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LIVE: Opposition parties in South Africa march to #ConCourt to fight for a #SecretBallot

<div id="article-byline"> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/journalists/michel-rose">Michel Rose</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/journalists/jean-baptiste-vey">Jean-Baptiste Vey</a> | PARIS</div>
Emmanuel Macron took power as president of France on Sunday, vowing to restore the country&#8217;s status in Europe and the world and heal divisions in society &#8212; a nod to the bitter campaign the pro-EU centrist fought to defeat a far-right leader.
The 39-year-old former investment banker, unknown to the wider public three years ago and whose May 7 election marked a meteoric rise to power, was inaugurated leader of the world&#8217;s fifth-largest economy in a solemn Elysee Palace ceremony.
In his first words after taking office, he pledged to restore France&#8217;s standing on the world stage, strengthen national self-confidence and heal divisions that the bitterly-fought campaign had opened up.
Macron beat the National Front&#8217;s Marine Le Pen in a May 7 run-off vote but the long campaign exposed deep divisions over France&#8217;s role in Europe, immigration, and policies to revive a sluggish economy bedeviled by high unemployment.
&#8220;The division and fractures in our society must be overcome. I know that the French expect much from me. Nothing will make me stop defending the higher interests of France and from working to reconcile the French,&#8221; Macron declared.
Although his victory over Le Pen was comfortable, almost half of France&#8217;s 47 million voters chose candidates with views opposed to Macron&#8217;s in the first round of the election.
Many say they feel dispossessed by globalization as manufacturing jobs move abroad and as immigration and a fast-changing world blur their sense of a French identity.
A convinced European integrationist unlike Le Pen and other leadership candidates, Macron went on: &#8220;The world and Europe need more than ever France, and a strong France, which speaks out loudly for freedom and solidarity.&#8221;
Seeking closer ties with EU anchor nation Germany, Macron will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday. He will ram home the message that the European Union is resilient despite Britain&#8217;s vote to leave and a spate of financial and migration crises that have boosted the far right.
Monday will also see Macron name his prime minister, whose job will be to pilot liberalizing reforms aimed at reducing joblessness and reviving economic growth.
<div id="attachment_123475" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-123475" class="size-full wp-image-123475" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Emmanuel_Macron_wikimedia.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="362" />Photo: Wikimedia.</div>
YOUNGEST FRENCH POST-WAR LEADER
Macron becomes the youngest post-war French leader and the first to be born after 1958, when President Charles de Gaulle put in place the country&#8217;s Fifth Republic.
In a ceremony full of pomp, he was presented with what is effectively his chain of office &#8212; a heavy golden necklace mounted on a red cushion that makes him Grand Master of the National Order of the Legion d&#8217;Honneur.
But Macron appeared determined to create an impression of personal modesty. Aides went out of their way to emphasize that the dark suit he wore cost about 450 euros or just under $500, and that the lavender outfit worn by his wife Brigitte had been loaned by fashion house Louis Vuitton.
He displayed youthful vigor during the televised proceedings, at one point racing up the Elysee stairs to meet a protocol requirement &#8212; something not all previous French presidents might have managed.
He then chose to be driven by military jeep rather than civilian limousine to the Arc de Triomphe, where he stood in the rain, without coat or umbrella, to light the flame in tribute to France&#8217;s war dead at the tomb of the unknown soldier &#8212; a powerful reminder of France&#8217;s role in the NATO defense alliance.
Further underscoring a commitment to France&#8217;s military and peacekeeping role in the Middle East and Africa, he visited wounded service personnel in the military hospital. Aides have flagged a likely visit to French troops in Mali for next Friday.
Macron&#8217;s rise, marked by a 21-gun salute at the Esplanade des Invalides, signaled at least a pause in the anti-globalization trend that elevated businessman Donald Trump into the U.S. presidency and led British voters to choose Brexit.
He later shook hands with well-wishers on the Champs Elysees, not far from where a policeman was shot dead by a gunman in April.
More than 230 people have died in France in attacks claimed by Islamic State over the past two years as the country has taken part in military action against the militant group that controls parts of Syria and Iraq.
Fifteen hundred police were mobilized to ensure security for Macron&#8217;s inauguration while a large section of Paris was closed to traffic all morning.
NUCLEAR CODES
Macron assumed power after an hour-long private meeting with outgoing President Francois Hollande, 62, in which official access to France&#8217;s nuclear missile launch codes was handed over.
Macron, once Hollande&#8217;s economy minister, then accompanied his former mentor down the red carpet to a waiting car.
He must now try to win a majority in June parliamentary elections for his start-up Republic on the Move (REM) party, which has blown apart traditional French political boundaries.
But Macron may struggle to get the country behind him.
In the first round of voting, more than 45 percent chose Le Pen or other candidates who promised different medicine, such as closing the wealth gap by rolling back globalization, shutting borders and rejecting the EU.
The business-friendly labor reforms in Macron&#8217;s program follow on from policies that helped make Hollande the least popular French president in modern history and killed his chances of a second term by failing to ease unemployment.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Marine Pennetier, Ingrid Melander, Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish; Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Catherine Evans)

