The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Xola Nqola, welcomed the sentence of long-term imprisonment for the man who was found guilty of murdering ANCYL secretary-general Mr Sindiso Magaqa, a former ANC Youth League Secretary-General and dedicated public servant.
Mr Nqola said the conviction and the 25-year sentence mark a significant moment for the rule of law in South Africa and reinforces our collective belief that justice must be served — regardless of time, influence or status.
Mr Ncengwa admitted that he was one of a group of men who were paid R120 000 to kill Mr Magaqa in 2017. Mr Ncengwa also implicated in the crime former city manager of the Umzimkhulu municipality Mr Zweliphansi Skhosana; the ex-mayor, Mr Mluleki Ndobe, who has since passed on, and former journalist and eThekwini municipality communications manager Mr Mdu Ncalane.
Mr Magaqa was a passionate advocate for youth empowerment and integrity in public service. His untimely death was not only a loss to his family and community but to the nation.
Mr Nqola said the committee commends the investigative and prosecutorial teams for their persistence in pursuing this complex case and hopes that this outcome brings some measure of closure to Mr Magaqa’s loved ones.
“We urge continued support for law enforcement and the judiciary in their efforts to address politically motivated crimes and protect all who serve the public. South Africa’s democracy depends on the assurance that no one is above the law,” Mr Nqola said.
– on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) today issued its findings on Afghanistan, Botswana, Chad, Fiji, Ireland, Mexico, San Marino, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Tuvalu, after reviewing these States parties.
The findings contain positive aspects of each country’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations. Some of the key issues include:
On Afghanistan, the Committee expressed profound concern at the institutionalized torture and ill-treatment of women, particularly on accusations of adultery, and the continued exclusion of girls from formal education. The Committee heard that some 78% of young women are now out of education, employment, or training, leading to increased child marriage, labour exploitation and poverty. It urged the de facto authorities to revoke the March 2024 decree allowing for women to be beaten or sentenced to death by stoning, abolish all corporal punishment and lift all education bans.
On Botswana, the Committee was concerned about continued discriminatory sociocultural norms which reinforce male dominance and gender-based violence against women and girls. It recommended expanding dialogue between the government and traditional, religious, and private sector leaders on a national strategy to promote gender equality and eliminate patriarchal attitudes, and to criminalize sexual violence as well as improve support services for survivors.
On Chad, the Committee noted that the country registered 1.8 million displaced or stateless people and 1.2 million as refugees in 2024 alone and commends its adoption of an asylum law granting equal rights to education, healthcare and social protection to refugees as to Chadian citizens. However, the Committee expressed concern that in practice. these groups have limited access to basic services and face intersecting forms of discrimination. It called on the authorities to address them.
On Fiji, the Committee welcomed the adoption of laws and policies against gender-based violence but noted with concern its high prevalence and the continued judicial practice of referring to survivors’ prior sexual history during rape trials. It also expressed concern that Fijian women remain underrepresented in decision-making positions, urging among others the introduction of targeted measures to increase their representation.
On Ireland, the Committee noted with regret that a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine gender-neutral language about care within families was defeated in a referendum last year, and recommended that the State party, among other steps, undertake inclusive public consultations to find alternative wording, with a view to holding another referendum on the matter, so as to eliminate from the constitution stereotypical language on the role of women in the home.
On Mexico, the Committee hailed the elevation of the National Institute for Women to a ministerial-level secretariat. It also expressed concern that the madres buscadoras (searching mothers) are still subjected violence and discrimination. It recommended effective and sustainable investment in women’s rights and gender equality programmes, and formal recognition of the “buscadoras” as a special category of human rights defenders.
On San Marino, the Committee noted with concern that judges, lawyers, and the general public, including women, have limited awareness of the Convention and urged the authorities to take measures to make it widely known. It also noted with concern the lack of disaggregated data in key areas, including gender-based violence against women, and urged the State party to address the gap in gender data collection.
