Africa, the second largest continent, covering about one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Africa’s total land area is approximately 11724000 square miles …
Top 20 Safest Countries in Africa. Tanzania. …Botswana. …Kenya. ..Somaliland..Uganda. …Namibia. …Zambia. …Mauritius. Mauritius, a beautiful island in Africa, is a safe haven for travelers. …Lesotho. Lesotho, a tiny country surrounded by South Africa and mountains, is a great destination for travelers seeking safe places in Africa.
David Pilling is the Africa editor and a columnist at the Financial Times. He covers business, politics and development on the continent and writes a regular column on topics from Africa. Before that he was the Asia editor and assistant editor. Previous roles include Tokyo bureau chief, pharmaceuticals correspondent, deputy features editor and correspondent in Buenos Aires and Santiago.He is the author of two books – The Growth Delusion (2018), shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, and the highly acclaimed Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival (2016).He is a regular moderator and speaker both for the FT and for organisations including the World Bank, OECD and ADB. In 2023 he briefed a G7 meeting in Kamakura, Japan on the ideas behind his book,
This graphic ranks the richest people in Africa. Aliko Dangote from Nigeria leads the group.
Ranked: Who Are the Richest People in Africa? The African continent is home to 46 billionaires, the second-lowest total of any global region.
The number of wealthy individuals in Africa is growing, however. Total private wealth is expected to rise 30% over the next decade, led by growth in the billionaire and millionaire segments.
Visualized here are Africa’s richest, using data collected by Forbes, on billionaires who reside on the continent and have their primary business there.
Breaking Down Africa’s Billionaires The richest man in Africa is also the richest Black man in the world. Once a small sugar trader, Aliko Dangote now has a net worth of $13.5 billion. He is the 86th richest person in the world, and single-handedly makes up 25% of the total wealth of African billionaires.
His company, the Dangote Group is now an African conglomerate with interests in a range of sectors, including sugar, cement, and real estate.
Rank Name Net Worth (billions, USD) Industry Citizenship 1 Aliko Dangote $13.5 Manufacturing 🇳🇬 Nigeria 2 Johann Rupert & family $10.7 Fashion & Retail 🇿🇦 South Africa 3 Nicky Oppenheimer & family $8.4 Metals & mining 🇿🇦 South Africa 4 Abdulsamad Rabiu $7.6 Diversified 🇳🇬 Nigeria 5 Nassef Sawiris $7.3 Construction & Engineering 🇪🇬 Egypt 6 Mike Adenuga $6.3 Diversified 🇳🇬 Nigeria 7 Issad Rebrab & family $4.6 Food & Beverage 🇩🇿 Algeria 8 Naguib Sawiris $3.3 Telecom 🇪🇬 Egypt 9 Patrice Motsepe $3.2 Metals & mining 🇿🇦 South Africa 10 Mohamed Mansour $2.9 Diversified 🇪🇬 Egypt 11 Koos Bekker $2.6 Media & Entertainment 🇿🇦 South Africa 12 Strive Masiyiwa $1.9 Telecom 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 13 Mohammed Dewji $1.5 Diversified 🇹🇿 Tanzania 13 Aziz Akhannouch & family $1.5 Diversified 🇲🇦 Morocco 13 Youssef Mansour $1.5 Diversified 🇪🇬 Egypt The top three—Alike Dangote, Johann Rupert, and Nicky Oppenheimer—account for 40% of the total wealth of those ranked.
A Look Through the Rest of the Richest People in Africa At number two on the list is Johann Rupert. The chairman of Swiss luxury goods company, Compagnie Financiere Richemont, started his career with a banking apprenticeship in New York, before returning to South Africa and eventually pivoting to retail.
Through the rest of those ranked, a range of diverse business activities have allowed these billionaires to garner their wealth.
Nicky Oppenheimer (3rd) and Patrice Motsepe (9th)—have made fortunes in the mining industry, a sector that contributes nearly 10% to sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP. Meanwhile, Naguib Sawiris (8th) and Strive Masiyiwa (12th) have built telecom empires.
Billionaire Wealth Mirrors Country Wealth Only seven out of the 54 African countries are represented on Africa’s rich list, and even amongst them, three countries (Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria) account for more than two-thirds of the top-ranked billionaires.
Country Rank in African Economy Individuals on Top 15 Billionaire List 🇳🇬 Nigeria #1 3 🇿🇦 South Africa #2 4 🇪🇬 Egypt #3 4
Ranked: Who Are the Richest People in Africa?
The home countries for these billionaires reflect the nation’s’ contribution to the African economy as a whole. Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt have the top three GDPs in Africa.
Algeria—where Issad Rebrab (7th) is from—is ranked fourth, and Morocco—where Aziz Akhannouch (13th) is based—is fifth.
What’s Next For Africa’s Richest? Africa has routinely been touted to become a future economic powerhouse as its demographic dividend pays off in the next few decades. However, its biggest challenge will be developing its economic and social infrastructure to retain local talent to make their fortunes at home.
African Billionaires
WEALTH Ranked: Who Are the Richest People in Africa? Published on July 18, 2023 By Shakir Essa
Mapping Africa’s Wealth The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.
The economy in Africa is on the rise, and financial hubs are beginning to emerge.
While the resource-rich African continent has seen only 13% growth in total private wealth over the past 10 years, the 3% spike in the past year alone indicates the growth is just warming up. Africa will also be home to 13 out of the 20 of the world’s largest megacities by 2100.
In this week’s chart, we take a look at Africa’s wealthiest cities, courtesy of this recent 2018 report from New World Wealth and AfrAsia Bank.
Africa’s Evolving Economy While Africa has traditionally played a minor role in the world market, the continent is coming into its own as a hub for financial services and entrepreneurship.
Africa’s growing elite has added 19,000 millionaires over the past decade, with total private wealth totaling $2.3 trillion. These figures are predicted to increase by 34% over the next decade, reaching $3.1 trillion by the end of 2027.
The five wealthiest cities hail from three countries:
1. Johannesburg, South Africa ($276 billion) Founded in the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886, South Africa’s City of Gold is a hub for financial services, professional services (law firms and consultancies), construction, telecommunications, and basic materials.
2. Cape Town, South Africa ($155 billion) One of South Africa’s three capital cities, Cape Town’s major sectors include real estate, financial services, retail, and tourism. Cape Town has the highest prime residential rates on the continent at US$6,100 per square meter, similar to cities such as Washington, D.C., or Berlin.
3. Cairo, Egypt ($140 billion) A hub for Africa and the Middle East, Cairo’s major sectors include real estate, construction, financial services, and basic materials.
4. Lagos, Nigeria ($108 billion) The clearing house for 80% of Nigeria’s imports, major sectors include basic materials, real estate, construction, telecommunications, transport, and financial services.
