Melvin Bouva, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of Suriname, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at Caribbean Energy Week (CEW 2026), taking place from 30 March to 1 April 2026 in Paramaribo. His participation signals high-level support at a pivotal stage in the country’s transition from exploration frontier to offshore producer, reinforcing government commitment to investor engagement and long-term sector development.
The keynote will provide direct insight into Suriname’s policy coordination, international partnerships and capital-mobilization strategy as the country advances toward first offshore oil in 2028. Central to this trajectory is the GranMorgu development in Block 58 – led by TotalEnergies and APA Corporation – targeting roughly 220,000 barrels per day, with construction of a floating production vessel already underway and state firm Staatsolie holding a 20% stake. Bouva’s address is expected to detail how Suriname is aligning foreign policy, fiscal certainty and state participation to advance first oil timelines and unlock follow-on upstream investment.
Gas monetization is emerging as a parallel strategic pillar. Malaysia’s PETRONAS declared the Sloanea discovery in Block 52 commercial in late 2025, with a final investment decision anticipated in 2026 and first gas targeted around 2030 via floating LNG. The Minister’s remarks are therefore expected to frame how foreign policy, infrastructure planning and market access converge to enable both oil production and future gas exports.
“Suriname is moving from discovery to execution, where investor confidence will depend on clear policy signals and disciplined project delivery,” states Sandra Jeque, Project Director at Energy Capital & Power. “Minister Bouva’s keynote brings the government’s strategic lens to that transition – showing how diplomacy, financing and regulation are being aligned to bring the country’s first offshore production online and sustain long-term upstream growth.”
Beyond hydrocarbons, Suriname is strengthening its macro-investment narrative through international financial cooperation, including recent debt-relief arrangements and expanding ties with partners across Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. As one of the world’s few carbon-negative countries, Suriname is also leveraging its High-Forest, Low-Deforestation profile to access climate finance – positioning energy development alongside environmental credibility in discussions with global investors.
Hosted at the Royal Torarica Hotel, CEW 2026 convenes regional governments, operators and financiers at a defining moment for Caribbean energy. Bouva’s confirmed keynote underscores institutional readiness and strategic alignment behind Suriname’s offshore projects – offering stakeholders a clear signal of policy continuity as capital deployment accelerates.
Join us in shaping the future of Caribbean energy. To participate in this landmark event, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.
Across many Western countries, anti-energy activists attack the very oil and gas industry that provides tax revenue to build schools, pave roads and fund universities. Unreasonable limits on oil and natural gas activity do not just target companies – they ultimately harm societies, weaken economies and destroy jobs. Africa cannot afford to follow that path. At the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (http://EnergyChamber.org), we have always believed we must remain organized to defend this industry and fight back when necessary.
The Chamber has personally invested significant effort in this fight because supporting the oil and gas industry is essential to Africa’s development and economic sovereignty. At the AEC, we reject the idea that governments should pick energy winners and losers instead of allowing free‑market principles to work. By rallying continued investment into Africa, we defend the same market foundations that built many of today’s strongest global economies. That is why regulatory clarity, efficient permitting and consistent enforcement are essential to attracting both domestic and foreign capital – work the AEC advances every day.
Africa’s Energy Must Deliver for Africans
For many Africans, skepticism about oil and gas has long centered on one question: where are the jobs and opportunities? This is why we remain unapologetic advocates of local content. Expecting the industry to create jobs for Africans is not radical – it is right.
To be clear, the industry has made meaningful progress. It has trained professionals, developed talent and produced African entrepreneurs who are now acquiring assets across the continent. The leadership of companies such as Seplat, Renaissance Energy, Oando, Etu Energias, First E&P, ND Western and numerous service firms reflects careers built inside major IOCs and global service companies. From Angola and Mozambique to Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Senegal, few industries have created comparable pathways for African leadership. In many cases, this progress required governments to push firmly for African inclusion – something regulators such as the NUPRC, ANPG, Ghana Petroleum Commission and authorities in Namibia, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and South Africa must never forget.
