NEWS

Jumia Uses the Power of Collaboration to Deliver

The promise of e-commerce across Africa has, so far, been partly held up by the logistical challenges of delivery. Jumia, the largest operator in Africa, is taking another crack at the problem through a partnership with Vivo Energy, owner of Engen and Shell-branded petrol stations across Africa. The agreement will see Jumia set up pick-up stations at Vivo’s over 2,000 fuel station outlets, allowing customers pick up orders as well as make payment. The partnership will be piloted in Kenya, Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast before being eventually rolled out to countries where both companies operate, says Jumia. Vivo operates in 23 African markets while Jumia operates in 14. The move is Jumia’s latest bid to get around the last-mile delivery problem with logistics currently hobbled by inconsistent address systems, underdeveloped road networks and relatively limited mapping in several of Jumia’s African markets.

Cat-fishing and Other Disastrous Hookups 

While fraud has proliferated on Facebook for years, those running the military romance scams are taking on not only one of the world’s most influential companies, but also the most powerful military — and succeeding. Many scammers operate from their phones in Nigeria and other African nations, working several victims at the same time. In interviews in Nigeria, six men told The New York Times that the love hoaxes were lucrative and low risk. Facebook has long had a mission to “connect the world.” But in the process, it has created a global gathering place where the crooks outnumber the cops. For digital criminals, Facebook has become a one-stop shop. It has plenty of photos of American service members. Creating an impostor account can be easy. Nigeria has become synonymous with online scams, fairly or not. Easy internet access, poverty and English are widespread. And those who learn the trade pass it to others, said the men who talked to The Times about the internet schemes.

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Deal's Off the Table in Sudan?

Sudanese protest leaders have cancelled planned talks with the country’s ruling generals as they visited a town where at least five school children were shot dead on Monday. The head of Sudan’s ruling military council had earlier said there must be immediate accountability over the shooting, state news agency SUNA reported, and the United Nations has called for an investigation into what protesters said was a “massacre. The children died when security forces opened fire on a protest in El-Obeid in central Sudan. The oldest was 16, the youngest 14, locals said. The two sides signed a deal on 17 July setting out the transition’s institutions. But talks have been repeatedly delayed since then owing to disagreement over the wording of a constitutional declaration to determine the role of a ruling council to govern Sudan. A new round of talks is due to start on Tuesday. It will cover issues including the powers of the joint civilian-military governing body, the deployment of security forces and immunity for generals over protest-related violence.

Mauritius Responds To 'Factually Incorrect' Reports

The Government of Mauritius has taken cognizance of the information averred by the ICIJ in the articles, which were illegally obtained and tampered with, and of the allegations which are of a serious and malicious nature, and factually incorrect. It is noteworthy that a criminal investigation is currently being conducted after the police has received complaints that the IT systems of a corporate service provider has been illegally intruded and breached. The ICIJ has, all throughout its articles, clearly stated that “offshore companies and trusts have legitimate uses,” and that “we do not intend to suggest or imply that the people or companies or other entities…have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly”. It would seem that the ICIJ itself is confused as to the purpose and objective of its articles. And it appears, therefore, that its agenda is to use its unsubstantiated “findings” and incorrect arguments just to harm the repute of Mauritius. 

SOURCE: AFRICA.COM

Travel Restrictions for Africans Going to the Hajj

Saudi Arabia has banned entry to travellers coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo over fears Ebola could spread during next month's Hajj pilgrimage. The decision, announced in a note issued on Wednesday by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited last week's move by the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the Ebola outbreak in DRC's eastern North Kivu and Ituri provinces a public health emergency of international concern. Saudi Arabia also partially shuttered its borders to travellers amid fears over Ebola during the world's deadliest ever eruption of the virus, which killed more than 11,300 people as it surged through West Africa during 2014-2016. The kingdom suspended pilgrimage visas for travellers from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia - the three worst-affected countries.
 
