Africa – Page 46 – MIL Africa Engine

August 20, 2026

Changing the history curriculum is not enough if English always dominates the classroom – South African study

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Nhlanhla Mpofu, Researcher in TESOL & Literacy, University of Notre Dame Australia

In many South African classrooms, learners continue to experience the subject of history through the language, concepts and perspectives inherited from colonial traditions. Changes have been made to what children are taught. But the curriculum changes might not be enough to change what children learn in history classrooms.

The reason for this is that English continues to dominate as the language of learning and teaching in most secondary schools. This is despite the fact that South Africa officially recognises 12 languages.

As education researchers with an interest in the languages used in the classroom, we wanted to examine the relationship between language choice and the teaching of history.

We did this through a study of Grade 8 history classrooms in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Focusing on a local historical event, learners were encouraged to examine whose perspectives become visible or invisible through different language choices.

We found that this allowed them to think critically about how history is recorded, challenge the standard versions of the event, and create more of a connection between their own lives and the bigger historical picture.

Our research suggests that if learners are to engage critically with history, they must also be empowered to question the language through which the subject is taught.

The Kimberley diamond rush

Our research focused on the Kimberley diamond rush. The development of Kimberley can be traced back to the discovery of diamonds around 1870 on a farm in what was then known as Griqualand West, now part of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. News of the discovery spread quickly and attracted thousands of prospectors, fortune seekers and labourers from across the region and beyond. As people flocked to the area in search of wealth and employment, a small settlement rapidly grew into the bustling town of Kimberley. The diamond rush played a significant role in shaping South Africa’s economic and social history, establishing Kimberley as one of the country’s most important mining centres.

This is a topic taught in South African schools in Grade 8 (for learners in the age group 14-16 years).

Traditionally, learners encounter this history through narratives centred on economic development, industrialisation and influential figures such as Cecil John Rhodes. All these texts are written in English. While these accounts are important, they leave little room for the experiences, languages and perspectives of African communities affected by mining, land dispossession and labour exploitation.

Our study followed an approach known as decolonial language awareness. The approach positions indigenous languages as legitimate sources of knowledge.

The study took place in two public secondary schools in the Northern Cape. Participants were two Grade 8 History teachers and learners in linguistically diverse classrooms. The schools served multilingual communities where isiXhosa, Setswana, Afrikaans and English were commonly used, although English remained the primary language of learning and teaching.

The intervention began with what looked like a simple question posed by teachers:

Why is the story of Kimberley diamonds always taught in English?

The discussion that followed revealed a level of critical awareness often underestimated in young learners. Students quickly linked English to political power, pointing out that many historical records were written by colonial administrators, mine owners and government officials. They recognised that the voices preserved in textbooks were often those of people who held power rather than those who experienced the consequences of that power.

What happened next was perhaps the most significant aspect of the project.

Teachers and learners in this study worked together to develop a historical glossary in English and isiXhosa. This was more than a simple translation exercise. Instead, learners explored whether familiar historical terms accurately represented the experiences of African communities. They drew on family histories, community memories, oral narratives, cultural knowledge, and contemporary experiences of language, identity and inequality to make sense of events that had occurred generations earlier.

Take the term “compound system”. In many history textbooks, it is presented as a labour arrangement that housed African mine workers in employer-provided accommodation to facilitate the management and control of the workforce. Yet when learners explored isiXhosa alternatives such as inkampu yabakhonziswa (“a camp of those compelled to labour”), they began to question the neutrality of the textbook term. Their discussions shifted attention from labour organisation to the lived realities of confinement, coercion and restricted freedom.

In this way, language became a tool for uncovering different interpretations of the same historical phenomenon and for foregrounding perspectives often absent from dominant historical accounts.

A similar process unfolded around the concept of “dispossession”. When discussions shifted towards isiXhosa expressions such as ukuncothulwa emhlabeni (“being uprooted from the land”), the historical event acquired a more human and emotional dimension. Learners connected the concept not only to the loss of land but also to disrupted ties of belonging, community, identity and ancestry. What had previously appeared as an abstract textbook term was reinterpreted as a lived experience with profound social and cultural consequences.

These discussions transformed the dynamics of the classroom. Learners who were often quiet during conventional history lessons became active participants. Some brought stories, expressions and insights from parents and grandparents into classroom debates. Others challenged textbook terminology and proposed alternative ways of understanding historical events. Home language was no longer treated as something left at the classroom door. It became a valuable academic resource.

Perhaps most importantly, learners began to recognise that history was not a single story.

When presented with a British mine manager’s report describing workers as “industrious but sullen”, learners asked how those same workers might have described the manager. Whose perspective was represented? What experiences were omitted? How would the story change if told from another viewpoint? These questions demonstrate a level of historical thinking that goes far beyond memorising facts and dates.

Beyond curriculum change

Critics may argue that such approaches make history too political. Yet history has always been political. Decisions about which events are recorded, whose voices are preserved and which languages are regarded as authoritative are never neutral. By making these processes visible, learners are being equipped to think critically about knowledge itself.

The broader implications extend beyond history classrooms. Three decades after the end of apartheid, South Africa continues to grapple with questions of transformation, equity and inclusion. If educational success remains tied to English, many learners will continue to experience a disconnect between their lived realities and what schools recognise as knowledge.

Decolonising education is not about replacing one version of history with another. It is about giving learners the agency to ask difficult questions, evaluate competing perspectives and participate in the ongoing construction of historical knowledge.