Inclusion Is Not Optional
Yet serious concerns remain. Policies or practices that exclude Black professionals from employment opportunities contradict the very principles of growth, fairness and partnership the industry claims to uphold. Frontier Energy Network’s hiring practices – widely understood across the industry to exclude Black professionals – are wrong. Full stop. This is not who our industry claims to be, and it is not compatible with partnership in Africa. Frontier’s leadership, including Daniel Davidson, has remained stubborn on this issue, and we are prepared to take this fight to the end. An organization that earns the lion’s share of its revenue from Africans cannot expect to benefit from African markets, governments and capital while denying fair employment to Africans.
This moment calls for our industry to show moral conviction. Africans are watching. No organization seeking partnership, investment or credibility in Africa can ignore inclusion or dismiss legitimate concerns about discrimination. In 2026, we should not still be confronting barriers rooted in the past. If the Africa Energies Summit wants African support, it must be ready to do the right thing by hiring Black professionals. When Daniel Davidson refuses to hire Black professionals and actively locks them out, the industry feels it – it is like a one‑eyed quarterback seeing only half the field.
The Industry Must Choose
We are therefore considering a targeted, lawful and selective boycott – yes, exactly that – against institutions that refuse to uphold inclusive hiring. Quite frankly, companies that still treat Black professionals as second‑class participants in this industry must face consequences. Inclusion drives growth, and when this industry grows, everybody wins. It is simply good business.
Service companies, investors, conference organizers and partners all share responsibility. One cannot seek licenses, approvals, and government goodwill while tolerating exclusionary behavior. Companies such as TGS – and others participating in platforms perceived by many Black professionals as unwelcoming – must recognize their influence and act accordingly. As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Companies must pick a side. You cannot promise governments local hiring while endorsing exclusion.
African ministers and regulators who attend the Africa Energies Summit cannot claim to value local content while aligning with institutions that refuse to hire Black professionals. The days when Black professionals are merely spectators in Africa’s oil and gas development are over. Our industry must remain vigilant. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past or give anti‑oil extremists an opportunity to tell African youth, “We told you so.”
Ignoring local content risks undermining the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry. The Chamber takes this position not lightly, but from decades of advocacy, criticism endured and unwavering belief in the sector’s importance to the continent. Listening to Black professionals who feel excluded is not optional – it is necessary. Many may come for me because of this stance, but honesty demands that I speak for the Black men and women who have been unfairly treated by Daniel Davidson and the Africa Energies Summit.
In the coming weeks, The Chamber will engage African officials and industry leaders to seek clear commitments to inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Where progress is absent, we will exercise our lawful right to protest. Oil and gas professionals are good people, and this industry remains vital to ending energy poverty and strengthening global energy security. God bless the oil and gas industry – and yes, Drill Baby Drill.
We cannot allow division to weaken our shared mission. The Chamber has consistently been a model of pragmatic leadership, especially when facing distractions such as those posed by Frontier Energy Network and the Africa Energies Summit. Africa’s energy future must be built on investment, opportunity and inclusion for all. We shall overcome.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Salah Ben Hammou, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rice University
The end of January 2026 effectively marked the end of party politics in Burkina Faso. On 29 January, Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government formally dissolved all political parties, including those that had supported his September 2022 coup.
Parties had already been suspended since Traoré took power, but the junta framed this latest step as part of a broader state “restructuring” meant to reduce social divisions.
In practice, the move shuts down what little space remained for independent civic participation and further concentrates authority in Traoré’s hands. Party assets have also been taken over by the state.
For a junta that initially relied on enthusiastic civilian backing, the decision sits awkwardly alongside its rhetoric of popular mobilisation and revolutionary renewal. Yet this trajectory is far from surprising.
Across the Sahel and elsewhere in Africa, supporters of military takeovers are discovering that early enthusiasm rarely translates into lasting political influence. Coups that begin with popular support often end with the junta sidelining or overtly suppressing the very groups that helped stabilise its hold on power. The trend goes back decades.
I argue that once in power, military rulers have little incentive to share authority. Civilian groups are useful in the first days of a takeover. They provide crowds, legitimacy, and a sense that the coup reflects public frustration.
But those same groups quickly become inconvenient. They have their own leaders, their own constituencies, and their own expectations for the transition. They can criticise delays or mobilise supporters. This independence is precisely what juntas fear.