5. Durban, South Africa ($55 billion) Home to the biggest shopping center in Africa – complete with 350 stores, 70 restaurants, 18 movie theaters, an IMAX theater, an indoor climbing wall, and a skate park designed by Tony Hawk – Durban’s major sectors include real estate, finance, healthcare, construction, retail, and transport.
The Full List of Cities Here is a full ranking of the top 23 cities in Africa, based on New World Wealth’s data.
Rank City Country Total Private Wealth (USD) #1 Johannesburg South Africa $276 billion #2 Cape Town South Africa $155 billion #3 Cairo Egypt $140 billion #4 Lagos Nigeria $108 billion #5 Durban South Africa $55 billion #6 Nairobi Kenya $54 billion #7 Luanda Angola $49 billion #8 Pretoria South Africa $48 billion #9 Casablanca Morocco $42 billion #10 Accra Ghana $38 billion #11 Abidjan Côte d’Ivoire $27 billion #12 Dar es Salaam Tanzania $25 billion #13 Alexandria Egypt $25 billion #14 Kampala Uganda $16 billion #15 Windhoek Namibia $13 billion #16 Abuja Nigeria $13 billion #17 Addis Ababa Ethiopia $13 billion #18 Marrakesh Morocco $11 billion #19 Tangier Morocco $11 billion #20 Lusaka Zambia $10 billion #21 Maputo Mozambique $10 billion #22 Gaborone Botswana $9 billion #23 Mombasa Kenya $8 billion With a growth trajectory on the rise and renewed interest in African investment, what will Africa’s economy look like ten years from now?
The Most Corrupt Countries and the least Corrupt countries in the world,
The most Corrupt countries and the least corrupt countries
Mapped: Corruption in Countries Around the World Mapped: Corruption in Countries Around the World How bad is public sector corruption around the world, and how do different countries compare?
No matter your system of government, the public sector plays a vital role in establishing your economic mobility and political freedoms. Measuring corruption—the abuse of power for private gain—reveals how equal a system truly is.
For more than a decade, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International has been the world’s most widely-used metric for scoring corruption. This infographic uses the 2021 CPI to visualize corruption in countries around the world, and the biggest 10-year changes.
Which Countries are Most (and Least) Corrupt? How do you measure corruption, which includes behind-the-scenes deals, nepotism, corrupt prosecution, and bribery?
Over the last few decades, the CPI has found success doing so indirectly through perceptions. By aggregating multiple analyses from country and business experts, the index assigns each country a score on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
Here are the results of the 2021 CPI, with the least corrupt countries at the top:
Search: Corruption Perception by Country Score (2021) Denmark 88 Finland 88 New Zealand 88 Norway 85 Singapore 85 Sweden 85 Switzerland 84 Netherlands 82 Luxembourg 81 Germany 80 Showing 1 to 10 of 180
Mapping: the Corruption in Countries Around the World
Ranking at the top of the index with scores of 88 are Nordic countries Denmark and Finland, as well as New Zealand.
They’ve consistently topped the CPI over the last decade, and Europe in general had 14 of the top 20 least corrupt countries. Asia also had many notable entrants, including Singapore (tied for #4), Hong Kong (#12), and Japan (tied for #18).
Comparatively, the Americas only had two countries score in the top 20 least corrupt: Canada (tied for #13) and Uruguay (tied for #18). With a score of 67, the U.S. scored at #28 just behind Bhutan, the UAE, and France.
Scoring towards the bottom of the index were many countries currently and historically going through conflict, primarily located in the Middle East and Africa. They include Afghanistan, Venezuela, Somalia, and South Sudan. The latter country finishes at the very bottom of the list, with a score of just 11.
How Corruption in Countries Has Changed (2012–2021) Corruption is a constant and moving global problem, so it’s also important to measure which countries have had their images improved (or worsened).
By using CPI scores dating back to 2012, we can examine how country scores have changed over the last decade:
Search: Change in Corruption by Country 10-Year Trend (2012-2021) Seychelles +18 Armenia +15 Italy +14 Greece +13 Myanmar +13 Guyana +11 Uzbekistan +11 Estonia +10 Latvia +10 Belarus +10
The biggest climber with +18 was Seychelles, Africa’s smallest country and also its least corrupt with a score of 70. Other notable improvements include neighboring countries Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus, with Estonia rising into the top 15 least corrupt countries.
On the opposite side, both Australia (-12) and Canada (-10) have actually fallen out of the top 10 least corrupt countries over the last decade. They’re joined by decreases in Hungary (-12) and Syria (-13), which is now ranked as the world’s second-most corrupt country.
Which countries will rise and fall in corruption perceptions over the next 10 years, and how do your perceptions compare with this list?
Country age demographics are determined by two key factors: fertility and mortality.
Throughout history, it was typical to see both birth and death rates at higher levels. But today, in most parts of the world, women are having fewer children, and innovations in healthcare and technology mean we are all living longer. The average person today lives to 72.6 years old, while the rate of births per woman has fallen to 2.5.
These trends have drastically altered the demographics of mature economies, resulting in a much older population. In many developing countries, however, births still outweigh deaths, resulting in populations that skew younger.
This visualization uses data from the World Bank to examine the countries with the highest shares of old and young people.
The Fountain of Youth By 2030, the United Nations estimates there will be 1.3 billion people on the planet between the ages of 15-24. Proving to be a fountain of youth globally, the continent of Africa boasts the top 10 countries with the largest shares of young people in the world.
Somalia, Zambia, and the DRC are just a few to crack the top 10 list. The youngest country in the world is Niger, where almost 50% of the population is below the age of 15.
Here’s a full list of global countries, sorted by percentage of population under 15 years old: Search: Country Share of Population Younger Than 15 (% of total, 2019) 🇳🇪 Niger 49.8% 🇲🇱 Mali 47.3% 🇹🇩 Chad 46.8% 🇦🇴 Angola 46.6% 🇺🇬 Uganda 46.5% 🇸🇴 Somalia 46.4% 🇨🇩 Congo, Dem. Rep. 46.0% 🇧🇮 Burundi 45.4% 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 44.7% 🇿🇲 Zambia 44.5% Showing 1 to 10 of 191 entriesPreviousNext Young countries have significant opportunities ahead of them. A younger population means a larger upcoming workforce and more opportunities for innovation and economic growth.
While domestic markets in Africa grow in terms of labor supply, innovation, and potential consumers, there are also challenges that arise in these countries. Corruption, political instability and unemployment, particularly in Africa, are all potential barriers to prosperity for the continent’s Gen Z population.
Populations Skewing Older The world’s oldest country is Japan, where 28% of the population is older than 65. However, it’s an anomaly—the rest of the oldest countries in the top 10 are all in Europe.
Globally, it’s the 65+ age group that is growing the fastest. According to the same UN estimates, it is predicted that by 2050 that one in six people will be over 65 years old.