On the Solomon Islands, the Committee acknowledged progress made in implementing the affirmative action strategy but noted with concern that comprehensive temporary special measures to accelerate substantive equality of women and men have yet to be adopted. The Committee State urged the government to take all necessary measures to eradicate intra-family sexual abuse against women and girls and repeal the criminalization of victims of incest over the age of 15.
On Thailand, the Committee expressed concern that women and girls continue to be subjected to online gender-based violence, and called on the authorities to investigate and prosecute any such acts, to adopt policies to combat increasing misogyny online and offline and to exercise due diligence in creating a culture of respect for women and promote gender equality in the private sector, particularly in the innovation economy.
On Tuvalu, the Committee acknowledged the existential threat posed by climate change to Tuvalu’s people, territory and culture, and its disproportionate impact on women and girls. It urged the State party to take measures to prioritize constitutional protections for women and girls over traditional norms and customs.
The above findings, officially named Concluding Observations, are now available online on the session page.
– on behalf of United Nations: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Just as birthdays are traditionally marked with celebration and some reflection, South Africa’s Constitutional Court recently blew out the candles in celebration of its 30th birthday, having continued to make a positive impact on society.
Few of us can envision a democratic South Africa minus the apex court that was birthed by our country’s world-famous Constitution.
In the most basic form of our understanding of the court, most of us have come to associate the court with the human rights contained in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. That loose definition is not too far off the bat. As the highest court in the land on constitutional matters, it deals exclusively with matters that raise questions about the application or interpretation of the Constitution.
Given our painful history where torture and the real threat of death were the order of the day for the majority, South Africans care a lot about their human rights and that of others.
The court is an integral part of South African life, traversing even to the core of matters of life and death. In its S v Makwanyane (1995) landmark case on the constitutionality of the death penalty, which was a feature of the apartheid regime, the court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional as it violated the right to life as enshrined in Section 11 of the Bill of Rights.
That seminal ruling was proof that the law which was previously used to oppress non-whites in the apartheid era, could and did work in favour of South Africa’s people in all their diversity.
It was a needed and powerful ruling that spoke to the sacredness of life.
While that ruling of the court was made many years ago, its impact and effectiveness has continued to echo through the various stages democratic South Africa has gone through. Even when citizens and political formations, among others, called for a referendum to bring back the death penalty, government though the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services responded by stating that the Constitution strives “to eradicate the injustices of the past, to protect us from our own whims and to advance the rule of law and to guarantee equality before the law.”
Section 74 of the Constitution states that the founding provisions in section 1 of the Constitution may only be amended by a bill passed by the National Assembly with a supporting vote of at least 75% of its members and a supporting vote of at least 6 provinces in the National Council of Provinces. Government said that any decision of the return or otherwise of the death penalty could not be legally done via a referendum.
And while one may say that the public outcry expressed by society back in 2019 over not only the brutal murder of student Uyinene Mrwetyana, but the overall levels of violent crimes committed against women and children necessitated the referendum, the supreme nature of the Constitution as the law of the republic has remained.
This is seen in how government responded to the matter while also highlighting that conduct that is inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid and that obligations imposed by it must be fulfilled.
This was also evidenced by the August v Electoral Commission (1999) case which sought to confirm the right of prisoners to vote and subsequently, since 1999 the Electoral Commission and the Department of Correctional Services has worked to provide voter registration and voting opportunities for inmates in line with the Constitutional right extended to prisoners to vote.
These judgements and others that followed, including the Government of the RSA v Grootboom (2000) case on the right to housing, which President Cyril Ramaphosa referred to at a ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of the court, show that the work of the court does not favour one particular sect of society, but champions the validity and integrity of the Constitution instead.
These judgements have not only educated the public on the Constitution but have also strengthened the country’s law-making capabilities while also strengthening South Africa’s democracy.
As we reflect on the body of work that the Concourt has produced over the years, what remains is that while the faces of government administrations have changed, the court and indeed other courts around the country have and continue to maintain their sacrosanct independence.