Early civilian enthusiasm should not be mistaken for a durable mandate, nor should it be read as evidence that a transition will remain inclusive.
Burkina Faso’s recent party ban is only the latest reminder. Support from outside the barracks may help usher in or stabilise a coup, but it rarely guarantees any lasting influence over what follows.
Buyer beware: Civilian support rarely leads to lasting influence
Contrary to how we typically think of coups, military takeovers frequently attract support from at least some segments of the civilian population. Sometimes civilians actively encourage a coup. They can also help ensure that it succeeds and stabilises.
These dynamics have been especially visible during Africa’s recent wave of coups. From Mali to Niger, military interventions have been welcomed, celebrated, and even endorsed by civil society groups, political parties, and other domestic actors. For coup leaders, these alliances offer visible legitimacy and a ready-made support base.
But an equally common trend follows. While civilian groups pledge support to maintain some influence in the post-coup order, juntas frequently sideline, marginalise, or altogether suppress even their erstwhile allies.
This pattern appears across eras and regions, cutting across ideological and social lines.
After Sudan’s 1969 coup, for instance, the Communist Party initially aligned itself with the Free Officers led by Col. Jaafar Nimeiri, offering crucial political backing. But within seven months, Nimeiri began sidelining the party, removing key Communist figures from government. By 1971, he had turned on them entirely, launching a brutal crackdown that crushed the party.
A similar trajectory followed Egypt’s 2013 coup. The protest movement Tamarod openly advocated for and later endorsed General Abdelfattah el-Sisi’s takeover. The influence of the movement and other political parties soon evaporated as civic space shrank.
Buyer’s remorse among coup supporters in the Sahel
Today, many of the civilian groups that championed the Sahel’s recent coups are going through the same experience as their predecessors elsewhere.
In Mali, the June 5 Movement–Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5‑RFP) – a broad coalition of opposition parties, clerics and activists associated with Imam Mahmoud Dicko – has become one of the most outspoken critics of Colonel Assimi Goïta’s junta.
Yet M5‑RFP was among the coup’s earliest supporters. After months of mass protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the movement welcomed the military’s intervention in August 2020 and expected to help steer the transition.
That expectation faded quickly. The junta sidelined M5‑RFP during the formation of the transitional government, excluding many of its leaders from key positions.
When Goïta carried out a second coup in May 2021, removing the civilian interim leadership and consolidating the military’s control, the movement’s influence shrank even further. What began as a tactical alliance ended with M5‑RFP pushed to the margins.
The aftermath of Guinea’s 2021 coup followed a similar trajectory. Opposition leaders against former president Alpha Conde initially welcomed Gen. Mamady Doumbouya’s coup. Expecting a meaningful role in the transition, party leaders even urged the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) not to impose sanctions and publicly legitimised the coup as a necessary move.
But much like the Malian experience, the junta did not accommodate the parties for their support, barring them from substantial representation. Little more than a year later, party members were arrested when they voiced opposition to their lack of inclusion in the transition.
Seen in this comparative light, Burkina Faso’s recent party dissolution fits an established pattern. Early political backing does not guarantee continued access or influence once military rulers entrench themselves.
– Burkina Faso has dissolved all political parties: why African coup leaders often turn on the people who supported them – https://theconversation.com/burkina-faso-has-dissolved-all-political-parties-why-african-coup-leaders-often-turn-on-the-people-who-supported-them-275637
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Debbie Collier, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Transformative Regulation of Work, University of the Western Cape
The result is that government agencies, municipalities and service providers are frequently drawn into disputes. If litigated, these can take years to resolve. This drains public resources and further erodes trust in public institutions. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Mediation can provide a crucial, timely and constructive way to resolve conflict before matters escalate into violence or protracted litigation. Mediation, facilitated by an impartial third party, supports dialogue and meaningful engagement between parties, and the settlement of disputes on mutually acceptable terms.
Mediation is common practice in community disputes and in labour law and other statutory dispute resolution contexts. But its use in court proceedings has been limited.