Here’s a full list of global countries, sorted by percentage of population over 65 years old:
Search: Country Share of Population Older Than 65 (% of total, 2019) 🇯🇵 Japan 28.0% 🇮🇹 Italy 23.0% 🇵🇹 Portugal 22.4% 🇫🇮 Finland 22.1% 🇬🇷 Greece 21.9% 🇩🇪 Germany 21.5% 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 21.2% 🇭🇷 Croatia 20.8% 🇲🇹 Malta 20.8% 🇫🇷 France 20.3% Showing 1 to 10 of 192 entriesPreviousNext Fewer births, and a resulting older population, is a trend attributed to the changing lifestyles of women. For example, Japan’s fertility rate has fallen to less than 1.5 children per woman due to modern access to contraceptives and the prioritization of work over marriage and family life.
However, fewer young people also means a smaller workforce on the horizon and a shrinking domestic market. There is also a rising social cost of caring for the elderly, as longer lifespans have resulted in a higher prevalence of chronic diseases and an increasing inability to care for oneself. This can result in an increased tax burden on the diminishing younger, working population.
Another Perspective on the Data Looking at the data from the opposite angle also reveals information about our world. Here’s a look at the countries with the lowest proportions of younger or older people.
youngest and oldest countries
Hong Kong and Singapore have some of the lowest fertility rates in the world (1.1), so it’s no surprise to see low numbers of children in their demographic data.
In a country like the United Arab Emirates, the majority of the population is made up of foreign workers, so the number of people in the 65+ age group is extremely low. In the coming decades though, the situation is expected to shift dramatically with one in every five Emiratis residing that age group by 2050.
The Big Picture While each country has its own unique demographic make up, one thing is clear. As education and wealth levels rise around the world, fertility rates are dropping almost everywhere.
The trend of long life expectancies and fewer births is likely to continue, but young outliers will remain and they present immense economic potential.
A team of researchers in Canada say they have discovered two new minerals – and potentially a third – after analysing a slice of a 15-tonne meteorite that landed in east Africa.
Researchers discover two new minerals on meteorite grounded in Somalia
The meteorite, the ninth largest recorded at over 2 metres wide, was unearthed in Somalia in 2020, although local camel herders say it was well known to them for generations and named Nightfall in their songs and poems.
Western scientists, however, dubbed the extraterrestrial rock El Ali because it was found near the town of El Ali, in the Hiiraan region.
A 70-gram slice of the iron-based meteorite was sent to the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection for classification.
The meteorite was found near the town of El Ali in Somalia.
The meteorite was found near the town of El Ali in Somalia. Photograph: Courtesy of Global Resources Dr Chris Herd, a professor in the department of earth and atmospheric sciences and the curator of the collection, said that while he was classifying the rock he noticed “unusual” minerals. Herd asked Andrew Locock,
the head of the university’s electron microprobe laboratory, to investigate.“The very first day he did some analyses, he said, ‘You’ve got at least two new minerals in there’,” said Herd. “That was phenomenal.
Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral.”Similar minerals had been synthetically created in a lab in the 1980s but never recorded as appearing in nature, Herd said, adding that these new minerals could help understand how “nature’s laboratory” works and may have as yet unknown real-world uses.
A third potentially new mineral is being analysed.A sample of the meteorite.A sample of the meteorite.
Photograph: Courtesy of University of Alberta Meteorite Collection“I never thought I’d be involved in describing brand new minerals just by virtue of working on a meteorite,” said Herd. “That’s what makes this exciting: in this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science.” They have been named elaliite,
after the location of the meteorite, and elkinstantonite, after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator of Nasa’s upcoming Psyche mission that aims to send a spacecraft to a metal-rich asteroid.“Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form, how these iron nickel cores form, and the closest analogue we have are iron meteorites. So it made sense to name a mineral after her and recognise her contributions to science,” Herd said.
University of Alberta scientists would like to examine other samples from the same meteorite but Herd said there were reports that it had been removed to China. Meteorites are often bought and sold on international markets.
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Author: Ben Okri
Author: Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Ben Okri is a renowned novelist and poet whose written works defy definition. He is often termed post-modern, yet his seamless interweaving of the spirit world into his stories belies this genre. The author also rejects claims that his work falls into the ‘magical realism’ category, seeing his writing not as a venture into the realm of the fantastic but instead a reflection of an upbringing wherein myths, ancestors and spirits were an intrinsic component. “Everyone’s reality is different,” he once said. His most famous work is The Famished Road (1991), forming part of a trilogy with Songs of Enchantment and Infinite Riches. It chronicle the journeys of Azaro, a spirit-child
Ethiopia to recognize Republic of Somaliland for sea accessThe federal government is reportedly willing to become the first African nation to recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of Somaliland, a breakaway Somali territory, in exchange for a lease on a 20 kilometer stretch of the Somaliland coast and access to Berbera Port.Stakes in state-owned Ethiopian … Continue reading Ethiopia is the first African nation to recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of Somaliland→
The fire reportedly caused severe damage of millions of dollars in Hargeysa Somaliland and destroyed the 5km market.
The fire reportedly caused severe damage of millions of dollars in Hargeysa Somaliland and destroyed the 5km market.
A Huge Fire in the Hargeisa market, Somaliland, The Hargeysa somaliland market damaged almost nearly 3000 businesses and caused by the fire that broke out at around 8 pm last night in Waheen market in the center of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.
A fire in the Hargeisa market, Somalialand, the Somaliland market .
Efforts are also underway to extinguish the blaze, which has now been largely extinguished.
Hargeisa Mayor Abdikarin Ahmed Mooge, speaking in front of the damages, announced that his town’s property had been destroyed.
50 casualties been reported so far, 2 people killed and 50 have been wounded
Basho Bushaaro, a market trader, told reporters that he had burned down 10 businesses in the market and lost $ 400,000.
Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is a de facto state in the Horn of Africa, considered internationally to be part of Somalia. Somaliland lies in the Horn of Africa, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden
“I live in Waheen Bacdlaha market in Hargeisa. I have lived there for 20 years and 10 businesses have burned down. My business was decorating houses and everything has burned down,” said businessman Basho Bushaaro.
Hargeisa is the capital and largest city of Somaliland. HARGEYSA 2.1 million people residents and located in the eastern border of Ethiopia Horn of Africa. It succeeded Berbera as the capital of the British Somaliland Protectorate in 1941
He added: “Your nation is destitute in the market. The situation of the nation tonight is terrible.
Somaliland officials said the fire could not be contained immediately due to a lack of access to the site, which led to the blaze engulfing the market and causing the situation to deteriorate.
However, the cause of the fire is not known, although reports say that the fire first started in a house in the market which later spread all over Waheen market.