And while the court has had to force the hand of government to implement rights contained in the Bill of Rights such as the right to housing in the Grootboom matter in which the applicant Irene Grootboom died without a decent house is something that government must still work on.
In his commentary on the matter, President Ramaphosa said that deepening respect for constitutionalism across all sectors must start with the state and that Grootboom’s death without her dream having been realised, “will forever remain a blight on our democracy.”
And while the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, with the Constitutional Court as the highest court in the land on constitutional matters, our democracy makes provision for the amending of the Constitution where necessary.
Recently, Parliament’s Joint Constitutional Review Committee concluded deliberations on the feasibility of amending the Constitution, following up on legacy submissions inherited from the previous Parliament.
In the sixth Parliament, the submissions were subjected to public hearings with the committee having considered 10 legal opinions.
These opinions provided by the Parliamentary Legal Services, informed the committee’s assessment of various proposals for constitutional amendment.
The actual amendment to the Constitution can only be considered through a resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament.
The court is not merely a building, but a breathing, living element of a present and future South Africa, warts and all. May it continue to live long into the future. –SAnews.gov.za
Neo Semono is the Features Editor atwww.SAnews.gov.za, in the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)
A round of political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar and the Republic of Bulgaria was held in Sofia today.
HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi headed the Qatari side, while HE Bulgarian side was headed by HE Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Angelieva.
The political consultations round dealt with cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and enhance them, in addition to a host of topics of common interest.
HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi met here on Monday with HE Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, Georg Georgiev.
Discussion during the meeting, focused on cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and develop them, in addition to a host of topics of mutual interest.
Mr. Babacar Sedikh Faye has been appointed as the World Bank Group (WBG) Country Manager for Burundi, effective July 1, 2025. His appointment is part of a global initiative by the World Bank Group aimed at unifying and strengthening its representation at the country level. Mr. Faye will be responsible for the operations of all the institutions in Burundi, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
“It is an honor to represent the World Bank Group in Burundi and to continue strengthening our partnership with the country. The World Bank Group’s interventions have seen significant growth and notable impact in recent years. Our goal is to continue this growth, with more efficiency and innovation, to better support the country in its efforts to improve the living conditions of Burundians and reduce inequalities,”said Babacar Sedikh Faye, World Bank Group Country Manager for Burundi.
Mr. Faye arrives at a time when the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) is being prepared with Burundi for the next six years. The new CPF is the strategic framework that allows the WBG to better align its interventions with Burundi’s development priorities. “The CPF is an opportunity for the World Bank Group to better integrate the interventions of all its institutions to support the government in achieving the ambitions defined in its plan titled ‘Vision Burundi: Emerging Country by 2040 and Developed Country by 2060’. The WBG is also convinced that this will require sustained support for the emergence of a dynamic private sector that drives inclusive and sustainable growth,” noted Mr. Faye.
A Senegalese national, Mr. Faye joined the World Bank Group in 2006 as a legal advisor, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has since worked in a dozen countries and held various positions of responsibility within the IFC, which focuses on the private sector in emerging countries. Mr. Faye has notably been the Resident Representative of the IFC in Nepal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.
The IMF and the Cameroonian authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the eighth reviews of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
Cameroon’s economy picked up slightly with real growth estimated at 3.5 percent in 2024, up from 3.2 percent in 2023. Inflation is trending down but remains elevated with an average inflation of 4.5 percent in 2024.
Program performance was mixed. Higher-than-expected current spending led to a slippage on the fiscal deficit target at end 2024, requiring corrective measures. The authorities have made progress on a broad structural agenda. They are encouraged to sustain efforts to restructure SONARA, complete key infrastructure projects, and strengthen the financial sector.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Cemile Sancak, Mission Chief for Cameroon, visited Yaoundé from April 30 to May 8 and held subsequent meetings to discuss progress on reforms and the authorities’ policy priorities in the context of the eighth review of their four-year economic program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangements, and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The ECF/EFF arrangements were approved by the IMF Executive Board for a total amount of SDR 483 million (US$689.5 million) in July 2021 (see press release 21/237). An extension of these arrangements of 12 months was approved in December 2023 to allow more time to implement the policies and reforms, and access was augmented by SDR 110.4 million (US$147.6 million) (see press release 23/469). The 18-month RSF was approved by the Executive Board in January 2024 in the amount of SDR 138 million (US$183.4 million) (see press release 24/30).