Recent developments have seen a shift toward mandatory mediation in civil litigated matters. These include the South Africa Law Reform Commission’sdiscussion paper. This was published in early 2025 for public input on mediation in civil, commercial and community disputes.
As a labour law scholar and in leading the South African Law Reform Commission’s project on alternative dispute resolution, I have come to appreciate how mediation can transform conflict. It can provide an accessible dispute resolution mechanism across diverse contexts.
But to optimise the use of mediation the following are required:
wide-ranging awareness of mediation across institutions and communities and within the legal profession
support for training and skills development, particularly for community mediators who play a crucial role in dispute resolution and transforming conflict
an integrated and enabling regulatory, institutional and skills development framework, responsive to the diverse contexts in which mediation takes place.
Mediation training should also be provided to counteract bullying in schools. Scholars can be equipped to intervene as peer mediators and resolve conflict constructively.
Mediation isn’t a substitute for court proceedings in matters better suited to litigation. Judicial reform remains important, and litigation must be accessible in cases where it is best suited.
A compelling case for mediation
Integrating mediation within judicial processes provides an opportunity to resolve structural tensions within South Africa’s plural legal system.
The move towards mandatory mediation adds momentum to an evolving legal system and legal practice. It affirms indigenous values and practices.
Mediation could relieve pressure on the justice system and contribute to an enabling environment for social and economic development.
Access to justice is a public good. It requires access to appropriate legal resources, institutions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Importantly, building an effective justice system is an ongoing project and a complex human undertaking that cannot be achieved through policy and law reform alone.
– Mediation can speed up justice in South Africa: legal scholar makes the case – https://theconversation.com/mediation-can-speed-up-justice-in-south-africa-legal-scholar-makes-the-case-270110
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kennedy Mkutu, Associate Professor, International Relations, United States International University
The sun is rising in Kenya’s Kajiado county, just outside Nairobi, and a truck is rumbling over dusty ground towards a riverbank. Young men guide the driver to a parking spot and then spring into action, each with a scoop, filling the truck from a heap of the most desirable building sand for which the area is famous.
The driver passes the time with a snack and a mug of tea poured from a flask by a mobile vendor. He pays each of the young men around US$10 for their labour and the landowner US$40-US$50 for the sand. The driver then starts out on his journey to deliver sand to hardware stores, building sites or informal selling points in Nairobi and its suburbs, paying county taxes and police bribes along the way.
Yet Kenya has been singled out by the UN’s environmental programme as a country of unsustainable sand harvesting. The industry is troubled by insufficient regulation, environmental degradation and, at times, violent conflict.
We are peace and security researchers who have studied controversies around sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure projects. In a recent study, we researched contestations around sand harvesting, as well as sand commodity chains in Kenya. We mapped where industry benefits are concentrated and looked at how locally established governance mechanisms work to distribute benefits – and harms.
We examined sites in seven Kenyan counties. In the west, we visited Homa Bay near Lake Victoria. Outside Nairobi, we studied sites in Nakuru and Kajiado. In the drier eastern parts, we visited Taita Taveta and Makueni – once a hotspot of violent conflict among sand mining cartels. In dry regions, sand is critical to water storage, where it’s used to create dams that boost underground water storage. On the Kenyan coast, we studied sites in Kwale and Kilifi, which serve developments in and around the city of Mombasa. We spoke to loaders, landowners, leaders of informal youth groups and cooperatives, transporters, brokers and administrators.
We found the industry to be ordered and unruly at the same time.
National regulation on sand harvesting in most counties is rarely enforced. Therefore, the stability of extraction and transport of sand hinges on complex informal rules that distribute the benefits of the industry. The greatest profits in the sand industry are not made at the extraction sites but higher up along the commodity chain. Sand supports large numbers of people at the community level.
We argue that making the most of Kenya’s sand industry doesn’t lie in introducing top-down legislation. Rather, existing informal regulation should be harnessed and harmonised within formal rules. This would go a long way towards ensuring sustainable livelihoods and widespread inclusion.
The winners and losers
Scholarship on the extraction of natural resources across the global south has demonstrated the tendency toward the removal of natural resources and accumulation by powerful agents. They forcefully control mining activities and value chains and leave behind high social and ecological costs, a phenomenon known as extractivism.