Hargeisa is the capital and largest city of Somaliland. HARGEYSA 2.1 million people residents and located in the eastern border of Ethiopia Horn of Africa. It succeeded Berbera as the capital of the British Somaliland Protectorate in 1941
The warheads were originally configured to be delivered from one of several aircraft types then in service with the South African Air Force (SAAF),
Russia and China Drive Africa’s Plan for Nuclear ExpansionOfficials in South Africa and across the African continent continue to explore new nuclear power generation projects, and the region provides an opportunity for other countries to export their advanced nuclear technologies.
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station
South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in May said it wants a plan to procure as much as 2.5 GW of nuclear generation capacity within the next five years.
South Africa today has just two commercial reactors, both at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station north of Cape Town.1.
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, which was commissioned in 1984 and is operated by South Africa state-owned utility Eskom, features two pressurized water reactors, each with 970 MW of generation capacity.
Koeberg (Figure 1) is the only nuclear power plant currently in commercial operation on the entire African continent, although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently said nearly a dozen other African nations have talked with the IAEA about formulating plans for nuclear power.
Bomb casings at South Africa’s abandoned Circle nuclear bomb production facility near Pretoria. These most likely would have accommodated a gun-type nuclear package for air delivery
The World Nuclear Association said at least seven sub-Saharan African states have signed agreements to deploy nuclear power with backing from Russia.
Rosatom, the state-owned Russian nuclear company, is “currently working with more than 15 sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and others; as well as with the following North African countries: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco,” according to Ryan Collyer, acting CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa, who corresponded with POWER.
Jacob Shapiro, the founder and chief strategist for Austin, Texas-based Perch Perspectives, told POWER that South Africa “will need outside investment” to support an expanded nuclear program, which is likely the case for any African nation. “Investment will come from the same suspects that bid on nuclear projects in South Africa before: Russia, China, France, South Korea, and possibly the United States.
Japan may throw its hat into the ring as well, but they have struggled to be competitive in more reliable markets than South Africa, like the UK and Turkey.”Shapiro continued: “It is hard for me to imagine Russia gaining much traction after [South African President Cyril] Ramaphosa scrapped the previous deal with Rosatom in 2019. That said, domestic politics can change quickly in South Africa and maybe it will be most interested in not getting caught between the U.S. and China, making Russia, South Korea or France better alternatives.
This still ultimately comes down to whichever government thinks South Africa is most important to its strategic interests, and that’s clearly China.”Russia, for its part, said it has a “wide range of technologies to offer” African nations exploring nuclear power.
Collyer told POWER those technologies range “from ‘large’ light water reactors [pressurized water reactors or PWRs] with capacity over 1 GW to small modular reactors [SMRs]. We were first to deploy commercial fast neutron reactors and are likely to be first to deploy high temperature gas-cooled reactors.
For each country we come up with a solution tailored to the features of the regional electricity market, including the readiness of the distribution grid.”The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) has said there are at least six potential options for financing new nuclear power plants in the country, with Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe telling a parliamentary committee in mid-May he is open to considering innovative funding options in order to develop new nuclear capacity.
Support for new nuclear power plants in South Africa dimmed after the ruling party forced Jacob Zuma to resign as president in 2018, and officials had said the country could not afford to build additional plants. It also had been thought the economic issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic would inhibit government-financed energy projects.However, Mantashe told the country’s lawmakers, “The nuclear build plan will go ahead and we will explore all options.” He said a contract could be awarded to “develop a modular nuclear station on a build, operate, and transfer basis, and that means there will be no immediate call for funding from the state.”Mantashe’s group, in a presentation to a parliamentary committee about its plans for the next five years, said, “The development of the roadmap for the 2,500-MW nuclear new-build program will be commencing soon.” Shapiro told POWER the most likely investor for that development is China. “China is South Africa’s most important trading partner, an important source of investment, and has been making inroads there for a while,” he said. “However, unlike the last time South Africa sought bids in 2016, the U.S. now views China as a strategic threat and I could see the U.S. government getting involved to push either an America alternative or an ‘anyone but China’ alternative. Think of what the U.S. is doing with Huawei—a similar tactic is possible, especially if President Trump wins again.”Though China may have an edge in trade with South Africa,
Russia is actively pursuing export of its nuclear technology across the continent, as it is doing around the globe. Rosatom has secured more than 30 reactor supply deals in recent years, and in 2019 the company said it had international projects worth $202.4 billion in its portfolio. The company also said it has 36 reactor construction projects outside of Russia at various implementation stages, and already has working agreements with Rwanda, Uganda, the Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia. “As for South Africa, we have great respect for the path taken by the country in the development of the nuclear industry.
We are open to cooperation on the widest range, subject to a request from our South African colleagues,” said Collyer. “Despite the shortcomings of the grid infrastructure in Africa, the latest generation of tried and tested ‘large’ PWRs, which are already being built in series across the globe, are still the clear winners in most regions, this in terms of the cost of electricity compared to any other technology.
In Africa, we are able to offer our latest generation PWR-type reactors—the VVER-1200—which is state of the art compared to the previous generation reactors. It is 20% more powerful; the amount of personnel operating the reactor has decreased [by] between 30% and 40%; and the lifetime of the reactor has doubled to 60 years, with the possibility of lasting an additional 20 years.“Considering the energy needs and peculiarities of energy systems of some African countries, Rosatom may offer its new solution—SMR nuclear power plant [NPP]. Rosatom has extensive experience with small-scale reactors that we have been mastering over many years on nuclear icebreakers, making them as safe and efficient as our flagship large reactors. Our RITM series reactors are the most modern ones, and already have references, as they are installed on board icebreakers of a new class, the first of which is undergoing sea trials,” Collyer said.The NIASA group said financing options for nuclear power in South Africa include:
Government funding of the entire project, or government-backed loan guarantees, supported by money from state-owned companies.
South Africa gets 77% of its energy needs from coal right now,” Shapiro said. “If you look at the most recent South African Integrated Resource Plan [IRP], it’s clear that nuclear is a small part of a more general attempt to reduce reliance on coal and fossil fuels, and embrace solar, wind, and hydropower. South Africa substituting some nuclear so it can burn less coal is progress from an environmental perspective.”Mantashe, in a May 7 address to South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, said his agency is preparing its nuclear power plan as mandated by the country’s 2019 IRP. Mantashe said his department would consider all options for nuclear power, including projects designed around SMRs.