– Changing the history curriculum is not enough if English always dominates the classroom – South African study
– https://theconversation.com/changing-the-history-curriculum-is-not-enough-if-english-always-dominates-the-classroom-south-african-study-289515

August 20, 2026

Along Nigeria’s ‘spiritual highway’, prayer camps create a new urban future

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Marloes Janson, Professor of West African Anthropology, SOAS, University of London

The highway between Lagos and Ibadan was built in 1978 at the height of Nigeria’s oil boom. Lagos is the country’s largest city, with an estimated population of over 20 million, and Ibadan the third-largest and home to a globally renowned university.

But the boom years are over and rising traffic and decades of neglect have turned the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway into one of Nigeria’s deadliest motorways, earning it the nickname “highway of death”.

Yet even as the 127km stretch of road has faltered as a transport corridor linking north and south, it has flourished as a stage for public religion. Today, lined with sprawling prayer camps, it’s also known as the “spiritual highway”. Religious billboards have replaced road signs and religious camps have been established along the route.

For years my research as an anthropologist has explored how multi-faith settings challenge conventional ideas of religion. I have studied the more than 30 religious organisations that have established vast prayer camps along the course of the highway since the 1980s. Attracting tens of thousands of worshippers seeking health and wealth, they have transformed the expressway into an urban spiritual centre.

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway connecting Nigeria’s first and third largest cities. Akintunde Akinleye

These sites consist of vast, factory-like prayer halls. They offer a wide range of facilities, including shopping malls, restaurants, banks, hotels, health clinics, schools, and even universities. As a result, many have evolved into “prayer cities” that combine urban and religious worlds within a single space.

While drawing vast crowds during religious programmes, a growing number of camps provide permanent residence for members seeking to escape what they perceive as the moral corruption of urban life. By supplying services often lacking in Lagos and Ibadan, like reliable electricity, a clean and secure environment, and spiritual redemption, these camps have developed into “religiocities”.

My research shows that the prayer camps lining the expressway challenge enduring portrayals of Nigeria – particularly its cities – as chaotic, dysfunctional, and driven by religious tensions.

One of the ways they do this is by blurring the lines between religious traditions. Muslim prayer camps borrow from Pentecostal models, Christians attend Muslim programmes. And many Lagosians move between these religious spaces in search of healing, prosperity, or spiritual fulfilment. These religious crossovers point to a faith landscape shaped less by fixed identities than by interaction and exchange.

The camps also reveal how urban development and religious life are deeply intertwined. Through investments in land, infrastructure, education and healthcare, religious organisations have emerged as key forces in the making of new urban spaces.

Faith at the crossroads

The best-known prayer camp along the expressway, found 46km from Lagos, is Redemption City. It’s the headquarters of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Founded in 1983, this 3,500-hectare camp was the first to be established along the highway and continues to be the largest of its kind.

It has a resident population of about 250,000 and an estimated half a million workers. To serve their needs, Redemption City has developed its own electricity, water and waste-management infrastructure. It has been transformed into a city-like environment in both scale and functionality.

Added to this, a monthly Holy Ghost Service draws hundreds of thousands of worshippers to an all-night programme of prayer, preaching, healing and deliverance.

Redeemed Christian Church of God’s Redemption City. Akintunde Akinleye

Redemption City’s success spurred other religious organisations to establish camps along the expressway. One of them is the Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fathi Society of Nigeria, which opened its camp in 2000. An official told me:

We didn’t want to be left behind by the Pentecostal churches, so we followed their example and bought land along the expressway … We are investing heavily in developing our camp.

Once a month, Muslims travel from Lagos and beyond for asalatu, a mass prayer gathering held on Sunday mornings to coincide with Pentecostal services. Mirroring Pentecostal formats, the event combines praise worship, prayer requests, testimonies and thanksgiving offerings.

Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fathi Society of Nigeria’s Islamic Centre. Akintunde Akinleye

The close proximity of Christian and Muslim camps has encouraged mutual borrowing of spatial forms and religious practices. During my fieldwork in Redemption City, I met a young professional who moved between Pentecostal and Muslim prayer gatherings to “multiply” his chances of success.

Such practices, often described by Lagosians as “religious shopping”, suggest that the city’s religious landscape is shaped less by rigid boundaries than by reciprocal exchange.

Christianity and Islam are not the only forces reshaping the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Near Ibadan stands Guru Maharaj Ji’s 40-hectare ashram – a Hindu term for the place where the pupils of a guru or spiritual leader are taught. Lacking the monumental architecture of the neighbouring Christian and Muslim camps, and distinguished by images of Hindu deities, the camp appears as an unlikely presence within this landscape.

The site centres on a temple where thousands of followers gather weekly to hear teachings that blend African religious traditions, Hinduism and Rastafarianism. Presenting these as complementary paths to spiritual liberation, Guru Maharaj Ji rejects Christianity and Islam as foreign, imperial faiths. Instead, he draws on traditions he sees as closer to Africa’s indigenous spiritual heritage.

Satguru Maharaj Ji’s ashram along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Akintunde Akinleye

The ashram appeals to urban Nigerians looking for a different spiritual path than the Pentecostal megachurches and Muslim mass movements that shape life in Lagos and Ibadan. Followers often describe Christianity and Islam as restrictive. As one told me:

Guru Maharaj Ji teaches us practical exercises for a better life. His knowledge is divine; it’s not book knowledge.

Rethinking the city

The prayer camps illustrate the strong links between urban growth and religious practice. Religion does not simply occupy the spaces along the highway, it’s helped develop them. Through investments in land, infrastructure and municipal services, religious organisations have emerged as powerful agents of making orderly and secure urban spaces.

