Zimbabwe farmers expect to harvest 300 million kilograms of tobacco this year. Good rain plus hard work from small farm owners made this possible. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board leader, Patrick Devenish, told lawmakers about these results on Tuesday. Sales start Wednesday for what looks like a record crop.
Devenish explained to the agriculture committee how well plants have grown since the January rains began. Current numbers suggest at least 280 million kilograms, but final totals might reach higher. The team is preparing a third estimate right as we speak. Experts feel pretty confident about hitting that big 300 million mark.
Small farm success drives much of this growth across the country. The contract farming system...
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels grabbed at least 130 sick and injured men from two hospitals in a big city in eastern Congo. The United Nations shared this news Monday about the February 28 events. Armed fighters entered CBCA Ndosho Hospital and Heal Africa Hospital, located in the city of Goma. They suspected these hospital patients might be Congolese army soldiers or members of groups fighting against them.
UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described how upsetting it was that rebels snatched patients right out of their hospital beds during planned attacks. The kidnappers took 116 people from one medical center and 15 more from the other facility. Nobody knows where these patients went after rebels carried them away without letting them...
General Brice Oligui Nguema from Gabon recently told everyone he plans to become a candidate for president during the elections next month. He took control of the country in 2023 after leading a military takeover that removed the Bongo family from power. At that time, he promised citizens he would return control to normal people instead of keeping it himself.
Many critics believe changes to voting rules and the national constitution were made just to help Nguema win the upcoming election. When speaking to people on Monday, Nguema explained he chose to run on April 12 because many citizens had asked him to do so. Despite heavy rain falling in Libreville, the capital city, he promised voters he could improve life in their oil-rich...
ZBC makes a whopping 80% of its money from car radio license fees across Zimbabwe. About 7 out of every 10 drivers pay these controversial fees when they register their vehicles. ZINARA boss Nkosinathi Ncube told lawmakers that December figures showed 70% of vehicle owners followed the rules. The compliance rate represents over 800,000 cars - exactly 823,000 vehicles paid up through ZINARA or various agents by year's end.
Wisdom Samanyawu from ZBC admitted the heavy reliance on vehicle radio licenses creates problems. He explained the current laws for property TV and radio licenses became outdated years ago. His team actively searches for better ways to collect payments from people who should pay for home entertainment devices. The...
The United Nations World Food Program decided to close its southern Africa office after Trump cut money for helping other countries. Tomson Phiri told The Associated Press through an email that they already planned to make changes starting in 2023. However, money problems forced them to rush these changes instead of taking their time with the process as they initially wanted.
The food agency will consolidate its work in southern and East Africa at one main office in Nairobi, Kenya, and completely eliminate its Johannesburg office. Phiri made it clear that people would still receive food help despite these office changes. He stated that they remain strongly focused on helping hungry people and want to work as effectively as possible...
CHAN-Gambia players finished up practice yesterday at Old Yundum's Ousman Saho Football Field. They leave today for Franceville, where they face Gabon this Saturday, March 8. The match is the second part of their African Nations Championship playoff series. Coach Alhagie Sarr ran everyone through important game plans during the final workout.
Coach Sarr talked with GFF media after practice. He said his team feels ready mentally for what comes next across the border. The coach sees Saturday as make-or-break time for his squad. They hope to win and move forward into the next playoff round. Both teams need a victory since nobody scored during their earlier meeting.
The previous contest happened in Thies, where Gambia played host. That...
Gambian sports reporters will learn money skills next week at a special workshop. The Sports Journalists' Association plans two days of training for twenty media professionals. They will learn budget reading techniques and financial reporting methods during March 15-16, 2025. The program aims to help reporters understand where sports dollars go.
Omar Jarju leads the journalists' group and believes money knowledge makes better sports coverage. He wants reporters to ask tough questions about how sports groups spend cash. The training represents just one step toward improving Gambian sports reporting standards. Better financial understanding benefits both journalists and sports fans across the country.
Sports stories often miss money...
Countries never pay back all their government debt. They keep refinancing it instead. Most people only talk about two numbers: 3% yearly shortfall and 70% of GDP total debt. Three other factors matter much more for economic success though.
Those budget rules work like speed control in your car. They help steer without stopping progress. The main point is having a clear plan everyone agrees on for returning to balance. Remember, these rules only apply when countries share money. America and China face no such limits.
Think about this example: Debt equaling 100% of GDP with 1% interest costs five times less than 50% GDP debt at 10% interest. The real price tag depends more on interest rates than on total size. A country can refinance $1...
Art forms like theater, painting, stories, and dance help people express real-life situations. The music world stayed somewhat active during hard times, but Gambian musicians mostly played it safe. They created tunes the APRC government found acceptable. Dictators fear music because it can inspire people to take brave actions. These rulers often paid popular artists with no backbone to sing their praises and spread their messages.
Haiti saw this happen when Jean-Claude Duvalier funded the Bossa Combo as his presidential orchestra. The group later changed its name to Big Band Bossa after the dictator lost power. They wanted nothing to do with him once he fell. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein controlled all media through his son Uday. They...