France’s Macron takes power, vows to heal division, restore global status

Ulf Laessing and Felix Onuah | ABUJA
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to London on Sunday night for follow-up medical tests, handing over power to his deputy Yemi Osibanjo, his office said.
Buhari, 74, returned to Nigeria two months ago after receiving medical treatment in Britain. Officials have refused to disclose details of his medical condition.
http://cnbc.africa/news/2017/03/10/nigerias-ailing-president-buhari-returns-home/
The president met on Sunday a group of 82 girls who had been released after being held captive for three years by Islamist militants, but he did not attend a cabinet meeting last Wednesday. That was his third consecutive absence from the weekly meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
<blockquote>&#8220;The length of the President&#8217;s stay in London will be determined by the doctors,&#8221; the president&#8217;s office said in a statement.</blockquote>
&#8220;Government will continue to function normally under the able leadership of the vice president,&#8221; it said, adding that there was no cause for worry.
Buhari, a former military ruler, returned home in March after nearly two months&#8217; medical leave in Britain and said he would need more rest and then go back to Britain for follow-up tests.
The president&#8217;s office said Buhari had notified both chambers of parliament of his trip, which will put Osinbajo formally in charge.
Osinbajo, a lawyer who is seen as more business-friendly than Buhari, has played an active role in driving policy changes, chairing cabinet meetings during the president&#8217;s medical leave.
Officials have sought to avoid a scenario seen in 2010 when political infighting broke out when then-President Umaru Yar&#8217;Adua was sick for months.
Osinbajo was already given full powers to act during Buhari&#8217;s previous absence, in contrast to his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan who only took over after Yar&#8217;Adua&#8217;s death in 2010 ended a power vacuum.
(Reporting by Ulf Laessing and Felix Onuah; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Susan Fenton)
&nbsp;

Nigeria’s Buhari to go to London for more medical tests

Felix Onuah | ABUJA
Nigeria has almost tripled the budget for an amnesty programme for militants in its oil-producing heartland, the presidency said on Saturday, a key factor in maintaining a tenuous peace in the Niger Delta and supporting crude production.
An additional 30 billion naira ($98.47 million) would be released for the former militants and an extra 5 billion naira added at some later stage, the presidency said in a statement. Until 2016 the annual budget was 20 billion naira.
Funding of former militants under the 2009 amnesty is key to maintaining the relative stability in the Delta and stopping attacks on oil facilities, as it was last year by militants who cut crude output by as much as a third.
Under the amnesty programme, each former militant is entitled to 65,000 naira a month plus job training. But in March a special adviser to Nigeria&#8217;s president said the programme was facing a cash crunch.
<blockquote>&#8220;Currently the Amnesty Office has now paid up all ex-militants backlog of their stipends up to the end of 2016,&#8221; the presidency said in a statement.</blockquote>
Authorities had previously cut the budget for cash payments to militants to end corruption. They later resumed payments to keep pipeline attacks from crippling vital oil revenues.
Last month, former militant leaders in the Niger Delta urged the government to pay out delayed amnesty stipends or face protests.
The government has been holding talks with militants to end the attacks that cut Nigeria&#8217;s output by 700,000 barrels a day (bpd) for several months last year, reducing total production at that time to about 1.2 million bpd. It has since rebounded.
The presidency also said all promises made by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on recent visits of the Niger Delta to boost development would be kept.
The damage from attacks on Nigeria&#8217;s oil industry has exacerbated a downturn in Africa&#8217;s largest economy, which slipped into recession in 2016 for the first time in 25 years, largely due to low oil prices.
Crude oil sales make up around two-thirds of government revenue.
($1 = 304.6500 naira)
(Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Nigeria almost triples budget for Niger Delta amnesty