He also said the government is considering replacing the SAFARI-1 research reactor with a multi-purpose reactor. SAFARI-1, which was commissioned in 1965, is a 20-MW light water-cooled, beryllium reflected, pool-type research reactor, initially used for high-level nuclear physics research programs. The reactor is owned and operated by South African Nuclear Energy Corp. at the company’s facility in Pelindaba.“Small modular reactors make more sense for South Africa, especially considering they are just looking for 2.5 GW of power from nuclear,” Shapiro said. “That’s one of the reasons the U.S. or South Korea might actually have an ace in the hole here. NuScale Power in the U.S. and SMART Power Company in South Korea are both at the cutting edge of SMRs. I would be surprised if South Africa didn’t pursue SMRs considering the energy minister specifically said South Africa was looking to develop modular nuclear stations and cost is the primary concern for the South African government.
The bigger question to me is whether South Africa actually goes through with nuclear at all.
I am not convinced South Africa can absorb the cost even if it does go the SMR route. If South Africa does go forward, SMRs are the logical way to proceed.” Mantashe’s agency also is developing an oversight plan for a program to enable Koeberg’s two reactors, which generate about 5% of the country’s electricity, to continue operating until at least 2044.
NIASA has noted that SMRs could be a more cost-effective way for South Africa to achieve its nuclear power goal. “The small units are also quite flexible in terms of location,” the agency said in a recent presentation. “Instead of investing in huge transmission lines where they do not already exist, these units can be sited as close to the load centers as possible.
They can also be located inland as they typically require much reduced cooling water. In the rest of the continent where the transmission infrastructure is limited or the demand is currently limited, the deployment of the SMRs close to load centers such as cities and mines, becomes key. South Africa can become a hub of the nuclear supply chain worldwide, in much the same way as in the automotive and aerospace industries.”The group said that SMRs located in coastal areas, and using high-temperature reactors (HTRs), also could be used for water desalination. Such a design is part of a demonstration project in China, with a reactor known as the HTR-PM, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. The HTR-PM differs from currently deployed water-cooled designs; the HTR-PM is cooled by helium and can reach temperatures as high as 750C.Kejian Zhang, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), speaking at the International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power in Vienna, Austria, in October 2019, said, “The HTGR demonstration project with fourth-generation technology has made steady progress, and this reactor will be capable of hydrolytic hydrogen production and high temperature process heat.
We have also recently completed the preliminary design of a pool-type, low-temperature heat reactor, the DHR-400, which may be used for district heating.”2. The Akademik Lomonosov, a first-of-a-kind floating nuclear power plant, was connected to the power grid in Russia in December 2019. The barge is named after a famous academician, Mikhail Lomonosov. Courtesy: RosatomCollyer said Rosatom would be ready to supply SMRs. “We have made a real breakthrough in the small modular reactor.
Last December, our first-of-a-kind floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov [Figure 2] was connected to the grid in Chukotka, the Russian Far East. Our next priority is an onshore SMR NPP to be built in Russia by 2027. Thus, our versatile flagship SMR design—RITM-200—of 50-MWe capacity will have three key applications: onshore SMR-based plants, floating NPPs, and new icebreakers, which we are currently building for the Northern Sea route. By doing so we’ll secure enough demand to manufacture SMRs in series, which would drive down costs and lead times.”—…Is There a Market for Small Modular Reactors?The nuclear industry has been expecting big things from small modular reactors (SMRs) for a long time, but… WEBINARSSponsored By GE DigitalPower And Utilities: Russia, China Drive Africa’s Plan for Nuclear ExpansionOfficials in South Africa and across the African continent continue to explore new nuclear power generation projects, and the region provides an opportunity for other countries to export their advanced nuclear technologies.
South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in May said it wants a plan to procure as much as 2.5 GW of nuclear generation capacity within the next five years.
South Africa today has just two commercial reactors, both at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station north of Cape Town.1. The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, which was commissioned in 1984 and is operated by South Africa state-owned utility Eskom, features two pressurized water reactors, each with 970 MW of generation capacity. Source: Creative Commons / Pipodesign Philipp P. EgliKoeberg (Figure 1) is the only nuclear power plant currently in commercial operation on the entire African continent, although the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently said nearly a dozen other African nations have talked with the IAEA about formulating plans for nuclear power. The World Nuclear Association said at least seven sub-Saharan African states have signed agreements to deploy nuclear power with backing from Russia. Rosatom, the state-owned Russian nuclear company, is “currently working with more than 15 sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and others; as well as with the following North African countries: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco,” according to Ryan Collyer, acting CEO of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa, who corresponded with POWER.Jacob Shapiro, the founder and chief strategist for Austin, Texas-based Perch Perspectives, told POWER that South Africa “will need outside investment” to support an expanded nuclear program, which is likely the case for any African nation. “Investment will come from the same suspects that bid on nuclear projects in South Africa before: Russia, China, France, South Korea, and possibly the United States.
Japan may throw its hat into the ring as well, but they have struggled to be competitive in more reliable markets than South Africa, like the UK and Turkey.”Shapiro continued: “It is hard for me to imagine Russia gaining much traction after [South African President Cyril] Ramaphosa scrapped the previous deal with Rosatom in 2019. That said, domestic politics can change quickly in South Africa and maybe it will be most interested in not getting caught between the U.S. and China, making Russia, South Korea or France better alternatives.
This still ultimately comes down to whichever government thinks South Africa is most important to its strategic interests, and that’s clearly China.”Russia, for its part, said it has a “wide range of technologies to offer” African nations exploring nuclear power.
Collyer told POWER those technologies range “from ‘large’ light water reactors [pressurized water reactors or PWRs] with capacity over 1 GW to small modular reactors [SMRs].
We were first to deploy commercial fast neutron reactors and are likely to be first to deploy high temperature gas-cooled reactors. For each country we come up with a solution tailored to the features of the regional electricity market, including the readiness of the distribution grid.”The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) has said there are at least six potential options for financing new nuclear power plants in the country, with Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe telling a parliamentary committee in mid-May he is open to considering innovative funding options in order to develop new nuclear capacity. Support for new nuclear power plants in South Africa dimmed after the ruling party forced Jacob Zuma to resign as president in 2018, and officials had said the country could not afford to build additional plants.
It also had been thought the economic issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic would inhibit government-financed energy projects.However, Mantashe told the country’s lawmakers, “The nuclear build plan will go ahead and we will explore all options.” He said a contract could be awarded to “develop a modular nuclear station on a build, operate, and transfer basis, and that means there will be no immediate call for funding from the state.”Mantashe’s group, in a presentation to a parliamentary committee about its plans for the next five years, said, “The development of the roadmap for the 2,500-MW nuclear new-build program will be commencing soon.” Shapiro told POWER the most likely investor for that development is China. “China is South Africa’s most important trading partner, an important source of investment, and has been making inroads there for a while,” he said. “However, unlike the last time South Africa sought bids in 2016, the U.S. now views China as a strategic threat and I could see the U.S. government getting involved to push either an America alternative or an ‘anyone but China’ alternative. Think of what the U.S. is doing with Huawei—a similar tactic is possible, especially if President Trump wins again.”