The religious groups have taken over the role of the state. The withering of the state’s ability to play a meaningful role in urban development stretches back to the 1980s when structural adjustment and neoliberal reforms led to the privatisation of state functions. Religious organisations emerged as influential public actors.

A second factor behind the developments was soaring land prices and limited space in Lagos that pushed fast-growing churches to the city’s outskirts. The forested land along the expressway offered room to grow. It was gradually folded into the expanding urban corridor between Lagos and Ibadan.

Prayer camps challenge stereotypes of African cities as deficient and Nigerian cities as sites of religious conflict. My research shows that they provide viable urban alternatives to Lagos, fostering coexistence and everyday forms of conviviality across religious boundaries.

In the process, they shift attention away from dominant portrayals of African cities as spaces of deprivation and “slums”. Instead, they highlight Lagos and surrounds as a site of creativity, innovation and emerging urban futures.

– Along Nigeria’s ‘spiritual highway’, prayer camps create a new urban future
– https://theconversation.com/along-nigerias-spiritual-highway-prayer-camps-create-a-new-urban-future-289769

August 20, 2026

Film festivals take African cultural heritage around the world – and help keep it alive

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sheila Petty, Professor Emerita of Film Studies, University of Regina

Palgrave Macmillan

African film festivals were once quite rare, but in the past decades they’ve been growing in the continent and mushrooming around the world. A recent open access book explores these events through case studies.

The book’s editor, African cinema scholar Sheila Petty, has also written chapters in it about the role film festivals play in creating a living and lasting conversation about African culture. We asked her five questions.

What generally happens at a film festival?

Since the world’s first international film festival in Venice, Italy, in 1932, film festivals have created spaces for the discovery of new stories and cultures. The main idea is to bring films to local audiences that wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to see them in movie theatres. These festivals can be large or small, annual or a one-off event.

Some film festivals offer premiere screenings and red carpet events. A jury awards prizes for best film, best directing, best acting and the like. This can include audiences voting for the most popular film. Many festivals focus on a single topic or genre (like documentary or fantasy or climate change) and this determines the type of films shown at them.

Najla Ben Abdallah at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Houssem Abida/Wikimedia Commons

Festivals act as community-builders. They are also spaces where lifelong friendships and working relationships can be formed through the love of cinema. They don’t just programme films, they also hold workshops and discussion panels, and often other cultural exhibits of art, music and performance.

Filmmakers and industry professionals might attend them to market and discuss their films, often with the hopes of attracting funding to make their next movie or find distribution deals. Local audiences have the opportunity to chat with film directors and learn about the production process. Emerging talent is often showcased in pitching forums.

How has the film festival grown in Africa?

The oldest film festivals on the continent include:

Other festivals have followed, like the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania, the Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco and Afriff (the African International Film Festival) in Nigeria. Some of these are also partnering with festivals outside the continent.

Fespaco

Two chapters in the book focus on festivals in Africa. One is on the mythology of Fespaco and how this event has remained the continent’s most prestigious meeting place for cinephiles despite ongoing threats of political instability, regional insecurity and financial precarity.

Another chapter focuses on how the Festival Films Femmes Afrique and the StLouis’ Docs in Senegal are innovating how networking can build capacity and boost the circulation of African films.

How does the book cover African film festivals overseas?

I’m interested in what happens to knowledge, cultural expressions and creative forms that arise in Africa and then travel around the globe and adapt to new places.

Chapters in the book focus on North American film festivals whose mandates include providing a meeting place and space of celebration and dialogue between diverse local communities and African cultures in the diaspora.

Vues d’Afrique is North America’s largest and longest-running African film festival. It was established in Montreal in 1984 to introduce African and Creole cinema and culture to Quebec and Canada. One of its goals is to forge links with other African cinema festivals around the world.

Vues d’Afrique

Over the years it has expanded its offerings to include conferences, art exhibitions, film training projects for school kids, and year round screenings. Every July, it hosts free public moonlight screenings in a park that attract thousands.

In 2015, the first edition of the New York Forum of Amazigh Film was established. It celebrates north Africa’s Amazigh history, culture and language through film.

In Mexico, FestAfro (the Festival Artistico Audiovisual Afrodescendencias) was founded in 2021 by a group of researchers, artists, activists and communities. The goal is to celebrate Afro-Mexican identity through a multidisciplinary travelling showcase of arts.

Festivals like these, from Brazil to the UK, are discussed in the book. They highlight the value of film festivals for the exchange of living cultural heritage between communities and societies.

How does cultural exchange happen at festivals?

In the book there’s a fascinating case study. In 2022 and 2023, three different African film festivals in Brazil and Canada chose the same film to screen so that they could compare audience reactions. The film, produced in Kenya a year earlier, was Maïmouna Jallow’s Tales of the Accidental City.

Chief Nyamweya/Inkwiri

Her Nairobi comedy looks at social justice issues through five characters who gather over a Zoom call for a court-ordered anger management class. The filmmaker attended all three festivals and led conversations with very different audiences in Curitiba, Winnipeg and Montreal.

In Brazil, the audience was in laughter and tears. The injustices shown in the film resonated with the experiences of members of local Black and Indigenous communities present. Winnipeg’s audience had a large presence of Kenyan migrants, who laughed harder at certain comedy scenes than other audience members. They related their lived experiences back home to those of the film’s characters. Many viewers in Montreal couldn’t recall when they had laughed so hard at a screening at the festival. With many women present, the conversation also focused on the vital role of African women in shaping their own, authentic stories on screen.