At the conclusion of the discussions, Ms. Sancak issued the following statement:
“The IMF and the Cameroonian authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the eighth reviews of the ECF/EFF arrangements, and the third review of the RSF arrangement. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. Completion of the review would enable disbursement under the ECF-EFF arrangements of SDR 55.2 million (US$75.9 million) and disbursement under the RSF arrangement of SDR 51.7 million (US$71.1 million).
“Cameroon’s economy expanded by 3.5 percent in 2024, up from 3.2 percent growth in 2024. Inflation remains in decline with a twelve-month average inflation of 4.5 percent in 2024, down from 7.5 percent in 2023.
“The 2024 fiscal outturn was weaker than expected with a non-oil primary deficit of 2.4 percent of GDP, exceeding the target of 2 percent of GDP. An overrun on current expenditures led to an accumulation of new payment arrears and reduced space for pro-growth investment expenditure. The authorities will revise the 2025 budget to take into consideration the 2024 outturn and announce supporting measures to address the source of the fiscal slippage and assure a net reduction of payment arrears over 2025.
“The economic outlook remains favorable assuming fiscal discipline over the coming electoral period and continued reform implementation. Nevertheless, downside risks have increased, notably with heightened global economic uncertainty. The growth forecast for 2025 has been marked down slightly to 3.8 percent amidst weakening global demand and tighter financing conditions. With the implementation of corrective measures, the authorities expect to resume fiscal consolidation and target a non-oil primary deficit of 1.4 percent in 2025. Over the medium-term, economic growth is forecast to reach 4.5 percent and inflation to slow gradually toward the regional convergence criterion of 3 percent.
“The authorities have made progress on a broad structural reform agenda. Over the course of their Fund-supported program, some 40 structural benchmarks will have been implemented, aligning with the objectives set out under the national development strategy (SND30). Going forward, it will be important to advance the restructuring of SONARA, sustain efforts to complete key infrastructure projects, and strengthen the financial sector by addressing persistent weaknesses and fully implementing the national financial inclusion strategy and the financial sector development strategy.
“Under the RSF, Cameroon has made substantial progress on its climate policy framework and enhanced readiness for climate adaptation and mitigation. The authorities have implemented most of the remaining four reform measures: the establishment of climate guidelines for evaluating investment projects, adoption of a national climate plan, and elaboration of a national strategy for disaster risk financing.
“The IMF team met with the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, the Minister of State, Secretary General of the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, and other senior officials. The mission also met with representatives of development partners, the private sector, and civil society. The team wishes to thank the Cameroonian authorities for their excellent cooperation and for the open and constructive dialogue.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Murray Auchincloss, CEO of global energy company bp, has joined the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference as a keynote speaker. His participation comes as bp – through its joint venture Azule Energy – advances a series of large-scale oil and gas developments in Angola, covering strategic investments from upstream exploration to oil production to non-associated gas development. Auchincloss’ participation at the event reflects bp’s broader commitment to Angola and is expected to unlock new opportunities for collaboration across the sector.
With a long history in Angola, bp has played an instrumental role in unlocking significant value from the country’s oil and gas resources. Initial forays by the energy major in the 1990s included the acquisition of four deepwater blocks, with a further five deep and ultra-deepwater blocks across the Kwanza and Benguela basins acquired in 2011. These investments marked the start of a decades-long commitment to Angola, with the energy major contributing significantly to the country’s oil production. Many of these blocks continue to account for a significant share of the country’s production portfolio, including Block 18 and 31 in the Lower Congo basin and Blocks 19 and 24 in the Kwanza and Benguela basin.
