Tag: AFRICA

The Economic Freedom Fighters and African Transformation Movement want the Constitutional Court to overrule a vote by Parliament in late 2022 that saved Ramaphosa from impeachment hearings …reports Asian Lite News

Two South African opposition parties asked the country’s top court Tuesday to revive impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a scandal where more than half a million dollars in cash was stashed in a couch at his ranch and then stolen. 

The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters and African Transformation Movement want the Constitutional Court to overrule a vote by Parliament in late 2022 that saved Ramaphosa from impeachment hearings. 

Ramaphosa’s African National Congress party used its parliamentary majority to stop an impeachment vote by lawmakers. But the opposition parties say Parliament did not fulfill its constitutional duty to hold the president to account after a preliminary investigation found some evidence of misconduct by Ramaphosa and recommended a full probe. 

The opposition parties want a full parliamentary investigation. 

Ramaphosa was cleared of wrongdoing by financial authorities, by a public watchdog and by police after a two-year criminal investigation. 

The case threatened Ramaphosa’s leadership after it was revealed in June 2022 that around $580,000 in U.S. banknotes was stolen from a couch at his game farm. The theft happened in early 2020 but came to light two years later. 

Ramaphosa was accused of money laundering and breaching foreign currency laws, and of covering up the theft. He said the money came from the legitimate sale of animals at his ranch but has not explained why it was hidden in a couch. 

The opposition parties pushed that question again at Tuesday’s court hearing. 

“There needs to be an explanation,” said Anton Katz, a lawyer for the ATM party. 

Ramaphosa’s long-ruling ANC lost its parliamentary majority in May’s election. Any revival of impeachment hearings could be risky for the leader of Africa’s most advanced economy, who was reelected for a second term in June with the help of coalition partners. However, the EFF and ATM are small parties and would ultimately need support from others who joined the ANC-led coalition government to impeach Ramaphosa, which is seen as unlikely. The Constitutional Court typically takes weeks and sometimes months to deliver a ruling. 

‘We are committed to ending poverty ‘ 

South Africa is committed to ending poverty in the country through collective actions and far-reaching social and economic reforms, said President Cyril Ramaphosa.  

He remarked while delivering his annual address to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house of parliament, in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa. 

The address and the debate on it were held under the theme “Dedicating Our Efforts towards Reducing Poverty and Tacking the High Cost of Living.” 

“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings,” Ramaphosa declared, invoking the words of Nelson Mandela. He noted that poverty in South Africa has deep roots, including centuries of colonial and apartheid humiliation, dispossession and exclusion. 

“The end of poverty and inequality in South Africa therefore requires nothing less than the fundamental social and economic transformation of our country,” he said. 

Ramaphosa also outlined the government’s progress in lifting millions of South Africans out of absolute poverty. According to him, in 1993, 71 per cent of South Africans lived in poverty, by 2010 the poverty rate had dropped to 61 per cent and in 2020, it was at 56 per cent. 

Ramaphosa acknowledged that challenges remain, given nearly a quarter of the population experiences food poverty, and unemployment, particularly among young people, persists as a pressing issue. 

To address these challenges, “our focus is on the actions we must take — boldly and with urgency — to implement our electoral mandate,” he said. “Our actions must make a real difference in people’s lives now. Our actions must also build an inclusive economy that will continue to reduce poverty into the future — and ultimately eradicate it.” 

According to the president, key reforms are underway in strategic sectors such as energy, water, telecommunications, and transport. For example, he highlighted the restoration of commuter train services, which he said is the most affordable mode of transport, as part of efforts to ease the financial burden on low-income households. 

Ramaphosa specifically emphasised the importance of education, describing it as “the most powerful instrument we have to end poverty.” “By investing in the skills and capabilities of young people, we will be able to break the cycle of poverty that is handed down from one generation to the next.” 

He also noted that as South Africa assumes the G20 presidency in December under the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability,” the country will use the opportunity to advocate for global partnerships to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring “no one is left behind” in the fight against poverty. 

“Poverty, unemployment and inequality are so pervasive and so persistent that we sometimes fear we may never overcome them,” said Ramaphosa. “And yet, we overcame apartheid. We overcame slavery and colonialism. Through our collective actions, we will be able to end poverty in our country.” 