The experiment showed how inter-cultural conversation can be sparked by a film and how it is programmed at a festival, creating a space of sharing and learning about a diverse world.

This book presents cultural heritage, exhibited through film festivals, as a shared human and transglobal concern that must move across borders and be passed on to future generations.

When cultures are forgotten, humanity loses access to perspectives and worldviews that could help address life’s challenges. A broad, diverse understanding of history and culture helps us see where we are and how we arrived here.

– Film festivals take African cultural heritage around the world – and help keep it alive
– https://theconversation.com/film-festivals-take-african-cultural-heritage-around-the-world-and-help-keep-it-alive-286698

August 20, 2026

Líderes financeiros e jurídicos vão impulsionar a agenda de investimento energético de África na African Energy Week (AEW) 2026

Source: Africa Press Organisation – Portuguese –

Baixar .tipo

À medida que África intensifica o desenvolvimento a montante, a expansão industrial e o comércio transfronteiriço de energia, o acesso ao financiamento ao desenvolvimento e a consultoria jurídica especializada tornou-se indispensável para transformar os compromissos de investimento em projetos operacionais. Refletindo esta mudança, a African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 — que decorrerá na Cidade do Cabo, de 12 a 16 de outubro — contará com a presença de representantes de alto nível da Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) da África do Sul e da sociedade pan-africana de serviços jurídicos e de consultoria CLG no painel de oradores deste ano.

A participação destas conceituadas empresas na AEW 2026 proporcionará aos delegados perspetivas valiosas sobre os quadros financeiros, jurídicos e institucionais necessários para acelerar o investimento e apoiar o crescimento industrial a longo prazo em todo o continente.

A IDC junta-se à conferência na sequência de um dos seus anúncios mais significativos de 2026. No final de julho, a instituição financeira de desenvolvimento estatal assinou um acordo-quadro conjunto com o Afreximbank, com o objetivo de angariar 8 mil milhões de dólares em financiamento para reforçar a base industrial da África do Sul, expandir a capacidade de produção e apoiar o desenvolvimento de infraestruturas no âmbito da Zona de Comércio Livre Continental Africana. A iniciativa reforça o papel crescente da instituição na mobilização de capital em grande escala para a industrialização, criando simultaneamente novas oportunidades para projetos nos setores da energia, da mineração e das infraestruturas estratégicas.

No âmbito do seu plano estratégico para 2026/27, a IDC comprometeu-se também a investir 38,5 mil milhões de rands no desenvolvimento industrial, incluindo financiamento específico para industriais locais e empresas detidas por mulheres e jovens. Estas iniciativas sublinham o mandato cada vez mais alargado da organização, tanto como financiadora do desenvolvimento como catalisadora industrial.

Neste contexto, a Diretora Executiva Interina da Divisão de Mineração, Metais, Infraestruturas e Energia, Nina Yose, traz uma vasta experiência para o evento deste ano. Na AEW 2026, espera-se que ela ofereça uma visão valiosa sobre como as instituições de financiamento ao desenvolvimento podem desbloquear investimento, reforçar capacidades e apoiar a próxima geração de projetos africanos de energia e infraestruturas.

Complementando a perspetiva de financiamento, a CLG chega à AEW 2026 como uma das principais sociedades de consultoria jurídica e empresarial de África. No início deste mês, a equipa da CLG na África Central prestou aconselhamento sobre o sistema de faturação eletrónica certificada da República do Congo, ajudando as empresas a orientarem-se face aos novos requisitos de conformidade que afetam as operações comerciais em toda a região.

Representando a empresa na AEW 2026, o Diretor do Escritório da Nigéria e Conselheiro Jurídico Geral do Grupo, Adeleke Alao, traz uma vasta experiência em financiamento de projetos, transações transfronteiriças e regulamentação energética. Juntamente com ele, a Diretora de Assuntos Fiscais e Jurídicos para a África Central, Grace Yella, oferece um profundo conhecimento em matéria fiscal, estruturação empresarial e conformidade regulamentar em toda a região da CEMAC. Juntos, estão posicionados para proporcionar aos delegados perspetivas práticas sobre a gestão do risco jurídico, a facilitação do investimento e a criação de segurança regulatória para o setor energético africano em evolução.

«Mobilizar investimento requer mais do que apenas capital», afirma NJ Ayuk, presidente executivo da Câmara Africana de Energia. «Instituições financeiras de desenvolvimento sólidas e conhecimentos jurídicos de nível mundial são essenciais para concretizar projetos, reforçar a confiança dos investidores e garantir que África obtenha maior valor dos seus recursos naturais.»

A participação destas instituições financeiras e jurídicas reflete a natureza interligada do setor energético africano, onde o sucesso do investimento depende da combinação de capital, boa governação e segurança regulamentar. À medida que os governos e os investidores procuram a próxima vaga de desenvolvimentos no continente nas áreas do petróleo, gás, mineração e infraestruturas, a AEW 2026 proporcionará uma plataforma vital para moldar os quadros financeiros e jurídicos necessários para transformar oportunidades em crescimento económico a longo prazo.

Distribuído pelo Grupo APO para African Energy Chamber.

August 20, 2026

Kenya: This morning, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Basic Education, John Ololtuaa, together with Petroleum Principal Secretary, Kello Harsama , held discussions on Kenya’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)-for-Schools strategy, a key initiative supporting the transition

Source: APO

This morning, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Basic Education, John Ololtuaa, together with Petroleum Principal Secretary, Kello Harsama , held discussions on Kenya’s LPG-for-Schools strategy, a key initiative supporting the transition of public boarding schools from firewood, charcoal and other biomass fuels to clean, safe and sustainable cooking solutions.