Following a merger of bp’s Angolan assets in 2022 with those of energy major Eni, the companies further strengthened their operational stronghold in Angola. The merger led to the establishment of the largest independent equity producer of oil and gas in the country and one that continues to play a central role in Angola’s oil and gas market. The company’s asset portfolio comprises 18 licenses – of which 11 are operated by Azule Energy and one is situated in Namibia. Azule energy also has a stake in the country’s sole LNG facility: Angola LNG. With a target to increase oil production to 250,000 barrels per day – up from the current 210,000 bpd – while advancing non-associated gas development, Azule Energy is accelerating the development of several impactful projects.
The company is preparing to start operations at the Agogo FPSO vessel in the second half of 2025. The vessel – arriving in Angolan waters in May 2025 – will be situated at the Agogo Integrated West Hub Development, joining the operational Ngoma FPSO to harness resources from Block 15/06. The vessel will increase the block’s production capacity by 120,000 bpd and features a combined cycle power generation unit, advanced electrification and digital automation, a seawater-driven turbine generators and a vapor recovery unit to eliminate flaring. The vessel will add to Azule Energy’s existing portfolio of operational FPSOs in Angola, with four deepwater vessels. currently in production.
Beyond Agogo, Azule Energy is developing Angola’s first non-associated gas projects through its operatorship of the New Gas Consortium. The project will harness gas resources at the Quiluma & Maboqueiro shallow water fields, thereby enhancing feedstock for the Angola LNG facility. As of February 2025, the project partners – namely, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, Sonangol P&P and Totalenergies – completed the offshore platforms for the project. Production is expected to start in late-2025 or early-2026, six-months ahead of schedule.
These developments coincide with a drive to enhance clean energy development in Angola, with Azule Energy spearheading projects in biorefining and solar. The company is developing the Caraculo solar photovoltaic plant through Solenova – a joint venture with Sonangol – which will be located in the province of Namibe. The project targets a total capacity of 50 MW, with the first 25 MW phase coming online in 2023. In 2024, Azule Energy and Sonangol signed an agreement to enhance decarbonization at the operational Luanda Refinery – the country’s sole operating refining facility. The agreement will see the partners conduct a feasibility study for the development of a biorefinery at the facility, aiming to advance low-carbon energy solutions in Angola. These projects reflect the commitment by bp to advance Angolan energy production and Auchincloss’ participation at the country’s premier industry event is expected to generate greater understanding of the company’s portfolio, ongoing projects and future investment plans.
Building on the successful rollout of its groundbreaking continental payment infrastructure, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), in strategic collaboration with Interstellar, a leading African deep-tech company, have announced the launch of the PAPSS African Currency Marketplace (PACM). The launch was announced on the sidelines of the 2025 Afreximbank (www.Afreximbank.com) Annual Meeting (AAM2025) held in Abuja from June 25 – 28.
This next-generation Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) represents a bold evolution of the PAPSS mission, addressing Africa’s longstanding challenge of currency inconvertibility and enabling seamless, sovereign currency exchange for intra-African trade.
For decades, Africa’s economic momentum has been hindered by a fragmented financial landscape. The continent’s 41 currencies, diverse regulatory environments, and lack of convertibility have created significant friction. To trade with neighbouring countries, African businesses have often relied on external (hard) foreign currencies for foreign exchange, creating what experts call the “hard and costly currency bottleneck.” This workaround drains an estimated $5 billion annually in fees, delays, and opportunity costs, undermining the competitiveness of African enterprises and slowing progress toward realising the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“PAPSS African Currency Marketplace is fully transparent, order book-driven, and operates with trusted counterparties, strictly adhering to local regulatory frameworks and global best practices,” affirmed Mike Ogbalu III, CEO of PAPSS. “By creating a single, continent-wide liquidity pool, PACM serves as a powerful liquidity engine for intra-African commerce.” This launch marks a major strategic evolution in the PAPSS journey. According to Mr Ogbalu, since its official launch in 2022, PAPSS has enabled real-time cross-border payments across 17 countries, connecting 14 national switches and over 150 commercial banks. Initially piloted in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), PAPSS rapidly expanded to become the core settlement layer of the AfCFTA’s financial infrastructure. But while payment rails were laid, a deeper issue remained.
