News and opinion on public works procurement
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank on Tuesday approved $2 million in emergency assistance for the World Health Organization (WHO) to reinforce its capacity to help African countries contain the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impacts. The grant, which is in response to an international appeal by the WHO, will be used […]
The World Bank has approved a $500 million education loan to Tanzania after years of delays because of concerns about the country’s policy of banning pregnant students from public schools. The World Bank froze $1.7 billion in loans to Tanzania in 2018 following both the pregnant student ban and a law making it illegal to […]
The Kenyan government is distributing free sanitisers to promote hygiene during the coronavirus pandemic. The country has thus far recorded 42 cases of Covid-19, with one death, according to its health ministry. The sanitisers are marked “Not for Sale” and will be available at the deputy county commissioners’ and chiefs’ offices countrywide. Citizens are encouraged […]
The Tanga International Competence Center (TICC) announced plans to construct toilets at all the primary schools in the city. The TICC Director, Ruth Nesje, told journalists that the organisation has already got the permission to implement the project from the Tanga district council. The director said the project is useful because it protect the health […]
Public learning institutions are shut down since last week after close kindergarten, primary and secondary schools were ordered to stop activities, then followed colleges and universities who were in recess at the time. Some private schools issued notices to parents on how to continue with programmes through virtual classrooms via information and communication technology (ICT) […]
Kenya has received a shipment of 25,000 coronavirus test kits. The kits were donated by China’s billionaire Jack Ma through his Alibaba Foundation. The donation was received yesterday by Ministry of Health Acting Director General Patrick Amoth. The consignment was delivered by Ethiopian Airlines. The donation is an addition to what the national government and […]
Nigeria successfully managed an Ebola outbreak, but COVID-19 is a very different matter. Nigerian doctors in the capital, Abuja, have gone on strike, demanding two months’ back pay, despite the steady rise in coronavirus cases in the country. The doctors said it was a difficult decision. There have been a total of 12 confirmed coronavirus […]
Kenya is feeling the economic effects of the coronavirus, despite having no infections, as imports from China fall because of travel bans for people and goods. Airlines are incurring losses, and small traders in Kenya said they fear their stocks will soon run out, putting them out of business. There is little activity these days […]
The ripple effects of the Coronavirus has not spared economies in Africa, particularly imports. In Uganda, imports from China fell in January, forcing through a drop of Shs6b in Uganda’s import bill from the world’s second largest economy. This is a breakaway from decades of a growing import bill from China, mainly supplemented by other […]
They say experience is the best teacher. And having learned the hard way the challenges girls endure in attaining education in rural parts of Africa, Kakenya Ntaiya is beginning to contribute to making a difference. At age five, Ntaiya knew who her future husband was; at age 12, she was forced to undergo female genital […]