The discussions focused on the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Coordination Framework for the Institutional Clean Cooking Programme.

The initiative will contribute to healthier learning environments, improved safety and greater environmental sustainability, while advancing Kenya’s clean cooking agenda and the National LPG Growth Strategy.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Education, Kenya.

Media files

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August 20, 2026

South Africa: Provincial Week – National Council of Provinces (NCOP) North West (NW) Delegation Calls for Urgent Intervention as North West Service Failures Persist

Source: APO

The North West’s permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) have raised serious concerns about the pace, quality and reliability of service delivery improvements in the province since the previous oversight visit.

Although provincial departments and municipalities have reported various interventions, the delegation remains concerned that progress has not been sufficiently consistent, visible or impactful to meaningfully improve the lived realities of affected communities.

The delegation, which is conducting a week-long report-back oversight visit to the province as part of the NCOP’s Provincial Week programme, met with the Office of the Premier, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and various provincial government departments in Mahikeng yesterday.

The delegation’s concerns are particularly acute in communities that continue to experience failures in the provision of basic services, including reliable water, sanitation, safe roads and other essential services, as well as challenges relating to access to medication. These are not merely administrative inconveniences. They directly affect the dignity, health, education, economic activity and safety of households and communities.

The delegation therefore emphasises that remedial commitments must be supported by credible implementation plans, clear timeframes, designated responsible officials, funding certainty and regular, transparent public reporting.

The delegation noted with concern that some communities have reportedly been without a dependable water supply since 2015. Access to sufficient water is recognised within South Africa’s constitutional framework as a fundamental right, and organs of state are required to take reasonable measures, within available resources, to progressively realise that right. A prolonged failure to provide communities with dependable access to water cannot be normalised or allowed to continue without urgent escalation and accountability.

The NCOP delegation further noted that several of the challenges identified during the oversight visit appear to be systemic and intergovernmental in nature. In particular, water services, wastewater infrastructure, municipal capacity, procurement delays, infrastructure maintenance and the credibility of recovery plans require coordinated intervention across the municipal, provincial and national spheres of government.

Where local responses remain inadequate, the delegation will ensure that these matters are referred to the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs for further consideration and follow-up.

The delegation further emphasises that oversight cannot end with presentations, promises or revised project timelines. Communities are entitled to practical improvements that they can see and rely upon. Officials and implementing agents must therefore provide measurable commitments, including specific dates for restoring water supplies, repairing or completing infrastructure, securing sites that pose public-safety risks, resolving funding gaps and reporting honestly on obstacles that require intervention from another sphere of government.

For the NCOP delegation, the central question is whether government is responding with the seriousness required by the conditions observed in affected communities. Where people have waited years for basic services such as water, further delays erode public trust and deepen hardship.

The delegation will therefore continue to use its oversight role to press for timely action, transparent reporting and effective cooperation between all responsible authorities.

The delegation calls on the relevant municipalities, provincial departments and national departments to treat these matters with the urgency they deserve. The people of the North West are entitled to services that are reliable, lawful and responsive to their needs. The delegation will closely monitor progress and support the escalation of unresolved matters to the appropriate parliamentary structures to ensure that long-standing service delivery failures are addressed with the urgency, coordination and accountability they demand.

Site Visits:

During its site visits on Tuesday, the delegation noted that the provincial Department of Human Settlements has appointed a contractor to complete the Tshunyane Human Settlements project, which has been stalled for more than 10 years.

The delegation welcomed the appointment of the contractor and the commitment that the project will be completed by the end of November. While there is evidence of progress, including the commencement of construction and a slab already in place, the delegation urged the department to implement effective monitoring to ensure that the project is completed within the stated timeframe and that beneficiaries are finally able to occupy their long-awaited homes.

“While there is progress and the contractor has started with a slab in place, we urge the department to ensure that effective monitoring is implemented to ensure that the people occupy their long-awaited houses,” said Ms Sylvia Sithole, the Provincial Whip and delegation leader.

The delegation also visited Mahikeng Airport and expressed concern that efforts to make the airport fully functional remain a work in progress, with little tangible progress visible on the ground.

The delegation called for urgent action to ensure that the airport becomes operational and contributes to unlocking the socio-economic potential of the province. It remains a serious concern that the North West continues to experience extremely high levels of unemployment despite the province’s substantial mineral, cultural and environmental assets, which have the potential to contribute significantly to economic growth and job creation.

The delegation also visited the Rooigrond Wastewater Treatment Works in Mahikeng and expressed concern that the project remains stalled, while costing and project milestones are still outstanding.

The delegation believes that the finalisation of project costs and milestones should not take such an extended period. Continued delays risk further degradation of the existing facility and could ultimately result in significantly higher costs to government.

The delegation has therefore requested an urgent implementation plan setting out clear costs, milestones, responsibilities and timeframes for the completion of the project. The delegation will also forward the matter to the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to ensure that progress is subjected to continued parliamentary monitoring.

The NCOP delegation remains committed to ensuring that oversight translates into tangible improvements in the lives of communities. Long-standing service delivery failures require more than assurances; they require decisive action, measurable progress and accountability.