“We soon realised that solving for payments alone was not enough,” explained Mike Ogbalu. “Corporations, airlines, reinsurance firms, and multinationals operating across Africa still faced a persistent hurdle: trapped capital, arising from limited currency convertibility and overreliance on hard currencies.” For example, he explained, over $2 billion is currently ‘trapped’ in African countries where airlines operate, unable to repatriate their funds due to exchange restrictions or depreciation of local currencies. “The PAPSS African Currency Marketplace is the answer to that problem — an extension of our commitment to building sovereign, frictionless financial infrastructure for Africa.” He added.
The PAPSS African Currency Marketplace jointly developed by PAPSS and Interstellar, enables the direct exchange of African currencies without passing through hard currencies. As a transparent, continent-wide, peer-to-peer platform, it allows businesses to trade directly in local currencies in near real-time while remaining compliant with national regulations. It unlocks liquidity, releases trapped capital, eliminates excessive foreign exchange costs, and supports the continent’s long-term goal of financial sovereignty. In partnership with PAPSS, the PAPSS African Currency Marketplace is built on Interstellar’s enterprise-grade, blockchain-agnostic infrastructure, which enables the use of permissioned blockchain technology while ensuring institutional grade-security, scalability, and near instant settlement.
“This is not just about technology, it is about fulfilling a continental vision,” said Ernest Mbenkum, Founder and CEO of Interstellar during a fireside chat at the launch. “PAPSS African Currency Marketplace was built from the ground up to serve Africa’s specific needs. PAPSS and Interstellar are not just collaborators, we are co-architects of a new financial future, aligned in purpose and committed to transformation.”
Ernest Mbenkum further emphasised, “African currencies deserve a better place in the world. With this marketplace, your local currency is no longer just a medium of exchange, it becomes a vehicle of opportunity.” He also highlighted that this is only the beginning of Interstellar’s vision, stating, “We’re building a future where Africa no longer needs to wait for foreign rails to move value. Our infrastructure will power Africa’s financial renaissance.”
Haytham El Maayergi, Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, noted: “The PAPSS African Currency Marketplace gives us the power to transform trade dramatically, bringing us to trade with each other with a major benefit that we can now accept each other’s currency.”
The impact is already being felt. During its pilot phase, more than 80 African corporates transacted across 12 currency pairs, with all transactions settled in local currencies. For example, a company like Kenya Airways, which earns Nigerian Naira from ticket sales, can now use PACM to directly exchange Naira for Kenyan Shillings—without converting through a third currency. Early adopters include ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) and Access View Africa, which called the platform “a dream come true.”
PAPSS African Currency Marketplace liberates trapped capital, eliminates excessive FX costs, and transforms multi-week settlement delays into near real-time execution. PAPSS CEO Mr. Ogbalu noted that following positive experiences of some early adopters, PAPSS had received interest from institutions outside Africa seeking to join the ecosystem. “This demand proves the value of what we’ve built,” he said.
With over 150 banks already connected through PAPSS and growing demand across the continent, PAPSS African Currency Marketplace stands as a game-changing financial tool for a more unified, sovereign, and efficient Africa.
Concluding his opening keynote, Mr. Haytham El Maayergi, Executive Vice President – Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank reiterated: “Africa will not rise by ideas. Africa will rise by actions. “
The PAPSS African Currency Marketplace is now open to eligible corporations, financial institutions, and other market participants across the continent.
– on behalf of Afreximbank.
Media Contact:
Papa Thiongane
communications@papss.com
Website:
marketplace@papss.com
About PAPSS:
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System – PAPSS is a centralised Financial Market Infrastructure that enables the efficient flow of money securely across African borders, minimising risk and contributing to financial integration across the regions. PAPSS collaborates with African central banks to offer payment and settlement solutions that commercial banks and licensed payment service providers (switches, fintechs, aggregators, etc.) across the continent can connect to, making these services accessible to the public. To date, PAPSS has developed and launched 3 payment solutions: PAPSS Instant Payment System (IPS), PAPSS African Currency Marketplace (PACM), and the PAPSSCARD.