Though China may have an edge in trade with South Africa, Russia is actively pursuing export of its nuclear technology across the continent, as it is doing around the globe.
Rosatom has secured more than 30 reactor supply deals in recent years, and in 2019 the company said it had international projects worth $202.4 billion in its portfolio.
The company also said it has 36 reactor construction projects outside of Russia at various implementation stages, and already has working agreements with Rwanda, Uganda, the Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.“As for South Africa, we have great respect for the path taken by the country in the development of the nuclear industry.
We are open to cooperation on the widest range, subject to a request from our South African colleagues,” said Collyer. “Despite the shortcomings of the grid infrastructure in Africa, the latest generation of tried and tested ‘large’ PWRs, which are already being built in series across the globe, are still the clear winners in most regions, this in terms of the cost of electricity compared to any other technology. In Africa, we are able to offer our latest generation PWR-type reactors—the VVER-1200—which is state of the art compared to the previous generation reactors. It is 20% more powerful; the amount of personnel operating the reactor has decreased [by] between 30% and 40%; and the lifetime of the reactor has doubled to 60 years, with the possibility of lasting an additional 20 years.“Considering the energy needs and peculiarities of energy systems of some African countries, Rosatom may offer its new solution—SMR nuclear power plant [NPP]. Rosatom has extensive experience with small-scale reactors that we have been mastering over many years on nuclear icebreakers, making them as safe and efficient as our flagship large reactors. Our RITM series reactors are the most modern ones, and already have references, as they are installed on board icebreakers of a new class, the first of which is undergoing sea trials,” Collyer said.The NIASA group said financing options for nuclear power in South Africa include:■ Government funding of the entire project, or government-backed loan guarantees, supported by money from state-owned companies.■ An intergovernmental loan.■ Corporate financing.■ Financing by plant vendors.■ A special investment vehicle to finance the project.■ A “build, own, operate” structure.The NIASA group said South Africa previously has used the special investment vehicle model to build natural gas-fired power plants. “South Africa gets 77% of its energy needs from coal right now,” Shapiro said. “If you look at the most recent South African Integrated Resource Plan [IRP], it’s clear that nuclear is a small part of a more general attempt to reduce reliance on coal and fossil fuels, and embrace solar, wind, and hydropower. South Africa substituting some nuclear so it can burn less coal is progress from an environmental perspective.”Mantashe, in a May 7 address to South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, said his agency is preparing its nuclear power plan as mandated by the country’s 2019 IRP. Mantashe said his department would consider all options for nuclear power, including projects designed around SMRs. He also said the government is considering replacing the SAFARI-1 research reactor with a multi-purpose reactor. SAFARI-1, which was commissioned in 1965, is a 20-MW light water-cooled, beryllium reflected, pool-type research reactor, initially used for high-level nuclear physics research programs. The reactor is owned and operated by South African Nuclear Energy Corp. at the company’s facility in Pelindaba.“Small modular reactors make more sense for South Africa, especially considering they are just looking for 2.5 GW of power from nuclear,” Shapiro said. “That’s one of the reasons the U.S. or South Korea might actually have an ace in the hole here. NuScale Power in the U.S. and SMART Power Company in South Korea are both at the cutting edge of SMRs. I would be surprised if South Africa didn’t pursue SMRs considering the energy minister specifically said South Africa was looking to develop modular nuclear stations and cost is the primary concern for the South African government. The bigger question to me is whether South Africa actually goes through with nuclear at all. I am not convinced South Africa can absorb the cost even if it does go the SMR route. If South Africa does go forward, SMRs are the logical way to proceed.” Mantashe’s agency also is developing an oversight plan for a program to enable Koeberg’s two reactors, which generate about 5% of the country’s electricity, to continue operating until at least 2044.NIASA has noted that SMRs could be a more cost-effective way for South Africa to achieve its nuclear power goal. “The small units are also quite flexible in terms of location,” the agency said in a recent presentation. “Instead of investing in huge transmission lines where they do not already exist, these units can be sited as close to the load centers as possible. They can also be located inland as they typically require much reduced cooling water.
In the rest of the continent where the transmission infrastructure is limited or the demand is currently limited, the deployment of the SMRs close to load centers such as cities and mines, becomes key.
South Africa can become a hub of the nuclear supply chain worldwide, in much the same way as in the automotive and aerospace industries.”The group said that SMRs located in coastal areas, and using high-temperature reactors (HTRs), also could be used for water desalination.
Such a design is part of a demonstration project in China, with a reactor known as the HTR-PM, a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. The HTR-PM differs from currently deployed water-cooled designs; the HTR-PM is cooled by helium and can reach temperatures as high as 750C.Kejian Zhang, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), speaking at the International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power in Vienna, Austria, in October 2019, said, “The HTGR demonstration project with fourth-generation technology has made steady progress, and this reactor will be capable of hydrolytic hydrogen production and high temperature process heat.
We have also recently completed the preliminary design of a pool-type, low-temperature heat reactor, the DHR-400, which may be used for district heating.”2.
The Akademik Lomonosov, a first-of-a-kind floating nuclear power plant, was connected to the power grid in Russia in December 2019.
The barge is named after a famous academician, Mikhail Lomonosov. Courtesy: RosatomCollyer said Rosatom would be ready to supply SMRs. “We have made a real breakthrough in the small modular reactor.
Last December, our first-of-a-kind floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov [Figure 2] was connected to the grid in Chukotka, the Russian Far East.
Our next priority is an onshore SMR NPP to be built in Russia by 2027. Thus, our versatile flagship SMR design—RITM-200—of 50-MWe capacity will have three key applications: onshore SMR-based plants, floating NPPs, and new icebreakers, which we are currently building for the Northern Sea route.
By doing so we’ll secure enough demand to manufacture SMRs in series, which would drive down costs and lead times.”—
The U.S. should recognize Somaliland as an independent country. In practice, the territory is not now, nor is likely to be, a part of Somalia. Acknowledging that reality would allow Washington to create more effective policy in an important and contested region.
A strong relationship with an independent Somaliland would hedge against the U.S. position further deteriorating in Djibouti, which is increasingly under Chinese sway.
It would demonstrate the benefits Washington confers on those who embrace representative government and would allow the U.S. to better support the territory’s tenacious, but still-consolidating, democracy.
An independent Somaliland would be a stable partner that has little risk of experiencing the tumult that frustrates American interests elsewhere in the volatile region. Somalilanders deserve the justice of having their decades-long practice of independence recognized and should be allowed to disassociate from the dysfunction of southern Somalia that hinders their development
Abdisamad Adan, a Somali who has siblings who never attended school, defied the odds to end up at Harvard. Credit Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times
Mass. — OF the millions of young men and women settling into college dorms this month, one of the most unlikely is Abdisamad Adan, a 21-year-old beginning his freshman year at Harvard. Some of his 18 siblings are illiterate and never went even to first grade, and he was raised without electricity or indoor plumbing by an illiterate grandmother in a country that doesn’t officially exist.
