Africa on the Spot: Algeria’s Reigning Coalition Impose New Speaker as African Leaders Cry Out for Poverty Eradication

Algeria’s lower house of Parliament, the National People’s Assembly (APN) on October 24 got a new speaker, Mouad Bouchareb.

Bouchareb’s election to the new position followed an almost unanimous voice of 320 votes amidst claims that all opposition deputies were boycotting the vote. Reports say that only deputies from the ruling coalition were present in the chamber.

Several members of the opposition are against the new speaker’s election solely because his predecessor, Said Bouhadja, was removed unconstitutionally earlier in the month when the ruling coalition caucus declared the position vacant although the constitution does not provide for any procedure of this kind.

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World Bank Should Do More to Eradicate Poverty, African Leaders Cry Out

African leaders have urged the World Bank to do more to eradicate poverty, said Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank President at a meeting in Bali this month.

The leaders say that they need more support to provide baseload power in their countries claiming it is inappropriate for the institution to tell them they cannot use fossil fuels for baseload electricity.

“You’ve come to us in Africa who have put almost none of the carbon in the air and you can tell us we can’t have baseload electricity. You’re outraged by climate change, we have almost no responsibility for putting the carbon in the air and yet you’re telling us we can’t develop and have baseload energy because we can’t use a single drop of fossil fuel for our own energy needs. And I can tell you, when I hear that from our leaders, from people in the industry, in places like Africa, it’s compelling to me,” Kim voiced the sentiments of the African leaders.

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Economies in West Africa Lost USD 53 Billion Due to Ebola Outbreak

A study in October’s issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases has posited that Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia suffered an estimated loss of 53 billion dollars due to the Ebola outbreak that ravaged the countries in 2014.

The study, which aimed to bring together the direct economic burden and the indirect social impact in generating a conclusive report on the cost of the outbreak noted that it was the worst in the world.

Not less than 11,300 people died with vast majorities in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. According to Caroline Huber, Lyn Finelli, and Warren Stevens, the authors of the publication, the economic costs stood at $14 billion and human cost was even greater…

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Parliament Approved Sahle-Work Zewde as Ethiopia’s New President but Who Exactly is She?

Ethiopia now has a new president, a woman; Sahle-Work Zewde who was approved by the parliament making her the first woman to hold the post.

However, many people do not know who Sahle-Work Zewde is, her background or where she comes from.

Find out more about Sahle-Work Zewde here.

South Africa’s Dr. Dan Matjila Defends Himself by Addressing Allegations Against him

Dr. Dan Matjila has come out strongly with a letter addressing the allegations leveled against him regarding his integrity and incompetency as South Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

In his letter, Matjila claims that he feels compelled to respond to what he regards to be unsubstantiated, malicious and spurious allegations being made against him.

He claims that logic and reason have over the years driven his motivation for working in his field.

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