Ange Aboa | ABIDJAN
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara urged cocoa farmers to raise production and quality and said a 40 percent fall in global cocoa prices this season had hurt the nation&#8217;s economy and budget.
Bumper crops in Ivory Coast, the world&#8217;s top producer, and other countries have sent prices tumbling this season. Ivory Coast has slashed its 2017 budget due to the lower prices. At the same time, the country&#8217;s production could reach a record 2 million tonnes this season.
<blockquote>&#8220;Our country&#8217;s economy is going through a difficult period marked by an internal and external shock caused by the 40 percent reduction in cocoa prices on international markets,&#8221; Ouattara said during a May Day address in the commercial capital Abidjan.</blockquote>
He also urged civil servants to avoid taking strike action to promote wage claims while the government studies the issue. Civil servants staged a strike in January that lasted more than three weeks over salary arrears.
Ivory Coast&#8217;s budget is also under pressure following payouts to disgruntled soldiers who took to the streets in protest several times this year.
The protests represent a serious political issue given that the country emerged in 2011 from a decade-long political crisis and civil war and has since become Africa&#8217;s fastest growing economy.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Ivory Coast cocoa farmers should raise output, quality – President

Duncan Miriri | NAIROBI
Kenya&#8217;s main opposition alliance said on Thursday it had chosen veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga as its candidate for a presidential election scheduled for August 8.
Odinga, 72, will face off against President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is running for a second and final five-year term. The two men were the main contenders in the last election in 2013.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by John Stonestreet)

Kenya’s opposition alliance picks Odinga as presidential candidate

TJ Strydom | JOHANNESBURG
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said he wants allegations of influence-peddling in government investigated, lending his support to a probe called for by the anti-graft watchdog but which President Jacob Zuma has so far ignored.
Ramaphosa is considered a likely candidate for president when the ruling African National Congress elects its new leaders later this year, but he has not formally announced his intention to stand.
The nation&#8217;s Public Protector in November called on Zuma to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry within 30 days to examine alleged &#8220;state capture&#8221; in his government, but Zuma has not yet appointed a commission, challenging the report in court instead.
<blockquote>&#8220;I support that there should be a judicial commission of inquiry,&#8221; Ramaphosa said to loud applause at a memorial service for late freedom fighter Chris Hani.</blockquote>
&#8220;We need to put this (matter) to rest &#8230; If there is any wrongdoing, it must be exposed,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.
Zuma is facing renewed calls for him to step down after South Africa&#8217;s credit rating was downgraded to sub-investment grade this month by S&amp;P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings shortly after he sacked respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
Last year&#8217;s 355-page report by the watchdog focused on allegations that the brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta &#8211; businessmen of Indian origin &#8211; influenced the appointment of ministers. It called for an investigation into whether Zuma, some of his cabinet members and some state companies acted improperly.
Both Zuma and the Gupta family have denied any wrongdoing.
(Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Clelia Oziel)

South Africa’s Ramaphosa backs graft probe of Zuma’s government

Mali&#8217;s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced a new government on Tuesday stocked with loyalists seen as helping him prepare for a re-election bid next year.
The government, announced in a presidential decree, includes 10 new ministers and 25 holdovers from the previous cabinet.
Tieman Hubert Coulibaly, a former defence minister and close Keita ally, was handed the crucial post of minister of territorial administration, charged with organising presidential and parliamentary elections late next year.
The shakeup follows Keita&#8217;s nomination at the weekend of Adboulaye Idrissa Maiga, another close ally and the defence minister in the previous government, as prime minister.
Mali&#8217;s government is struggling to contain militancy in its north, where rival tribal militias frequently clash and Islamist groups launch attacks on civilians, Malian soldiers, U.N. peacekeepers and French forces there.
Islamist fighters, some linked to al Qaeda, seized northern Mali in 2012 before being driven out of major cities and towns by a French-led military intervention a year later.
Tiena Coulibaly, ambassador to the United States, was named the new defence minister.
(Reporting by Adama Diarra; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Mali President Keita names loyalist cabinet ahead of 2018 elections