Abdisamad Adan, a Somali who has siblings who never attended school, defied the odds to end up at Harvard. Credit Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times Abdisamad Adan, a Somali who has siblings who never attended school, defied the odds to end up at Harvard.
From Somaliland to Harvard: Abaarso School of Technology and Science
Credit Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times Yet he excelled as he studied by candlelight, and he’s probably the only person in Harvard Yard who knows how to milk a camel.
Abdisamad is the first undergraduate the Harvard admissions office remembers from Somalia or its parts, at least in the last 30 years of institutional memory. He is from Somaliland, a breakaway republic that isn’t recognized by any other country (and so doesn’t have a United States embassy to grant him a visa, but that’s another story). Yet Abdisamad brims with talent and intelligence. He’s a reminder of the fundamental aphorism of our age: Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.
Current students and alumni and a former teacher at the Abaarso School of Science and Technology on graduation day.
Credit The Abaarso School Current students and alumni and a former teacher at the Abaarso School of Science and Technology on graduation day. Credit The Abaarso School Current students and alumni and a former teacher at the Abaarso School of Science and Technology on graduation day. Credit The Abaarso School If not for a fluke, Abdisamad acknowledges, he might have joined friends to become part of the tide of migrants making a precarious journey by sea to Europe. How he came instead to Harvard is a tribute to his hard work and intellect, but also to luck, and to an American hedge fund tycoon who, bored by finance, moved to Somaliland and set up a school for brilliant kids who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance. The financier, Jonathan Starr, had an aunt who married a man from Somaliland, and he was charmed by stories about its deserts and nomads. So in 2008, after running his own hedge fund and burning out, Starr took a trip to Somaliland. His friends thought he was nuts for what happened next: Starr founded an English-language boarding school for the brightest boys and girls from across Somaliland. Called the Abaarso School of Science and Technology, it uses American teachers (paid a pittance) who are willing to work in a country that the State Department recommends avoiding for security reasons.
The school is surrounded by a high wall and has armed guards to foil Shabab rebels, and it has an American sensibility: There is a girls basketball team, which is so unusual in Somaliland that the team members have almost no one to play against. He says his parents divorced before he was born, so his grandmother raised him.
He spent an average of two hours a day fetching water and had no one pushing him at home, but still performed superbly at a local primary school. In national eighth grade exams, he scored second in the entire country. The problem was that while primary school tuition had been $1 a month, a good high school would be at least $40 a month. His grandmother couldn’t afford that, and in any case she didn’t really see why he needed high school. No one in his family had ever graduated from high school. But then Abdisamad was accepted at Abaarso, which is flexible about tuition: If a promising student can’t pay, Starr looks the other way. So Abdisamad began ninth grade at Abaarso, struggling at first because classes were in English, which he didn’t speak. And Abdisamad’s grandmother was displeased that he was spending his time in the classroom rather than helping the family. “She was definitely not happy in the beginning,” Abdisamad remembered. “She asked me, ‘Are you starting to hate us? Are you falling in love with Americans?’ ” He quickly learned English, however, and after three years won a scholarship to study at the Masters School, a college prep school, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The year in Dobbs Ferry was an adventure — it took a while for Abdisamad to figure out vending machines — but he thrived and decided to apply to Harvard. His admission to Harvard was treated as a national cause for celebration. Somaliland’s president invited him for a meeting, and Abdisamad became a local hero. His grandmother hadn’t heard of Harvard but came to be proud of her grandson and appreciate that education had its uses. On arrival at HarvardThey were teaching us things that people don’t talk about back at home.
Sexual harassment. Condoms. Consent,” he recalled, and then raised his eyebrows. “It was all very interesting.” Abdisamad plans to return to Somaliland and work with young people, and then perhaps pursue a career in politics; he hints that he’d like to be president some day. What’s indisputable is that access to a good school transformed Abdisamad’s life. Six of his brothers and sisters are getting no education at all, and some of those migrants you’ve been seeing on television drowning in their desperate struggle to get to Europe are from Somaliland.
One reason Somalia and its former parts have struggled for decades is lack of education, particularly for girls: Illiteracy correlates to huge families, to extremism, to violence and civil warfare. World leaders will be gathering this month at the United Nations to review the status of development goals, including one that by now all children would be able to complete primary school, and to approve new ones.
There has indeed been enormous progress in global education, yet even today some 59 million children around the globe aren’t enrolled even in elementary school (and tens of millions more are enrolled but learn nothing). That’s the context in which Starr’s school — and Abdisamad’s success — should offer inspiration.
And it’s not just Abdisamad. The Abaarso School has an astonishing 26 other alumni at U.S. universities, including M.I.T., George Washington University, Grinnell, Oberlin, Holy Cross and Amherst.
There aren’t many high schools in the world with 45 students in a grade that are so successful in getting alumni into top colleges, let alone one where students speak English as a foreign language and often grew up in poverty.
The Abaarso student at M.I.T., Mubarik Mohamoud, a junior studying electrical engineering, grew up as a nomadic herder raising camels, goats and sheep in an area with no schools; he began his education at a madrasa.
“Being smart is universal,” says Mubarik. “It’s just that resources are not dispersed.” source: NewYork Tmes
Author: Shakir Essa
Shakir Essa served as manager at Somali Journalist Association and PR consultant at Allafrica.com
Ethiopia outlined conditions for possible talks with rebels from the country’s war-hit Tigray region, following days of frantic diplomatic efforts by international envoys to head off another surge in fighting, AFP reports.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told reporters that one of the conditions for possible talks – which he stressed have not been agreed to – would be for the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) to withdraw from the Amhara and Afar regions bordering Tigray.
Earlier, the United Nations said that at least 70 truck drivers delivering aid to the northern Ethiopian Tigray region had been detained on November 3, 2021, after the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy declared a six-month nationwide state of emergency. Earlier, the organisation said 22 of its Ethiopian national staff were detained by the federal government in Addis Ababa. Six of the UN staffers were later released.
As the crisis in Ethiopia widens, East African mobile network operator Safaricom has announced that it has evacuated some of its employees. The Nation reports that Safaricom, whose consortium aims to start operations in Ethiopia in 2022, got the employees out of the country on November 3rd and 5th, 2021.
A number of nations, including the United States, Denmark and Italy, have asked their citizens in Ethiopia to leave while commercial flights were still available, as Tigrayan rebel forces and their allies advance towards the capital Addis Ababa.In November 2020, forces of the TPLF attacked a federal army base in the region, which led the prime minister to order a military offensive against the rebels, which has left thousands dead.On November 8, 2021 the African Union and United Nations Security Council convened an emergency session under the title ‘update on the situation in Northern Ethiopia’, days after the national defence force called on former army officers to register “to thwart the ongoing assault”. At the session, UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the conflict had reached “disastrous proportions”. The African Union envoy for the Horn of Africa and former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, warned that “the window of opportunity is closing for a political resolution of the crisis in northern Ethiopia”.