Extractivism depletes ecosystems and deprives communities of the use of natural resources, fair access to them and the opportunity to benefit from the wealth generated.
Does sand harvesting in Kenya display these characteristics? Not entirely.
Sand is perhaps a bit different to precious minerals like gemstones. It’s bulky, less valuable, and in many countries widespread and accessible with basic tools. Sand is found in rivers and fields, and on private and common land.
At harvesting sites, groups of loaders and homegrown sand cooperatives are in many places highly organised with rules, rosters and even external shareholders. They ensure a wider distribution of gains at the local level. Loader group membership positions are coveted and bought at a high price from group organisers, and some groups or cooperatives build up economic strength and attract better transporting contracts. Larger contractors dictate conditions, driving down prices at the harvesting sites.
As a development mineral, sand also feeds concrete production that’s pivotal for grand infrastructure and housing schemes. These have the potential to boost economic growth.
However, there are certainly some tendencies for benefits to flow away from the source. Unsurprisingly, the largest profits are made at urban markets. While truck drivers at harvesting sites pay around US$90 for a 12-ton truck of sand, the same load is sold in Nairobi for up to US$400. In-transit costs such as taxes, bribes, fuel and salaries amount to around US$100.
Sand mining site in Kwale County.Kennedy Mkutu, Author provided (no reuse)
Landowners accumulate revenues, too. However, where land is contested upon a backdrop of colonial and post-colonial dispossession – such as in the Kedong site in Nakuru – this can be particularly controversial. At one point when landowners hired excavators, community members rioted and destroyed them, fearing complete displacement from their source of livelihood.
County governments also benefit greatly from local taxation and have little incentive to regulate overextraction from fragile sites.
Bribery in the sand business also thrives on the informality. The police capitalise on regular sand transporting routes and uniformly request US$4-8 from every truck. Overloading can be managed with a “fee” at weighbridges. Some drivers find ways to store sand and sell it without their bosses’ knowledge.
Though ecological harms were not fully explored in our work, we found evidence of them, particularly in drier counties, such as Taita Taveta and Makueni, where river sand is a vital container for water storage. Communities are aware of the environmental cost of overextraction and call for better regulation of the industry.
What needs to happen
Effective collaboration is needed between various layers of governance to make the sand trade in Kenya equitable and sustainable.
This is largely absent. One notable exception is the robust and participatory management of sand in Makueni county, which also took decisive action against cartels and prevented exports out of the county until ecosystem recovery was certain.
Instead of introducing top-down legislation to manage the industry, however, harnessing existing informal regulations and harmonising them within formal rules would go a long way towards ensuring sustainable livelihoods and widespread inclusion, as the Makueni case has demonstrated.
These discussions matter because Kenya, among many other countries in the global south, is rapidly urbanising and has a number of huge infrastructure projects in the works.
Given that the railway line will be extended to the Ugandan border, regulation that allows for broad local participation is critical for assuring trust in the Kenyan governance system.
– Sand mining and Kenya’s building boom: better rules are needed, but not from the top down – https://theconversation.com/sand-mining-and-kenyas-building-boom-better-rules-are-needed-but-not-from-the-top-down-275321
Reflecting the spirit of togetherness and generosity during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Emirates (www.Emirates.com) will share thousands of iftar boxes for fasting customers both onboard and at boarding gates, offer complimentary Emirates prayer mats, screen an array of religious content and popular TV shows on ice, and present traditional Ramadan dishes in the lounges.
Emirates Iftar boxes at Boarding Gates
For the comfort of all fasting customers, complimentary iftar boxes to help break the fast containing water, laban, a banana, and dates are distributed at select Emirates Boarding Gates during iftar time.
Emirates Ramadan meal boxes and prayer mats onboard
For the month of Ramadan, customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select destinations will be offered nutritionally balanced Ramadan meal boxes. Iftar meals are served in bespoke boxes designed by Emirates to represent the geometric design of traditional Islamic art. The meal boxes include traditional dates, light bites of hummus, moutabel or muhammara with Arabic bread, a hearty chicken mossakan sandwich or herbed chicken sandwich, sweet treats of chocolate almonds, baklawa pistachio mamoul or baklawa pine seed cashew, and laban. Emirates’ Ramadan boxes are served in addition to the regular hot meal service.