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Moroccan King Marks 20 years on the Throne

King Mohammed VI is calling for a government reshuffle, seeking "new blood" and saying the country's development policy isn't doing enough to meet citizens' needs. The king said he wants "people with a different mentality and officials who are capable of raising performance levels." Morocco recently launched one of the world's biggest solar plants and one of the fastest trains in Africa, but poverty rates remain high and social frustration has led to two major protest movements in the past three years. The 55-year-old ruler wants a committee to oversee the government's reforms in such sectors as investment, education and health, judging the current development model "inadequate."

SOURCE: VOA

Problems for South Africa's New Dawn Pile Up

The country's unemployment rate jumped to its highest since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, piling pressure on a shrinking economy and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledge to deliver a turnaround. Second quarter unemployment rose to 29% in the second quarter from 27.6% in the first quarter, driven by employment losses in private households, transport and mining, data from Statistics South Africa showed. Last week two ratings firms warned of the impact on an already dire economic growth outlook of the $4.15 billion bailout for state power firm Eskom, sending the rand tumbling and raising the price of debt.

Officials Implicated in Ghana's Deforestation Crisis

About six million rosewood trees have been cut down in Ghana for illegal export to China since 2012, an environmental group says. The rare species, which takes 100 years to grow, is mostly used to make imperial-style furniture in China. The report blames corrupt officials in Ghana for forging documents to allow the wood to leave the country. Ghana's information ministry has not yet responded to the BBC's request for comment. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said in a report that the illegal trade and felling of rosewood trees has continued despite a ban being in place since 2012 and which has since been tightened. Ghana and other West African countries are the victims of China's insatiable and unchecked demand for rosewood, the EIA said.

Senegal Appears in the Bad Books 

The West African nation home to 15 million is one of the world’s biggest contributors to ocean plastic. Although the country banned polythene bags in 2015, the law is yet to be implemented. Grocers wrap individual items, even blobs of cheese, butter and coffee in copious plastic. “The law is not enforced. When you reach major cities, you are greeted by an unpleasant decor, a … visual pollution made of plastic waste as far as the eye can see,” Environment Minister Abdou Karim Sall. Sall said the government would introduce a new bill in the coming months to ban a wider range of plastic, including thicker shopping bags, following similar moves in Kenya and Rwanda. Senegal is 21 out of all nations for quantity of waste being dumped in the sea – with 254,770 tonnes, only just behind the United States, a vastly bigger economy with many times more people and coastline according to a study in 2010, reported by the journal Science.

SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS

What Makes Kenya's Beaches Among the Best?

Astride the equator on roughly the same latitude as the Seychelles and Maldives, Bali and northern Brazil, Kenya enjoys the same geographical conditions as some of the world's top sun, sea and sand destinations. There's enough breeze for sailing and wind-powered adventure sports. The same goes for the restaurant scene, where a wide selection of places serve modern takes on traditional Kenya cuisine, as well as international dishes. Most of Kenya's best beaches are located just north and south of Mombasa in the southeast. The northeast shore is virtually deserted except for exotic Lamu Island and a few hideaways around Mambrui.. The Indian Ocean is soothingly warm, colored varying shades of green and blue. Coral reefs, many of them protected inside marine national parks, shelter much of the coast, providing habitats for a plethora of sea-life. There's enough breeze for sailing and wind-powered adventure sports, but not so much that it's going to blow you away.
Once upon a time, there wasn't much in the way of beachside hotels beyond Mombasa and Malindi. Nowadays, however, there's accommodation at every level, from backpacker hostels to chic boutique properties.The same goes for the restaurant scene, where a wide selection of places serve modern takes on traditional Kenya cuisine, as well as international dishes. Most of Kenya's best beaches are located just north and south of Mombasa in the southeast. The northeast shore is virtually deserted except for exotic Lamu Island and a few hideaways around Mambrui.

SOURCE: CNN

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