The delegation will today visit sites in the Bojanala Local Municipality.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

August 20, 2026

Angola’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG’s) Paulino Jerónimo Joins Angola Oil and Gas (AOG) 2026 as Angola Advances its 2025-2050 Hydrocarbon Strategy

Source: APO

Angola’s National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) has spent the past six years reshaping the country’s upstream sector through regulatory reform, fiscal incentives and a multi-year licensing strategy designed to reverse a prolonged decline in oil production. The regulator is now looking at the next 25 years through the development of a 2025-2050 Hydrocarbon Strategy aimed at sustaining output, incentivizing exploration and maximizing output from legacy fields.

As the regulator advances the strategy, ANPG Chairman Paulino Jerónimo is confirmed to speak at the Angola Oil and Gas (AOG) 2026 Conference and Exhibition, taking place in Luanda from September 9-10 with a pre-conference day scheduled for September 8. Jerónimo’s participation reflects the regulator’s commitment to engaging operators and investors and is expected to support discussions around the future of Angola’s hydrocarbon development.

Released for public comment in July 2026, the 2025-2050 Hydrocarbon Strategy represents a long-term plan to sustain and grow production from a base that has fallen from a peak of roughly 1.87 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2008 to approximately 1.1 million bpd. The framework follows a 2019-2025 strategy which saw 40 concessions awarded through a multi-year licensing strategy and the mobilization of an upstream investment pipeline estimated at $70 billion.

The reform agenda behind that pipeline is well documented, from the establishment of the ANPG as a dedicated upstream regulator in 2019 to the introduction of an Incremental Production Decree, Gas Monetization Law and Marginal Field Law. The agency is now focused on its forward agenda, preparing its next licensing round with blocks available across the Kwanza, Benguela and Namibe basins.

It is also overseeing the rollout of the Gas Master Plan, which provides the framework for monetizing Angola’s non-associated gas reserves, and working to raise local content participation from approximately 12% to a target of 20% by 2027. The fiscal regime has been adjusted in parallel, with lower tax and royalty rates on mature assets and more generous cost recovery terms designed to keep reinvestment flowing into aging fields.

The results are visible across Angola’s offshore basins. The TotalEnergies-operated Begonia and CLOV Phase 3 projects both came on stream in 2025, adding a combined 60,000 bpd to national output. Azule Energy’s Agogo FPSO started production the same year. TotalEnergies is also advancing the $6 billion Kaminho project, the first large deepwater development in the Kwanza Basin, while Shell has returned to Angola through Blocks 19, 34 and 35. On the gas side, production began in March 2026 at the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields under the New Gas Consortium, marking Angola’s entry into non-associated gas production. The milestone followed Azule Energy’s dedicated gas discovery at Block 1/14, laying the foundation for future development.

As the ANPG looks to maintain this development momentum, AOG 2026 will provide a platform for the regulator to engage directly with international operators, investors and service providers as the country advances its next phase of upstream development. Discussions at the event are expected to focus on the implementation of the 2025-2050 Hydrocarbon Strategy, the upcoming licensing round, frontier exploration opportunities, gas monetization and policies designed to sustain production beyond 2050.

By bringing together government leaders and industry decision-makers, the conference will support continued investment and collaboration as Angola builds on the momentum created by its recent upstream reforms.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

August 20, 2026

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Strengthens the Harmonization of Migration Data and Macroeconomic Convergence in West Africa

Source: APO

The ECOWAS Commission’s Directorate of Research and Statistics is organizing two regional workshops in Abidjan from August 18th to 22nd, 2026, dedicated to strengthening the production, quality, and harmonization of statistical data within the ECOWAS region. These activities are part of the regional priorities for modernizing statistical systems and fall within the framework of the PHASAOC project, which aims, in particular, to improve statistical performance, access to data, and their use in member states.

The first workshop, focused on migration statistics, will host the 6th Regional Coordination Meeting on improving the availability, quality, and comparability of national data related to regional migration indicators. The proceedings will, in particular, provide an opportunity to review and validate the third edition of the Regional Report on International Migration in West Africa, as well as to promote the dissemination of disaggregated statistics, in accordance with the guidelines of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.

The second workshop focuses on capacity building for members of the National Coordination Committees and National Economic Policy Committees (CNC/CNPE) with a view to operationalizing the Common Regional Frameworks for the Compilation and Publication of Macroeconomic Statistics. This activity will help strengthen multilateral surveillance and support the implementation of the ECOWAS Pact on Macroeconomic Convergence and Stability. Participants will also review the updating and populating of the ECOMAC and ECOBASE databases, as well as the processing and harmonization of national statistics covering the period 2000–2025, to ensure their comparability and reliability.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Hien Sansan, President of the National Economic Policy Committee of Côte d’Ivoire, Mr. Touré Brahima, representing Mr. Thiékoro Doumbia, Director General of the National Statistics Agency of Côte d’Ivoire; Professor Félix N’Zué, Director of Research and Statistics at the ECOWAS Commission; as well as the ECOWAS National Focal Points, members of the Technical Working Group on Migration Data, representatives of the ECOWAS Commission’s technical departments, as well as experts from AFRISTAT, AFRITAC-West, AMAO, IMAO, and the UEMOA Commission.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Hien Sansan, speaking on behalf of Mr. Adama Coulibaly, Minister of Economy, Finance, and Budget of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, welcomed the various experts present in Côte d’Ivoire, He then emphasized the importance of this meeting, which will promote the adoption and effective implementation of regional frameworks for the compilation and publication of macroeconomic statistics necessary for multilateral surveillance.

