Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's economy
Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars. Last year about in 714 000 hectares of land was 'chewed' by veld fires and according to the Meteorological Office , the season were the risk of veld fires are high is once again upon us. Environment activists said threat not only…

Liberia commends ECOWAS for support
The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning, Mr. Christopher Wallace, expressing immense gratitude to ECOWAS for assisting the country to end a civil war and accompanying it in capacity building to promote…

Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk
As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling. The air is dusty, the wind is fierce and unrelenting, the plants are wilting and the earth is turning into sand dunes. The lives of herders, fisher folks and farmers are teetering on the edge as the lake dries up before their eyes. Vegetation…

Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya
Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turkana district have been rendered impassable following the heavy down pour. “Due to dilapidated roads trucks carrying the relief food are unable to reach families in need of the supplies''…

Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant
The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns. This was done mainly to curb the rural-to-urban migration through employment creation and the availing of basic services to people in rural areas, but almost three decades later, most growth points are now like ghost towns with most…

Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality
Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country described as one of the worst places to have a child moved from the bottom to twelve places up in the tier 111 of the least developed countries. Of the 165 countries surveyed, Sierra Leone is ranked 30th position…

Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize land
Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources. "The owner of this farm is not around, he lives in Harare and we pay rentals to him, he is not into farming and he come here occasionally to collect his rentals, we don't use the whole farm," said another peasant farmer in…

Algerians vote in parliamentary election
Polls have opened in Algeria for parliamentary elections which the authorities have billed as more free and transparent than ever before. Some 21.6 million Algerians out of a population of 37 million are registered to vote. Algerian authorities have allowed in 500 foreign observers. But, after initially welcoming in the observers - from the European…

Sierra Leone: Girl 13, dedicates life to others
Annette Sam, now 13 was diagnosed with a hole in the heart in 2006. His father a teacher by then could not afford funds to treat the young Annette. Nearly at the point of death, a local charity organization Pikin Bizness gave Annette another chance to life. Annette was flown to Germany in 2007 where she undergoes a successful surgery. Annette and his…

African traders benefit from e-commerce
For three years, Kossi Serge has been buying various items in Hong Kong and China for resale in his native African country of Togo. Serge - who supports a family of six back in Africa - runs a small business which supplies electronic gadgets and clothing to Togolese. Although he is based out of Hong Kong, where he sources his products, he normally…