To ensure the highest levels of accuracy for fasting Muslim passengers, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak (the time to commence fasting) and iftar while inflight, based on the times of the sunrise and sunset of the location the flight is passing by using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude, and altitude. When the sun sets, passengers will be officially informed of the iftar time by the captain.
Emirates also has special keepsake prayer mats on all flights, which are available by request to Cabin Crew.
Ramadan refreshments in the lounges
Across the 7 Emirates Lounges in Dubai International Airport (DXB), an array of Arabic sweets, dates and coffee will be offered during Ramadan. Traditional dishes available in First and Business Class lounges will include a selection of hot and cold Arabic mezze, lentil soup, Arabic mixed grill with tahina, lamb kabsa, chicken machboos with cucumber yoghurt sauce, lamb shanks ouzi with hashweh rice and dakous, followed by desserts of pistachio kunafa, kathayef cream, basbousa saffron, kitta cheesecake, cheese kunafa, walnut kathayef, homemade Arabic coffee and dates ice cream or baklawaice cream, a host of traditional Arabic pastries, and classic drinks of jallab and laban. Emirates Lounges in Cairo and Jeddah will also serve an array of delicious Ramadan dishes.
Emirates Lounges have dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities to ensure a peaceful environment for worship.
Ramadan content and popular series on ice
For the duration of the Holy Month, Emirates ice will feature special religious content including Kheir Qodwa, Qalb Al Mo’men, Wa Yatoub Allah Alaykom, Al Huqooq Al Sharaeya, and Nafhat in Arabic. In Urdu, ice will feature Ramadan Mah e Rehmat and Hoshyarian. The Holy Qur’an is also available on ice.
Popular series and dramas will be available such as Ma Taraho Laysa Kama Yabdo, Febrayer Al Aswad and Al Mtwassf as well as Hazza. Amongst more than 6500 channels of on demand entertainment on ice, there are up to 450 channels of movies and TV in the Arabic language, as well as 400 channels of Arabic music and podcasts.
Emirates’ new Bukhoor Scents for Ramadan
To enhance the Ramadan spirit at home and set the mood, Emirates has launched a new range of Bukhoor scents perfect for the season. The new home fragrances include the bestselling Oud Rose with notes of raspberry, rose, geranium, oud, patchouli and vanilla, as well as new additions Dreamy Nights featuring sweet green citrus, sweet balsam, jasmine, amber, cedar and spicy vanilla, and finally Sacred Ember with notes of saffron, lavender, bergamot, musk, tobacco and cedar. Ideal for Ramadan gifting, each 70g pot of Bukhoor is available for USD 52 in the Emirates Official Store (http://apo-opa.co/4aRQGsy), in an elegant white and gold design featuring Emirates’ signature Ghaf tree motif.
Supporting Emirates customers on Umrah
For Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina during the Holy Month, Ramadan boxes will be served inflight. Customers are also entitled to check in one bottle of ‘ZAMZAM’ – Islamic holy water containing up to 5 litres per person at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and various airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ramadan Awareness Training for Emirates staff
Emirates provides Ramadan awareness training for its cabin crew and on ground teams in Dubai and across its network. Special training resources have been provided to ensure operational teams are aware of the Holy Month, understand the cultural significance and nuances of this time and recognise specific practices that Muslims engage in, so they are prepared to provide the highest levels of service to customers throughout their travel experience.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Emirates Group.
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has expressed deep concern following a serious road crash involving a scholar transport vehicle, which occurred at approximately 7am this morning, on the N4 eastbound, near Atteridgeville, Tshwane.
“The reckless conduct displayed in this incident is unacceptable, particularly when it involves the lives of our children. Scholar transport operators carry a sacred responsibility to ensure the safety of learners. Lawlessness on our roads will not be tolerated,” the MEC said on Monday.
According to reports, a nine-seater Toyota Condor – transporting 17 school children – collided with a Mercedes-Benz after the driver allegedly attempted to evade law enforcement by diverting onto an old dirt road before re-entering the highway.
