🔅 New Central Bank Governor, Architectural Recognition, Energy Priorities, Sudan's Plight, and Fashion Sustainability: Africa's Top Stories
Kenya's central bank leadership transition, the prestigious honor for a Nigerian pioneer, the evolving energy discourse, Sudan's ongoing challenges, and Ghana's call for sustainable fashion practices.
Photo of the day: Lusaka, Zambia
Markets:
🔴 Nigerian SE: 55,956.59 (-0.12%)
🔴 Johannesburg SE: 76,887.13 (-0.31%)
🟢 Ghana SE: 2,637.55 (+0.11%)
🔴 Nairobi SE: 105.90 (-0.50)
🟢 US S&P 500: 4,294.14 (+0.62%)
🟢 Shanghai Composite: 3,213.59 (+0.49%)
Global Markets: Recession? What Recession? | It’s time to put the “R” word back in the box. The latest spending numbers show that Americans are living it up, with real personal spending hitting a record high in April. We’re talking 0.5% higher than the previous month. This is despite economists’ predictions of an imminent recession. So, with all the spending going on, it looks like the Fed might not necessarily end up pressing pause on its rate hikes after all. Will the US dollar be gaining even more strength in the next few weeks? We'll just have to wait and see.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
Brief & Bright: Africa's Top Five Highlights
🇰🇪 Kenya's Got a New Central Bank Governor | Kenya’s got a new central bank governor, and he’s coming with a PhD in economics from Johns Hopkins and two decades of experience with the International Monetary Fund. Kamau Thugge, who served as a senior economic adviser to President William Ruto, was recently nominated for the post and yesterday the National Assembly gave him the thumbs up. He’ll be taking over from Patrick Njoroge, who had the job for eight years and was known for his strict policing of traders and importers. Thugge will have his work cut out for him—Kenya’s economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, with the shilling currency sliding, energy and food prices rising, and a heavy debt load. But, with a recovery in agriculture, the World Bank is expecting a slight uptick in growth to 5.0% in 2023.
🇳🇬 Demas Nwoko's Golden Lion: A Pioneer Gets His Due | Demas Nwoko is a Nigerian artist, architect, and designer who's been blazing a trail since 1935. So it's only right that the 88-year-old pioneer has been awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 2023 at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023. He's still working today, with a focus on sustainable architecture and using local materials to build timeless designs. At the award's announcement, curator Lesley Lokko said: “One of the central themes of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition is an approach to architecture as an “expanded” field of endeavours, encompassing both the material and immaterial worlds; a space in which ideas are as important as artefacts, particularly in the service of what is yet to come.” Nwoko’s work certainly fits the bill. He hopes his work will serve as an example for the future of architecture: “I still want to improve on what I did, not just the design but on the technology of building. Whatever I work on – art, design, architecture – comes from the same process of creativity. The aesthetics must also include function, and today that is often forgotten.” Now, the world is finally catching up with this Nigerian pioneer.
🔌 Africa's Energy Woes: Is the West Finally Listening? | For years, African leaders have been trying to make the West understand the importance of energy in driving economic growth and improving living standards. But now, it looks like the West is finally getting the message: The World Bank and G-7 are now looking at ways to support the development of natural gas resources in Africa. Mozambique, for example, has massive reserves that could potentially bring in $95 billion in revenue over the next 25 years (an astronomical amount when compared to its current GDP of $15 billion). It's about time the West saw the hypocrisy of their energy policies. After all, they're not exactly holding themselves to the same standards: Europe's scrambling to secure every possible shipload of oil, LNG, and coal for their own energy needs, and Germany is even calling for public funding for gas.
🇸🇩 Sudan's War: Power Struggle, Fire, and Water Shortages | An arms factory near Khartoum went up in flames on Wednesday as rival factions fight it out in the eighth week of a power struggle. In the crossfire are the people of Sudan, who are struggling to find food, water, and medical services. The situation is so dire that the UN estimates that more than half the country’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance. A ceasefire that was brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US has since expired, but negotiations for a new truce are underway. In the meantime, the war continues to cause displacement and destruction, with hundreds of civilian deaths and reports of babies dying from malnutrition and dehydration. Water cuts have driven people from their homes, and aid that could help 2.2 million people has only been delivered since late May.
🇬🇭 Ghana's Secondhand Clothing Market Demands EU Action | Got a closet full of clothes you never wear? Don’t just stuff it in the back of the closet or leave it in a recycling bin. The secondhand clothing traders from Kantamanto, Ghana, are here to remind you that those clothes can have a second life. In fact, the market recycles 15 million garments a week. The problem is that 40% of what arrives at Kantamanto is wasted. That’s because “fast fashion” is pushing up the volume of lower-quality clothes. The traders recently visited Brussels to lobby for Europe-wide legislation that would compel the fashion industry to help address the “environmental catastrophe” of textile waste in Ghana. They want the draft Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy to increase the fee paid by clothing producers to a minimum of €0.50 cents for each item and guarantee a fair portion of the money goes to Ghana. The policy would also provide funds to help clean up the environmental damage caused by the waste.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“Advice is like a stranger; if he’s welcome he stays for the night; if not, he leaves the same day.”
— Malagasy Proverb.
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