Afreximbank and the African Union (“AU”) first announced PAPSS at the Twelfth Extraordinary Summit of the African Union held on July 7, 2019, in Niamey, Niger Republic, therefore adopting PAPSS as a key instrument for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Further, in its thirteenth (13th) extraordinary session, held on December 5, 2020, the assembly of the African Union directed Afreximbank and the AfCFTA secretariat to finalise, among others, work on the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS). The 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU further directed the AfCFTA and Afreximbank to deploy the system to cover the entire continent. PAPSS was officially launched in Accra, Ghana, on January 13, 2022, thus making it available for use by the public.
About Interstellar:
Interstellar Inc. is Africa’s leading enterprise blockchain infrastructure company —enabling secure cross-border transactions, stablecoin integration, and next-generation financial solutions across the continent. Its core platform, STARGATE, is a critical blockchain-agnostic, enterprise-grade infrastructure that empowers major institutions to build and scale secure, high-performance financial applications, including tokenization platforms and payments solutions.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Maurice Hutton, Research Associate, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester
Kontuthu Ziyathunqa – Smoke Rising – was what they used to call Bulawayo when the city was the industrial powerhouse of Zimbabwe. Now, many of its factories lie dormant or derelict. The daily torrent of workers flowing eastward at dawn, and back out to the high-density western suburbs at dusk, has diminished to a trickle.
But there is an intriguing industrial-era institution that lives on in most of the older western suburbs (formerly called townships). It is the municipal beer hall or beer garden, built in the colonial days for the racially segregated African worker communities. There are dozens of these halls and garden complexes, still serving customers and emitting muffled sounds of merriment to this day.
Like other urban areas in Rhodesia (colonial Zimbabwe), Bulawayo was informally segregated from its inception, and more formally segregated after the second world war. Under British rule (1893-1965) and then independent white minority rule (1965-1980), municipal drinking amenities were built in the townships to maintain control of African drinking and sociality. At the same time, they raised much-needed revenue for township welfare and recreational services.
I researched the history of these beer halls and gardens as part of my PhD project on the development of the segregated African townships in late colonial Bulawayo. As my historical account shows, they played a key role in the contested township development process.
From beer halls to beer gardens
Bulawayo’s oldest and most famous beer hall, MaKhumalo, also known as Big Bhawa, was built more than a century ago. It still stands at the heart of the historic Makokoba neighbourhood. It’s enormous, but austere, and in the early days it was oppressively managed. Drinkers would describe feeling like prisoners there.
The more picturesque beer gardens began to emerge in the 1950s, reflecting the developmental idealism of Hugh Ashton. The Lesotho-born anthropologist was educated at the Universities of Oxford, London and Cape Town, and took up the new directorship of African administration in Bulawayo in 1949.
Beer gardens emerged in the 1950s.Bulawayo Housing and Amenities Department
He was tuned into new anthropological ideas about social change, as well as developmental ideas spreading through postwar colonial administrations – about “stabilising” and “detribalising” African workers to create a more passive and productive urban working class. He saw a reformed municipal beer system as a key tool for achieving these goals.
Ashton wanted to make the beer system more legitimate and the venues more community-building. He proposed constructing beer garden complexes with trees, rocks, games facilities, food stalls and events like “traditional dancing”. So the atmosphere would be convivial and respectable, but also controllable, enticing all classes and boosting profits to fund better social services. As we shall see, this strategy was full of contradictions…
Industrial beer brewing
A colonial beer advert.Masiyepambili
MaKhumalo, MaMkhwananzi, MaNdlovu, MaSilela. These beer garden names, emblazoned on the beer dispensaries that stick up above the ramparts of each garden complex, referenced the role that women traditionally played in beer brewing in southern Africa. This helped authenticate the council’s “home brew”.