It is believed that the driver was operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s licence.
All 17 learners were transported to a hospital with varying degrees of injuries. No fatalities have been reported.
The MEC has reiterated her call for intensified law enforcement operations to root out illegal and unroadworthy scholar transport vehicles and to ensure full compliance with road safety regulations.
She further emphasised that the driver must be held accountable for endangering the lives of innocent children through irresponsible behaviour.
The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening oversight and enforcement to safeguard learners and restore discipline on the province’s roads. –SAnews.gov.za
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli has welcomed the possible withdrawal by the Prudential Authority (PA) and the Repayment Administrator, Johan Kruger, of their court application seeking the liquidation of Ithala SOC Limited and Ithala Bank.
Ntuli described the development as a significant breakthrough following months of intensive engagements and negotiations led by the Provincial Government to safeguard the historic institution.
“This matter has never been merely about a financial entity; it has always been about protecting the economic aspirations of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, particularly the rural poor, small businesses and historically marginalised communities who rely on Ithala,” Ntuli said.
Ntuli has led engagements to resolve the impasse, working with Members of the Provincial Legislature, including Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Reverend Musa Zondi and Finance MEC Francois Rodgers.
The matter was elevated to the national leadership level, including discussions with President Cyril Ramaphosa, as part of efforts to secure a sustainable and lawful resolution.
The Premier emphasised that while the possible withdrawal of the liquidation application is a positive and encouraging step, it does not mark the end of the journey.
“There is still a substantial amount of work that lies ahead. Our focus now shifts decisively to revitalising and stabilising Ithala so that it can stand firmly on its feet again and operate as a well-oiled, fully compliant, and sustainable financial institution,” he said.
The Premier acknowledged that the process has not been smooth sailing, describing it as a complex and, at times, difficult journey that required patience, discipline, and constructive engagement across different spheres of government and regulatory authorities.
“We remain committed to ensuring that Ithala emerges stronger, more resilient and properly structured to fulfil its developmental mandate. This institution has played a critical role in extending financial services to communities that were historically excluded from mainstream banking. That legacy must be preserved and strengthened,” he said.
The Provincial Government will continue working collaboratively with regulators, National Treasury, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure full compliance with regulatory frameworks, while safeguarding the interests of depositors and the broader provincial economy.
Ntuli called on residents of KwaZulu-Natal to continue placing their trust in the Provincial Government as it steers Ithala through what he described as a critical phase.
“We understand the anxiety and uncertainty that this matter has caused. We assure the people of our province that their government remains fully seized with the task at hand. We ask for continued patience and confidence as we work diligently to secure Ithala’s long-term stability and growth,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
À l’issue de la 3ᵉ cérémonie internationale de l’Orange Summer Challenge (OSC), organisée le 4 février 2026, Orange Afrique et Moyen-Orient (OMEA) (www.Orange.com) a récompensé trois start-ups innovantes développées par de jeunes entrepreneurs d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient, au sein du réseau des Orange Digital Centers.
Programme emblématique des Orange Digital Centers, l’Orange Summer Challenge est une compétition internationale qui accompagne chaque année de jeunes talents dans la transformation de leurs idées en solutions technologiques à fort impact social et environnemental.
Pour l’édition 2025, 369 jeunes innovateurs issus de 14 pays ont été accompagnés pendant trois mois intensifs par les équipes d’Orange MEA et des Orange Digital Centers, à travers des formations, du mentorat, du coaching et un accès à l’expertise technologique. Avec le soutien de partenaires majeurs, Amazon Web Services, Meta, le PNUD, The Hashgraph Association et Dar Blockchain, 56 projets de start-up ont été développés autour de la thématique Startup4Good, dans des secteurs clés tels que l’environnement, la santé, l’éducation et l’agriculture.