She is a little-known Somali singer without much of social media presence; fans would be hard pressed to find any information about her online. But Nimco Happy’s catchy song Isii Nafta has conquered the internet this month.The song has been used in more than 98,000 videos on TikTok in the past month and gone similarly viral on Instagram and Twitter, with the likes of the model Bella Hadid and the rapper Cardi B sharing it on their feeds.In the vast majority of clips, people are singing along to the catchy chorus, which switches between Somali, English, Arabic and Swahili. At its heart, Isii Nafta is a love song. The chorus roughly translates as:Ogsoonoo inaan ku jeclahay (Somali for “Know that I love you”)And I love you more than my lifeAna hibak yaa habiibi (Arabic for “I love you”)Nakupenda mimi sana (Swahili for “I love you”)Waa ujeedada caashaqayga (Somali for “You can see my love”)Akafi Ali, a British Somali TikTok star with more than 870,000 followers, saw that the song was being used on the app last month, then in just a few hundred videos, and instantly recognised it. A few years ago his mum would play it all the time.
A video he went on to post of him dancing to the song at a Somali wedding got more than 1m views in a day. Other notable Somali creators also used the sound and soon it was spreading like wildfire.
Nimco Happy music videoNimco Happy singing Isii Nafta. Photograph: Youtube“She’s singing about love. She’s saying, ‘I love you’ in multiple languages to let that person know that she cares deeply about them.
Sometimes communication can be very hard and it’s about overcoming that, because there’s multiple ways of saying ‘I love you’, and that person knowing that ‘I love you’ regardless,” he said.AdvertisementThe 25-year-old started making content on social media while he was in school, often comedy sketches about growing up as a British Somali.
He is overjoyed to see the song go viral. “It makes me so proud. It’s like a room is being created for us, a space is being made for us. I feel like this is what we’ve always been waiting for,” Ali said.
Nimco has yet to release the song herself and profit from its virality.
But that is expected to change soon, with BuzzFeed reporting that the singer will be posting her own link to Spotify and other streaming platforms.
TikTok’s popularity exploded during the pandemic, as it became the world’s most downloaded app in 2020. Its influence is most acutely felt in the music industry, where it has transformed the way fans first hear songs and remixes.
Songs that become viral on the app quickly lead to record number of streams on Spotify and elsewhere. It also affects the charts; the app was credited with helping the single Body by Tion Wayne and Russ Millions become the first drill song to claim the UK No 1 spot.
Ali describes Nimco’s emergence as an important moment for the Somali community. Ali was born in Somalia and moved to the UK as a young child.
He says he was bullied at school for initially only being able to speak Somali. It is wonderful to see so many people now singing happily in the Somali language, he says.“This is a cultural reset.
This is definitely a breakout moment. I would love for her to come to Britain and perform at the Brits awards,” he said. “Oh my God, everybody would get their flags out
(afrika-times.com) In its recently-released annual report, Freedom in the World 2021, the watchdog said Somaliland scored 43 on the 100-point Freedom House Index, while Ethiopia scored 19, Djibouti scored 26, Eritrea scored 2 and Somalia also scored 7 on the 100-point Freedom House index.
US-based independent watchdog Freedom House has asserted it’s latest report that the Somaliland enjoys more freedom than other Horn of Africa’s countries like Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia.
Ethiopia freedom score: Somaliland Has More Freedom Than Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti And Somalia, Djibouti freedom score: Somaliland Has More Freedom Than Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti And Somalia,Somalia freedom score: Somaliland Has More Freedom Than Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti And Somalia, Eritrea freedom score: Somaliland Has More Freedom Than Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti And Somalia, Somaliland freedom score: Somaliland Has More Freedom Than Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti And Somalia,
The US was rated 86 on the index, closely followed by India at 75.Germany and France scored higher than the US as Freedom House expressed concern over the state of affairs in America.Interestingly, the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir enjoys more freedom than Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) contrary to allegations leveled by Imran Khan-led government in Pakistan.
Jammu & Kashmir scored 49 on the 100-point Freedom House Index, while Pakistan scored 39 and PoK a paltry 28. The report also labeled PoK as “not free” in terms of freedom enjoyed by its residents and the functioning of local institutes.While the report termed Pakistan as “partly free”, it labeled India a “free” country alongside the US, several European nations, Japan, Australia, South Africa, and several Latin American countries.“Elections in Somaliland have been relatively free and fair, but years-long delays have meant that elected officials serve well beyond their original mandates.
Journalists face pressure from authorities, and police have employed excessive force and engaged in arbitrary detention. Minor clans are subject to political and economic marginalization, and violence against women remains a serious problem,” the report said, adding that “Somaliland’s political rights rating improved from 5 to 4 due to the holding of a long-delayed presidential election.”On the electoral process, the Freedom House had said in its report in 2018 “The president is directly elected for a maximum of two five-year terms and appoints the cabinet.
The electoral mandate of incumbent president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Sillanyo” of the Peace, Unity, and Development Party (Kulmiye) expired in 2015, but the presidential election due that year was not held until November 2017.
Muse Bihi Abdi, the Kulmiye candidate, won the contest with 55 percent of the vote, followed by Abdurahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the opposition Wadani party with 40 percent and Faisal Ali Warabe of the For Justice and Development (UCID) party with 4 percent.International monitors identified some irregularities in the process—including unstamped ballot papers and underage voting—and there was an outbreak of violence while results were being finalized, with police firing on pro-Wadani protesters amid suspicions of fraud. However, the observers concluded that such problems did not significantly affect the final result, which Wadani ultimately accepted in the public interest.Score Change: The score improved from 0 to 3 because Somaliland held a competitive presidential election, ending a two-year period in which the chief executive lacked an electoral mandate.”Be the first to know – Follow us on Twitter @SaxafiThe Freedom House report with a focus on “democracy in retreat” said in 2018, freedom in the world recorded the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. Domestic attacks on key institutions—the judiciary, the media, and electoral mechanisms—are undermining the foundations of democracy, the report said.It said at the same time, a global assault on the norms of democracy, led by an increasingly assertive China, challenges their spread around the world. Only by strengthening democracy at home and standing together in its defense around the world can democracies protect their values and preserve their ability to expand freedom globally, the report said.
It also said that the internet and other digital technologies have become ubiquitous as a means of accessing information, communicating, and participating in public debates. Consequently, technology and social media companies play an increasingly important role in sustaining—or weakening—democracy.
All Africa 