South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive: South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of …
Energy price cap: a targeted ‘social tariff’ must be part of a much wider set of reforms: Alex Yeung / shutterstock The British energy regulator Ofgem has announced the energy price cap for the last quarter of 2023, including early winter. Gas and electricity should be slightly cheaper than last year, but they are still …
Ghana’s informal mining harms health and the land – but reforms must work with people, not against them: Poverty is prevalent in most gold mining communities in Ghana. Wikimedia Commons Artisanal small-scale mining has been practised in Ghana for over a century. In 2018, small-scale miners generated 2.1 million ounces of gold, accounting for 43.1% …
Israel protests: Netanyahu delays judicial reforms over fears of ‘civil war’ – but deep fault-lines threaten future of democracy: Despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to delay the planned judicial reforms that have so destabilised Israeli society, the country’s crisis of democracy is far from over. Protests at Netanyahu’s plan, which have rocked Israel for weeks, redoubled …
Nigeria insecurity: 2022 was a bad year and points to need for major reforms: Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces Sniper Unit Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images 2022 has been an eventful year in Nigeria. For one thing, it’s been the precursor to the country’s general elections, which are due to be held in the …
Banking reforms could make the UK a sustainable finance hub, but also threaten financial stability: Relaxing some banking rules could affect the stability of the UK's financial sector, largely based in the City of London. Dmitry Naumov / Shutterstock The UK government wants to rewrite the rules designed to keep the country’s banks and financial …
Banking reforms expert Q&A: will relaxing the rules help the UK economy and what are the risks?: Jeremy Hunt, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, has unveiled a package of measures aiming to protect the City of London’s position as one of the world’s leading financial capitals. With the UK having lost nearly a tenth …
Gender diversity reforms have helped UK company boards, but they are failing in other countries – new research explains why: G-Stock Studio / Shutterstock It may take close to 300 years to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, according to a UN progress report on its sustainable development goals (SDG), …
Lesotho bungles political reforms, risking fresh bout of instability after 2022 poll: Lesotho citizens queue to vote in a previous national elections. EPA-EFE/ Kim Ludbrook The Kingdom of Lesotho – a small landlocked country in southern Africa with a population of 2.1 million people – has failed to introduce key political reforms needed to bring …
How costly political realities undercut Ghana’s electricity reforms: Ghana has struggled to find balance with its power generation. Flickr Ghana reformed its electricity sector by the book but has lurched from blackouts between 2012 and 2015 to a glut of energy which costs government about 5% of GDP. Fitch ranks the energy sector as the …
Lesotho due to hold elections despite lack of progress on key political reforms: A woman votes in Lesotho's 2017 national election. New elections are due in October. Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Gettty Images Lesotho is due to hold national elections in mid-October. The polls were expected to be held under a new constitutional regime resulting from …
What Lesotho can teach Eswatini and South Africa about key political reforms: Basotho men wearing the traditional blankets during the annual horse race held on the king's birthday. EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook Two southern African countries, South Africa and Eswatini, are undergoing important reforms. South Africa is reviewing its electoral system while Eswatini is revisiting the powers …
South Africa’s military is set for personnel reforms. Why it matters: A soldier salutes during a recent Armed Forces Day parade in South Africa attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa. GCIS/Flickr South Africa has the 26th most powerful military in the world, up from 32nd in 2012. It is ranked second in Africa, after Egypt. But, …
Economic reforms won’t fix Zimbabwe’s economy. Ethical leadership is also needed: Public transport drivers haggling over currency exchange in Harare, Zimbabwe. Jekesai Nikizana/AFP via Getty Images The Zimbabwean economy has continued to experience turbulence, despite having managed to weather a devastating spell of hyperinflation which peaked in 2008. One economic area which has remained a …
Scotland won’t prosecute personal possession of class A drugs, but outdated laws prevent deeper reforms: In Scotland, a person in possession of a class A drugs will be issued a police warning in most cases, effectively decriminalising personal possession. This recent announcement comes hard on the heels of a record-high 1,339 drug-related deaths in 2020. …
Why corporate reforms falter: some insights from Kenya: Getty Images Socioeconomic development in African countries, along with other developing countries, is held back by many constraints. These include an insufficiently skilled workforce, poor infrastructure, and inadequate capital to finance public goods and services. This is also true for some African countries with abundant natural resources. …
Kenyan judges stop president’s reforms as attempt to ‘dismember’ the constitution: President Mwai Kibaki holds up Kenya's new constitution soon after promulgating it on August 27, 2010. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images The Court of Appeal of Kenya has upheld the High Court’s ruling that attempts to overhaul the country’s constitution violated its basic structures. …
South Africa in the news: Long road ahead before Transnet reforms can rescue South Africa’s bottom-ranked container ports: Transnet is expected to finalise and approve bids from private sector companies to invest in South Africa’s ports only by June 2022. But President Cyril Ramaphosa wants to urgently implement …: “South Africa” – BingNews Illinois’ new …