ADF

DEFENCEWEB The Mauritanian Navy has unveiled a five-year development plan that includes the acquisition of two 60-meter offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and an undisclosed number of midsize vessels to secure the country’s 754-kilometer Atlantic Ocean coastline. The government also wants to set up three new marine forces companies as the country tightens its maritime boundaries and conducts effective patrols within the 235,000-square-kilometer exclusive economic zone, according to IHS Jane’s. Unveiling the plan during a ceremony at the Nouadhibou naval base, Mauritanian Navy Commander Adm. Isselkou Ould Cheik el-Weli said the two OPVs were already under construction. He did not disclose…

[ACTION ON ARMED VIOLENCE] ADF STAFF Several nations in West Africa are making major strides in complying with the Economic Community of West African States Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons by marking and tracking all arms within their borders. In Ghana, the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons announced plans to engrave the ECOWAS logo on all arms in the country as international standards demand. The move is part of a wide range of measures to control movement of small arms in the country, commission Executive Secretary Jones Borteye Applerh announced in April 2014. “We are…

DEFENCEWEB The Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) is one step closer to becoming a reality. Ten nations have pledged to contribute a total of three motorized battalions, one mechanized battalion and one light infantry battalion of 850 men each. The EASF is set to become operational by December 2014 under the auspices of the African Union. A resolution to establish the long-delayed regional rapid reaction force was adopted by regional heads of state, defense ministers and military chiefs at a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, in August 2014. Rwanda chairs the Council of Ministers of Defence and Security of Eastern Africa…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE African countries are clamping down on ivory smuggling, with large seizures for the first time exceeding those made in prime destination Asia, U.N. wildlife regulators said in June 2014. Until recently, seizures of half a metric ton or more of ivory were rarely, if ever, made before the illegal, precious material left Africa. That changed in 2013, according to research published by the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Since March 2013, for the first time, “more large-scale seizures were made in Africa than in Asia,” CITES said…

VOICE OF AMERICA An oral vaccine for cholera has proved to be highly effective and could change the way future outbreaks are controlled. The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says the vaccine was used during a 2012 outbreak in Guinea. The study of the oral cholera vaccine known as Shanchol was conducted by Epicentre, the research arm of Doctors Without Borders. Cholera is a water-borne disease causing severe diarrhea. It’s usually found in countries with poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water. The disease usually is treated with oral rehydration therapy. Epidemiologist Rebecca Grais said, “I think what’s interesting and…

THE EASTAFRICAN Rwanda’s Ministry of Natural Resources has unveiled a new monitoring system to cut greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation and environmental degradation. Adrie Mukashema, deputy director-general in charge of forests at the ministry, said the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Reporting Scheme was a reflection of Rwanda’s commitment to protecting its forests and encouraging sustainable development. “Even though we have little, we make sure that what we have is sustainably managed,” she said. The country has 700,000 hectares of forest, covering 28.8 percent of the total land area. Members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change developed…

UNITED NATIONS NEWS CENTRE The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that despite notable recent economic progress, Africa remains the world’s most food-insecure continent. It has called on all African agriculture ministers to focus investments and support efforts on smallholder farmers, including youth and women. At the March 2014 28th Regional Conference for Africa in Tunis, Tunisia, the U.N. applauded the continent’s continuous growth since 1999 and called for providing an enabling environment to end hunger in the region by 2025. With an average annual gross domestic product increase of 4.8 percent between 2000 and 2010 — up…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE A surge in disposable income and the growth in Africa’s middle class has led to an upswing in the number of shopping centers across the continent, a June 2014 report said. With shoppers searching for new ways to spend their money, and investors keen to help them do it, 14 new shopping centers opened between 2012 and 2013, according to research by Sagaci, a market intelligence organization. Excluding South Africa, there were 242 shopping centers operating on the continent last year, the report said. “The middle class is developing. And the people in it want to spend their…

ADF STAFF One of Africa’s most acclaimed entrepreneurs, the founder of a shoe brand now selling in more than 55 countries globally, has announced the founding of a second company. In 2004, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu started soleRebels in Ethiopia with an investment of $10,000 from her family. The company makes and sells footwear using traditional Ethiopian techniques and modern designs. Most of the shoes are redesigns and modern interpretations of a traditional recycled-tire-sole shoe long worn by Ethiopians. As of 2014, the company had 100 employees and more than $1 million in revenues. She expects sales to reach $20 million…

(Ludwick Marishane) VOICE OF AMERICA Unemployment remains stubbornly high in South Africa and is one of the greatest socio-economic problems facing the country’s youth. Job creation was a leading goal of government policy during the first decade of democracy in South Africa after the end of apartheid in 1994. However, little success has been achieved in the struggle to create sufficient jobs. South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at 25.2 percent, creeping up by 1.1 percent from 2013. As of the middle of 2014, more than 5 million people were without work. The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes people who…