Prof. Félix N’Zué, Director of Research and Statistics at the ECOWAS Commission, in turn took the floor on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, and the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dr. Kalilou Sylla, to welcome the participants to these two workshops, which are part of the ambitions of ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the ECOWAS Statistical Policy, adopted by the Heads of State and Government, which recognizes statistics as a regional public good essential for planning, monitoring public policies, and assessing progress toward regional integration.

“Without harmonized, comparable, and regularly produced statistics, it would be difficult to objectively assess the progress of our member states, guide economic and social policies, and measure the concrete effects of our regional programs. Statistics are no longer just numbers. Today, they constitute a strategic tool for governance, transparency, and foresight,” he stated

In the same vein, Mr. Touré Brahima, representing Mr. Thiékoro Doumbia, Director General of the National Statistics Agency of Côte d’Ivoire, also commended the ECOWAS Commission, which, through its Directorate of Research and Statistics, is stepping up initiatives to promote better production and use of statistics in the region.

By organizing these two workshops, the ECOWAS Commission reaffirms its commitment to promoting reliable, harmonized, and accessible statistical data, which are essential for developing evidence-based public policies and strengthening regional integration.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

August 20, 2026

South Africa: Public Works Chairperson Celebrates Winners of Women in Construction at the 2026 ERWIC Awards

Source: APO

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, Ms Carol Phiri, has congratulated the winners of the Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction (ERWIC) Awards, held in Johannesburg on 18 August 2026.

The annual awards, hosted by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), recognise and celebrate female contractors and built-environment professionals in what remains a largely male-dominated industry. Ms Phiri said the seventh edition of the ERWIC Awards demonstrate that recognising and supporting women in construction must be more than a once-off campaign.

“We congratulate all the women who have been recognised tonight. Your achievements show that women have the skills, determination and ability to succeed in the construction industry. We must ensure that these opportunities are not limited to a few, but that more women are supported to enter the industry, grow their businesses and compete for major projects.”

Ms Phiri noted that while women make up more than 51% of the national population, they account for roughly 10 to 11 percent of the approximately 1.259 million workers in the South African construction sector.

Furthermore, Ms Phiri raised as a concern that women-owned businesses remain concentrated in the lower CIDB registration grades, particularly Grades 1 to 4, while higher-value commercial and civil construction work in Grades 7 to 9 remains largely male-dominated.

“We must change this empowerment pattern by giving women real opportunities to move up the value chain, access bigger projects and build sustainable businesses. The construction industry cannot transform while women remain concentrated at the lower end of the sector,” Ms Phiri said.

The winners of the 16 categories at the 2026 ERWIC Awards:

Project Delivery Excellence of the Year – Women-owned Construction Entity:

Grade 1: Galo Maarohanye from GVM Civils for the Renovations to Kgodisong Flea Market
Grade 2–4: Shai Tshiskule from Livhone Advisory Pty Ltd for the Design and Construction of Warehouse Extension and Mezzanine Office for ZF Lemförder South Africa Pty Ltd
Grade 5–6: Johanna Mokoenene from Lebohile Construction for the Naledi Development: Construction of 26 Housing Units
Grade 7–9: Thoko Tshabalala-Shandu from VEA Road Maintenance & Civils for the Emergency Reconstruction of Evaton Municipal Access Road

Rural Project of the Year: Matlakala Radebe from Qualicon Construction for the Borwa Primary Healthcare Clinic Design and Construction
Interior Design and Build Project of the Year: Rene Bengu from Rene Forbay Designs for TLS Centurion Design and Project Management
Specialised Project of the Year: Mpho Bantsijang from Loago Electrical and Construction Pty Ltd for the Supply, Delivery and Construction of 2,5 km Long Diamond Mesh Security Fencing At Nongo’s Joint Project
Mentoring Entity of the Year: Sanele Ndlovu for the Magnacorp Project Managers for Learnerships, Skills Programmes, Workplace Learning Initiatives and Project-based Opportunities
Transformation Entity of the Year: Protilagor Laboratory and Construction for Female Participation in Technical, Managerial and Leadership Roles
Innovative Entity of the Year: Sonto Cheryl Sikhakhane from Zimisele Afrika Consulting for the Langalibomvu High School
Youth-owned Woman Construction Entity of the Year: Ayanda Phumo from Ayanda Phumo Consulting
Woman-owned Construction Entity of the Year: Noko Ramasenya from Noleo Projects Pty Ltd
Woman Mentor of the Year: Thato Mapuleng Elsie Mokhothu from RTT Africa Legacy/Thato M Foundation
Women with Disability Contractor of the Year: Katlego Charlotte Pfupa from Crystal Construction
Exceptional Woman in Construction Contributor of the Year: Tshidi Mndzebele from Avenir Holdings
Academic Excellence in the Construction and Built Environment Sector: Xolile Nokulunga Mashwama from the Walter Sisulu University
Chairman’s Award: Tshidi Mndzebele from AvenirHoldings

Ms Phiri called for greater recognition of the women who are actively shaping South Africa’s physical and economic landscape. She said the committee would continue to support efforts to remove barriers that limit women’s meaningful participation in the construction and built environment.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

August 20, 2026

Economic growth must translate into better lives for South Africans

Source: Government of South Africa

Economic growth must translate into better lives for South Africans

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the success of the Government-Business Partnership will ultimately be measured by whether economic growth translates into jobs, rising incomes and improved living conditions for South African households.

Speaking at the launch of Phase Three of the Government-Business Partnership in Johannesburg on Thursday, the President said the partnership must now move beyond stabilising the economy and implementing reforms towards delivering sustained and inclusive growth.