But the reality was that the beer was now produced in a massive industrial brewery managed by a Polish man. It was piped down from steel tanks at the tops of the dispensary buildings into the plastic mugs of thirsty punters at small bar windows below. (It was also sold in plastic calabashes and cardboard cartons.)
Masiyepambili
And the beer garden bureaucracy, which offered a rare opportunity for African men to attain higher-grade public sector jobs, became increasingly complex and strictly audited.
As the townships rapidly expanded, with beer gardens dotted about them, sales of the council’s “traditional” beer – the quality of which Ashton and his staff obsessed over – went up and up.
Extensive beer advertising in the council’s free magazine mixed symbols of tradition (beer as food) with symbols of modern middle-classness.
Beer monopoly system
The system’s success relied on the Bulawayo council having a monopoly on the sale of so-called “native beer”. This traditional brew is typically made by malting, mashing, boiling and then fermenting sorghum, millet or maize grains. Racialised Rhodesian liquor laws restricted African access to “European” beers, wines and spirits.
So, the beer hall or garden was the only public venue where Africans could legally drink (apart from a tiny elite, for whom a few exclusive “cocktail lounges” were built). The council cracked down harshly on “liquor offences” like home brewing.
This beer monopoly system was quite prevalent in southern and eastern Africa, though rarely at the scale to which it grew in Bulawayo. Nearly everywhere, the system caused resentment among African townspeople, and so it became politically charged.
Beer delivery lorry at Esiqonweni.Maurice Hutton
In several colonies, beer halls became sites of protest, or were boycotted (most famously in South Africa). And they usually faced stiff competition from illicit drinking dens known as shebeens.
In Bulawayo, the more the city council “improved” its beer system after the Second World War, the more contradictory the system became. It actively encouraged mass consumption of “traditional” beer, so that funds could be raised for “modern” health, housing and welfare services in the townships. Ashton himself was painfully aware of the contradictions.
In his guest introduction to a 1974 ethnographic monograph on Bulawayo’s beer gardens, he wrote:
The ambivalence of my position is obvious. How can one maintain a healthy community and a healthy profit at one and the same time? I can almost hear the critical reader questioning my morality and even my sanity. And why not? I have often done so myself.
Many citizen groups – both African and European – questioned the system too. They called it illogical, if not immoral; even some government ministers said it had gone too far. And when some beer gardens were constructed close to European residential areas, to cater for African domestic workers, many Europeans reacted with fear and fury.
As Zimbabweans’ struggle for independence took off in the 1960s, African residents increasingly associated the beer halls and gardens with state neglect, repression, or pacification. They periodically boycotted or vandalised them. Nevertheless, with few alternative options, attendance rates remained high: MaKhumalo recorded 50,000 visitors on one Sunday in 1970.
After independence
After Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, the township beer gardens remained in municipal hands. They continued to be popular, even though racial desegregation had finally given township residents access to other social spaces across the city.
The colonial-era municipal beers continued to be produced, with Ngwebu (“The Royal Brew”) becoming a patriotic beverage for the Ndebele – the city’s majority ethnic group.
Beer dispensary valves at Umhambi.Maurice Hutton
But with the deindustrialisation of Bulawayo since the late 1990s, tens of thousands of blue collar workers have moved to greener pastures, mostly South Africa. The old drinking rhythm of the city’s workforce has changed, and for the young, the beer gardens hold little allure. Increasingly, they have been leased out to private individuals to run.
Nevertheless, there is always a daily trickle of regulars to the beer gardens, where mugs and calabashes are passed around among friends or burial society members. Some punters play darts or pool. And there are always some who sit alone, ruminating – perhaps in the company of ghosts from the past.
The beer gardens of Bulawayo embody the moral and practical contradictions of late colonial development – and the ways in which such systems and infrastructures may live on, but change meaning, in the post-colony.
– Alcohol and colonialism: the curious story of the Bulawayo beer gardens – https://theconversation.com/alcohol-and-colonialism-the-curious-story-of-the-bulawayo-beer-gardens-256511