Cette dynamique illustre l’ambition d’Orange de faire des Orange Digital Centers des plateformes d’innovation ouvertes et inclusives. Comme le souligne Ben Cheick Haidara, Directeur Général Adjoint et Directeur des Opérations d’Orange Afrique et Moyen-Orient : « Depuis plus de 16 ans, l’Orange Summer Challenge est un véritable catalyseur de talents et d’innovation. Bien plus qu’une compétition, ce programme permet aux jeunes entrepreneurs de développer des solutions technologiques, notamment basées sur l’intelligence artificielle, pour répondre concrètement aux défis sociétaux et environnementaux. À travers les Orange Digital Centers, Orange s’engage durablement aux côtés de la jeunesse pour faire émerger une innovation à fort impact en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient. »
Le premier prix a été attribué à SafeGuard (Jordanie) pour son dispositif intelligent de prévention des accidents du travail basé sur la détection des risques.
Le deuxième prix est revenu à GasNika (Madagascar) pour sa solution de production de biogaz à partir de déchets, avec valorisation en engrais biologique.
Le troisième prix a été décerné à DripIn (Tunisie) pour sa solution connectée basée sur l’intelligence artificielle dédiée à la détection des fuites d’eau et à l’optimisation de la consommation.
Les start-ups primées bénéficieront d’un accompagnement financier, technique et commercial assuré par les Orange Digital Centers et Orange MEA, incluant une dotation globale de 50 000 euros pour accélérer leur développement.
À travers les Orange Digital Centers, Orange Afrique et Moyen-Orient confirme son engagement en faveur de l’entrepreneuriat technologique, de l’employabilité des jeunes et de l’innovation à impact, au service du développement durable et de l’inclusion numérique dans la région.
Distribué par APO Group pour Orange Middle East and Africa.
A propos d’Orange Afrique et Moyen Orient (OMEA) :
Orange est présent dans 18 pays en Afrique et au Moyen Orient et compte plus de 160 millions de clients au 31 décembre 2024. Avec 7,7 milliards d’euros de chiffre d’affaires en 2024, Orange MEA est la première zone de croissance du groupe Orange. Orange Money, son offre de transfert d’argent et de services financiers, est disponible dans 17 pays et compte plus de 90 millions de clients. Orange, opérateur multi-services, partenaire de référence de la transformation digitale apporte son expertise pour accompagner le développement de nouveaux services digitaux en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient.
Following the 3rd International Orange Summer Challenge (OSC) Award Ceremony, held on February 4, 2026, Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) (www.Orange.com) awarded three innovative start-ups developed by young entrepreneurs from Africa and the Middle East, within the Orange Digital Center network.
As a flagship program of the Orange Digital Centers network, Orange Summer Challenge is an international competition that supports young talents each year in turning their ideas into technology-based solutions with strong social and environmental impact.
For the 2025 edition, 369 young innovators from 14 countries benefited from three months of intensive support provided by Orange MEA teams and Orange Digital Centers, through training, mentoring, coaching and access to technological expertise. With the support of key partners, Amazon Web Services, Meta, UNDP, The Hashgraph Association and Dar Blockchain, 56 start-up projects were developed under the Startup4Good theme, addressing key sectors such as environment, health, education and agriculture.
This momentum reflects Orange’s ambition to position the Orange Digital Centers as open and inclusive innovation platforms. As stated by Ben Cheick Haidara, Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer of Orange Middle East and Africa:“For more than 16 years, Orange Summer Challenge has been a true catalyst for talent and innovation. More than competition, this program enables young entrepreneurs to develop technology-based solutions, notably leveraging artificial intelligence, to address societal and environmental challenges in a very concrete way. Through the Orange Digital Centers, Orange is firmly committed to supporting youth and fostering high-impact innovation across Africa and the Middle East.
The first prize was awarded to SafeGuard (Jordan) for its smart device designed to prevent workplace accidents through intelligent risk detection.
The second prize went to GasNika (Madagascar) for its biogas production solution from waste, with organic fertilizer valorization.
The third prize was awarded to DripIn (Tunisia) for its AI-powered connected solution to detect water leaks and optimize consumption.
The winning start-ups will benefit from financial, technical and business support provided by the Orange Digital Centers and Orange MEA, including a total grant of €50,000 to accelerate their development.
Through the Orange Digital Centers, Orange Middle East and Africa reaffirm its commitment to technological entrepreneurship, youth employability and impact-driven innovation, contributing to sustainable development and digital inclusion across the region.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Orange Middle East and Africa.