“It must be about ensuring that economic recovery is felt not only in improved balance sheets, stronger markets and favourable economic indicators, but in the lives of the South African people,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President said South Africans could not be expected to live on the promise of future economic growth, stressing that the impact of the country’s economic recovery must be experienced in the present.

“Above all, we must act with urgency. South Africans cannot live on the promise of future growth. They need to experience progress in the present.

“They are looking to us to demonstrate that partnership can produce results, that reform can improve lives and that growth can restore hope,” he said.

President Ramaphosa said Phase Three must convert the progress achieved through the partnership into investment, productive economic activity and jobs.

“Confidence must lead to investment. Investment must lead to production. Production must lead to jobs. And jobs must lead to better lives,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President said the immediate objective was to lift economic growth above 3%, while cautioning that this should not be regarded as the ultimate ambition.

“But growth of 3% cannot be the summit of our ambition. It is a necessary threshold from which we must advance towards higher, sustained and more inclusive growth,” he said.

He said the composition of economic growth was as important as its rate, with the partnership needing to prioritise sectors and businesses capable of creating employment at scale.

“We need growth that is labour-intensive. We need growth that expands our industrial capacity.

“We need growth that supports small and medium enterprises, black industrialists, women-owned businesses and businesses owned by young people. We need growth that reaches rural communities, townships and smaller towns,” the President said.

From crisis management to growth

The Government-Business Partnership was established in 2023, when government and business came together to address some of the most pressing constraints on South Africa’s economic growth, including the energy crisis, deteriorating freight logistics and crime and corruption.

The partnership brought together government and business expertise and resources to support reforms and restore confidence in the economy.

More than 130 Chief Executive Officers and companies have participated in the partnership through business organisations including Business Unity South Africa, Business for South Africa and Business Leadership South Africa.

Phase One focused on stabilisation, particularly in energy, logistics, and the fight against crime and corruption. Phase Two expanded the focus to implementing reforms and improving the operating environment, with youth employment subsequently added as a priority.

President Ramaphosa said the partnership had demonstrated what could be achieved when government and business combine their respective capabilities around clearly defined national objectives.

“We have learned through this partnership that when we agree on the problem, establish clear priorities, mobilise the necessary expertise and hold each other accountable, we can make meaningful progress,” he said.

President Ramaphosa pointed to the more than a year without load shedding, improved power station performance, progress in freight logistics, the opening of rail infrastructure to private operators and South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list as examples of progress achieved during the earlier phases.

However, the President cautioned that these gains should not be mistaken for the completion of the reform agenda.

“We cannot declare victory while critical reforms remain incomplete,” he said.

Phase Three targets investment and jobs

Under Phase Three, the partnership’s central framework is Inclusive Growth, Jobs and Confidence, with a greater emphasis on turning improved investor sentiment and economic reforms into tangible economic activity.

The President said government had set a new ambition to mobilise R3 trillion in investment, while structural reforms were being accelerated through Operation Vulindlela in electricity, freight logistics, water, telecommunications and the visa system.

Phase Three will also expand the partnership’s sectoral focus to tourism, agriculture and agro-processing, and mining.

“These sectors have been selected because they have significant potential to attract investment, earn foreign revenue, strengthen localisation and create employment at scale,” President Ramaphosa said.

He identified tourism as a major source of employment across accommodation, transport, food services, entertainment, retail and the creative industries, while agriculture and agro-processing could strengthen food security and create jobs across the country.

Mining, meanwhile, remained a foundation of the economy and presented opportunities linked to growing global demand for critical minerals as countries transition to cleaner energy.

The President said the partnership must ensure that economic opportunities extend beyond established economic centres.

“We must ensure that the benefits of tourism extend beyond the established destinations to our villages, townships, small towns, heritage sites and national parks,” he said.

‘The true measure of reform’

President Ramaphosa said the ultimate test of the partnership would not be the number of reforms implemented or improvements recorded in economic indicators, but the difference those reforms make to ordinary people.

“The true measure of reform is not the number of policies we announce. It is the change that reform produces in people’s lives,” the President said.

He said the partnership had to respond to the realities faced by unemployed young people, small businesses, farmers, workers and communities.

“For a young person who has never held a job, progress must mean an opportunity to work. For a small business struggling to survive, reform must mean reliable electricity, efficient municipal services and access to finance and markets.

“For a farmer, progress must mean water security, functioning roads and railways, effective biosecurity and access to domestic and international markets.

“For workers and communities, growth must mean rising incomes, greater security and a fair share in the country’s prosperity,” the President said.

President Ramaphosa said business also had a responsibility to respond to improved confidence by investing, expanding production, developing local suppliers and creating jobs.

“Government, for its part, must provide policy certainty, efficient regulation, capable institutions and reliable public infrastructure.”

He said the partnership must continue to operate within the law and in the public interest, with no special favours or privileged access.

“The credibility of this partnership depends not only on what it delivers, but on how it delivers.”

President Ramaphosa said the next phase must therefore be characterised by urgency, disciplined execution, measurable targets and accountability.

“We have shown that we can stabilise. We have shown that we can reform. We must now show that we can grow.

“Let us make Phase Three the phase in which confidence becomes investment, investment becomes jobs and growth becomes shared prosperity,” he said.

The Presidency previously said Phase Three would focus on converting renewed confidence in South Africa’s economic trajectory into sustained economic growth and meaningful job opportunities, while retaining the focus on crime and corruption, youth employment and outstanding energy, transport and logistics reforms. – SAnews.gov.za

DikelediM
Thu, 08/20/2026 – 15:23