ALSO READ: Policymakers seek ways to end learning poverty in Africa 

The meeting drew about 500 delegates, including ministers of education, development partners, and experts from across sub-Saharan Africa…reports Asian Lite News

Policymakers and educationists gathered at an education forum in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to discuss pathways to end learning poverty, a major threat to Africa’s future workforce. “Learning poverty” is the inability of children to meet basic literacy and numeracy milestones. 

The meeting drew about 500 delegates, including ministers of education, development partners, and experts from across sub-Saharan Africa, seeking to scale successful education initiatives that enhance foundational learning. 

“Learning poverty is unacceptable and a fundamental threat to the continent. Foundational learning is the cornerstone of all future learning. Prioritizing it is not an option,” Obiageli Ezekwesi, chief executive of Human Capital Africa, an advocacy organization, said at the opening of the forum. 

Ezekwesi, former Nigerian education minister, said action without accountability is not enough, adding that there must be a capacity to track progress on foundational learning. 

Rwandan Education Minister Joseph Nsengimana said the forum offers an opportunity for Africa to unite for collective growth and equip every child with the skills necessary to contribute to socioeconomic development. 

Wongani Taulo, education adviser at UNICEF Africa, said the continent “is running out of time to shape a generation of critical thinkers.” 

She argued that governments need to invest more in foundational learning to unlock the potential of millions of children across Africa. “The solutions lie with all of us, we must dedicate more resources to foundational learning and not forget pre-primary so that children are ready to enter school,” she said. 

Victoria Kwakwa, vice president for Eastern and Southern Africa at the World Bank, noted that education today builds the Africa of tomorrow, and to truly transform the continent, there is a need to invest in the next generation of learners. 

Underlining the need to strengthen partnerships with the private sector to boost foundational learning, participants said aligning resources, expertise, and innovation from both sectors would expand educational access, improve quality, and drive sustainable impact across communities. 

The forum, which will run through Wednesday, offers a platform for countries to exchange progress made on commitments in foundational learning at previous forums. 

Through a series of presentations, panels, round table discussions, and formal and informal dialogue, participants will share knowledge derived from foundational learning efforts on the continent and jointly plan the way forward toward meeting targets. 

The learning poverty rate in sub-Saharan Africa stands at around 90 percent, according to the latest UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, which could affect the continent’s future workforce. 

Failure to act, however, could result in economic losses of up to 17 trillion dollars across the continent. 

The World Bank estimates a 97 billion dollar funding gap in education for sub-Saharan Africa. 

Officials have called for committed and collaborative action among African nations and development partners to improve the situation. 

Etleva Kadilli, regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa of the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF, said ensuring prosperity across Africa requires greater political commitments and investment that are turned into concrete action. 

“Governments must reach every child and keep them in school, assess learning outcomes regularly, support teachers to deliver the basics, and develop children’s mental health and well-being,” she said. “Only then will children attain the reading, math, and socio-emotional skills necessary for them to progress to higher forms of education and realize their further potential.” 

The campaign is poised to build on the momentum generated during the event, with plans for ongoing advocacy, research, and collaboration over the coming months. The campaign seeks to mobilize resources, advocate for policy change, and drive community-level engagement to ensure that every child, regardless of their background, has access to quality education. 

Prof. Mohamed Belhocine, Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) noted that there is an urgency to address the learning deficit in Africa, a continent where 9 out of 10 children in Africa cannot read or solve basic arithmetic by the age of 10. 

“Achieving meaningful change in foundational learning requires the collaboration of all sectors—government, civil society, and international organizations. We must mobilize our resources and our political will to turn these discussions into action,” he said during the Foundational Learning Conference under the theme “Inclusive Education: Ensuring No Child is Left Behind. 

Ben Piper, Director of Global Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation called for an evidence-based approach to tackling Africa’s education challenges. “The solutions lie in leveraging data to guide our interventions and scaling proven models across the continent. We must move beyond discussions and commit to real, measurable progress,” said Ben. 

Dr. Laila Gad, UNICEF Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said to tackle the learning crisis, Africa must ensure that every child, regardless of their location or background, receives the support they need to develop essential literacy and numeracy skills. “We are committed to working with governments and partners across the continent to drive forward these reforms.” 

The conference highlighted challenges in Africa’s education sector, including access to quality education, improving teacher quality, and policy implementation. It highlighted successful initiatives like the “Catch Up” Program, which improved literacy and numeracy in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Participants emphasized the need for significant investment, political will, and collaboration to close the learning gap and ensure sustainable improvements in educational outcomes. 

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