and hopefully, their message will keep growing like the wild pumpkin plant, Umlibo.
Why There Were No Dollar Bonds For Africa in 2023
Kenya's recent decision to cancel its plans for issuing a dollar bond signals a significant development for 2023, marking a year without any international bond offerings from countries in sub-Saharan Africa. To understand this, it's important to know what a bond is. A bond is essentially a loan made by an investor to a borrower, typically a government or corporation, which promises to pay back the principal amount on a future date along with periodic interest payments. A dollar bond, specifically, is a bond issued in U.S. dollars, rather than the issuing country's own currency. This decision by Kenya reflects the broader economic challenges faced by African nations, particularly influenced by the rising interest rates in the United States. Higher U.S. rates make it more expensive to issue and repay dollar bonds, leading to increased borrowing costs for countries. This financial pressure is prompting African governments to either cut back on their spending (tightening their belts), restructure their existing debts to more manageable terms, or seek alternative sources of funding. The absence of new bond offerings from sub-Saharan African nations in 2023 underscores the disproportionate impact of global financial shifts, like the U.S. interest rate hikes, on the continent's economies.
No More Arms Embargo for Somalia: United Nations Lifts Restrictions
After 30 long years, Somalia's government is being freed from the shackles of an arms embargo. The UN Security Council unanimously voted to remove the restrictions on weapons deliveries to the country's government and security forces, hoping to help them combat the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants. The embargo was first imposed in 1992 to stop weapons from getting into the hands of warring factions. At the UN session, two votes were held concurrently—one to lift the full arms embargo on Somalia, and another to impose it on al Shabaab. The Somali government has been fighting the militant group since 2006, and the lifting of the arms embargo is seen as a response to the persistent requests from the Somali government, which has argued that access to weapons is crucial for effectively fighting against al Shabaab. This move signifies a shift in the UN's approach to Somalia, focusing on strengthening the government's ability to maintain security and combat terrorism within its borders.
Mozambique's Hoped-For Big Energy Makeover
Mozambique is getting serious about green energy. The country has set its sights on raising $80 billion to achieve its new energy transition plan by 2050. This means boosting renewable energy capacity, increasing electricity availability, and saying goodbye to fossil fuels. President Filipe Nyusi will be pitching this initiative to international partners and potential donors at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai this weekend. The plan includes integrating 2,000 megawatts of new hydropower capacity, expanding the transmission grid to incorporate more renewable energy sources, and even switching to electric vehicles to reduce emissions from the transport sector.
Madagascar's Record-Breaking Heatwave: Thanks, Climate Change!
Global heating isn’t just a problem for polar bears—it’s also wreaking havoc in places like Madagascar, where a recent heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change. While the extreme temperatures clearly affect millions of poor people, the resulting struggles are rarely recorded by officials or the media. The consequence of that is that it makes it hard to implement measures to prevent more suffering. The issue might be raised at the UN climate summit, where Africa will need to rely on action from wealthier nations, which contribute disproportionately to global warming. When it comes to Madagascar's capital, scientists believe it should intense heat like this will become the norm every five years if fossil fuels keep being burned at the current rate.
Food for Thought
“There is no elephant that complains about the weight of its trunk. No elephant is burdened by the weight of its tusks."
— Kenyan Proverb