Kenya's government and businesses are working together to make it easier to do business in the country. Musalia Mudavadi is a top government official. He said they will have a plan in place by April. The plan will spell out what needs to be done, who will do it, and when it will happen.
Mudavadi shared this news at a big meeting. Many important people were there, including government leaders and business owners. They talked about the challenges of running a business in Kenya today.
Mudavadi said the government's job is to help businesses, not get in their way. He wants businesses to be honest about their problems so the government can work to fix them.
Some of the big issues are too much red tape, old rules, and poor roads and...
Capt. Ibrahim Traore leads Burkina Faso's military. He went to Ghana on Tuesday. Ghana was having a ceremony to make John Mahama its new president.
Many people were surprised by something Traore did. He had a gun on his hip at the event. That is not normal.
Some think it was a problem. They say it broke security rules. Others think it shows Traore does not trust Ghana. He may not think they can keep him safe.
Ghana has not said if Traore could bring the gun. The BBC asked them about it. But they did not answer.
Mahama won the election last month. He beat Mahamudu Bawumia by a lot. Bawumia was part of the group that was in charge before.
Traore was one of 21 leaders at the ceremony. Things are tense in West Africa right now. Burkina...
Crane Accident Claims Life at Zimbabwe Construction Site.
A worker died Monday when a crane fell at the Trabablas Interchange work site in Harare, Zimbabwe. The nation's leaders started looking into what went wrong.
Transport Minister Felix Mhona shared the news Tuesday. He said the crash happened as workers took down the crane. Something broke in the machine. His office wants to know more about what caused it.
The company in charge, Tefoma Construction, gave more details. They said two cranes fell. One was a tower that stayed in place. The other moved around the site. Both came down during the work.
The person who died worked for Manzlink. This smaller company helped Tefoma with crane jobs at the site.
Tefoma leaders said they...
Dr. Mavis Sibanda, who works for the government in the Women's Affairs, Community, and Small and Medium Enterprises Development department, said Zimbabwe's handicraft industry is ready for big growth in 2025.
Dr. Sibanda spoke at a meeting in Harare. She said it's important for the government and the National Handicraft Development and Marketing Centre to work together. This will help sell Zimbabwean crafts in the country and around the world.
She wants clear plans for 2025, which will guide how the Centre promotes handicrafts. Dr. Sibanda said the Centre does a great job showing the beautiful work of craftspeople from all over Zimbabwe, including young people.
The Centre wants to collect and sell special crafts like the famous Binga...
Zimbabwean schools will open next week. The government's message for school leaders is to stop bad behavior. This comes from the top education official, Mr. Moses Mhike.
Parents have complained about schools. Some require students to pay fees only in foreign money, and others turn away students who can't pay. Some even want bribes to let kids in.
Mr. Mhike says this must end. He points to a rule from 2022 that says schools have to accept local money for fees. Parents can pay how they want, as Zimbabwe uses many currencies.
Schools also can't force parents to buy uniforms and supplies only from them. Families should be able to shop around for better prices. The government will check that schools follow these rules.
As schools prepare...
Problems in Mozambique Hurt Trade in Africa.
Mozambique is an African country that is having some problems right now. These problems are making things hard for other nearby countries.
Countries like Zimbabwe need to use roads and trains in Mozambique. They use them to move things like fuel and food. But it is getting harder to do that.
Leaders in the area are worried. They met to talk about the problems. Tanzania's president led the meeting. She is in charge of helping keep peace in the region.
Zimbabwe's president said peace in Mozambique is very important. All the countries need Mozambique to be stable so that trade can happen smoothly.
The leaders said they could not ignore what was happening in Mozambique. It was hurting...
Turkey and Gambia Grow Closer.
Turkey and Gambia are becoming better friends. The Turkish ambassador to Gambia hosted a breakfast for the media. He wanted to share the good news.
Turkey has helped Gambia in many ways. They have worked together on security, schools, hospitals, and the media. Turkish companies have also invested money in Gambia, working on energy and ports.
A new Turkish cultural center will open in Gambia next month. The ambassador hopes this will make the two countries even closer. He is happy that trade between Turkey and Gambia is growing.
Turkey and Gambia agree on important global issues. They have similar views on the conflicts between Israel and Palestine and the Rohingya situation.
The ambassador promised...
Senegal and Gambia could work together on oil and gas.
Senegal's leader said something important last month. He was meeting with Gambia's vice president. The leader said the two countries might share oil and gas under the sea. This had never been said out loud before by someone so important.
Senegal and Gambia are next to each other in Africa. There is a special area called the MSGBC Basin. Experts think this area has a lot of oil and gas. The basin is under the sea in five countries. Two of those countries are Senegal and Gambia.
Senegal already gets oil from the basin, starting in July 2024. But Gambia has not used any oil yet. Some people think the oil field goes into Gambia's waters, too.
In the past, Senegal and Gambia have not...
A Human Rights Lawyer Backs a New Court.
Femi Falana is a Nigerian lawyer who protects human rights. He says a new court in The Gambia is a good thing.
The court will try Yahya Jammeh. Mr. Jammeh used to be the president of The Gambia. Many people say he did very bad things when he was in charge.
Mr. Jammeh left The Gambia in 2016. He lives in another country now. But the new court wants to bring him back. They want him to face charges for crimes like murder and torture.
Countries in West Africa agreed to start this special court in December 2024. The court will examine events that happened while Mr. Jammeh was president from 1994 to 2017.
Mr. Falana said this court sends a strong message to leaders that they cannot get away with...