South Africa&#8217;s top court said on Tuesday it will consider whether a motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma should be taken by secret ballot.
The rand extended its gains to 1 percent against the dollar after the announcement, and opposition parties said there could be a better chance that the motion, when taken, would succeed, if it was held by secret ballot.
The ruling African National Congress party, which has a majority in parliament, has said it will vote against the motion, which is due on April 18. A secret ballot, however, would allow for anonymous dissent.
Zuma, 74, has survived four previous no confidence votes. But opponents, led by the main opposition party Democratic Alliance, believe a recent cabinet reshuffle that led to the dismissal of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan may have angered enough ANC members to desert Zuma.
<blockquote>&#8220;We only need 65 to 70 people from the ANC, and the secret ballot can deliver the votes to remove Zuma,&#8221; Bantu Holomisa, head of the smaller United Democratic Movement (UDM), which is also backing the no-confidence vote against Zuma, said.</blockquote>
He earlier posted a court document on his Twitter feed showing the chief justice of the Constitutional Court had given the go-ahead for the parties in the case to give their written submissions by April 21 &#8211; days after the no-confidence vote is scheduled to take place.
&#8220;The debate on the no-confidence motion against Zuma will have to be postponed, we have written to the Speaker of parliament to pushed it back,&#8221; Holomisa told Reuters. &#8220;In the event that the Speaker fails to do so, we will seek a court order blocking the debate from going ahead.&#8221;
The National Assembly is listed as a respondent in the case.
The ANC Chief Whip&#8217;s office has rejected calls for a secret ballot for the no-confidence motion.
(Reporting by James Macharia Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
&nbsp;

S.Africa’s top court to hear on secret no-confidence ballot on Zuma

Benin President Patrice Talon said he has abandoned plans to reduce the presidential mandate from two terms to one, after parliament rejected a draft bill to change the constitution.
http://cnbc.africa/news/western-africa/2017/04/05/benin-parliament-rejects-bill-aiming-reduce-presidential-terms/
Talon, who came to power in a peaceful election one year ago, promised to reduce presidential terms from two five-year terms to one six-year term, in a bid to reduce what he called presidential &#8220;complacency&#8221; in the tiny West African country.
But parliament on Tuesday voted down a bill for a referendum to reform the constitution, which included the provision to reduce presidential terms.
<blockquote>&#8220;The revision of the constitution is finished,&#8221; Talon told reporters on Saturday. &#8220;The single mandate is over.&#8221;</blockquote>
Talon&#8217;s effort contrasted with attempts by other rulers in the region, including in Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, to extend their mandates.
Talon also gave forecasts for this season&#8217;s cotton harvest. He said that output for the 2016-17 season could reach 400,000 tonnes, higher than 350,000 tonnes previously expected and up from 260,000 the prior season.
Benin&#8217;s cotton harvest is expected to get a boost due to an increase in land used for planting.
(Reporting By Allegresse Sasse, writing by Edward McAllister, editing by Larry King)

Benin president abandons plan to reduce number of presidential terms

Benin&#8217;s parliament narrowly rejected a draft bill by President Patrice Talon on Tuesday for a referendum to reform the constitution, including a provision to reduce presidential terms from the current two to one.
Talon came to power a year ago, promising to reduce the term limit because he said two terms were a cause of &#8220;complacency&#8221;.
Benin presidents can currently serve two five-year stints, and the bill wanted to shrink that to one six-year mandate.
Talon&#8217;s efforts to reduce term limits after a year in office contrasts with some other African leaders, including in Rwanda, Congo Republic and Burundi, who have scrapped them to stay in power.
His peaceful election last year was seen as reinforcing the democratic credentials of the tiny nation in a West African region where polls are often marred by violence, intimidation and rigging.
Lawmakers voted 60 to 22 in favour of the bill, with one abstention, but it needed 63 out of the total of 83 available votes to be passed and go to a referendum.
Those who voted against the changes said there should have been a public debate.
<blockquote>&#8220;The people don&#8217;t want this,&#8221; lawmaker Orou Kate told parliament. &#8220;The president needs to scrap this bill and go back to consult the population.&#8221;</blockquote>
(Writing by Tim Cocks; editing by John Stonestreet)

Benin parliament rejects bill aiming to reduce presidential terms

Tanzanian President John Magufuli ordered the immediate release of a popular local musician on Monday, a day after he was arrested for allegedly mocking the government in a song.
Police had accused Ney wa Mitego of showing disrespect for the presidency in his newly-released Swahili rap song entitled Wapo.     The lyrics of the song do not mention Magufuli by name but question the infringement of freedom of speech in Tanzania. It also criticises the leadership of the country.
Magufuli, nicknamed &#8220;the bulldozer&#8221; for his strict leadership style, has won some praise from Western donors for anti-corruption drives and cutting wasteful government spending since coming to power in November 2015.
But opponents accuse him of becoming increasingly authoritarian, undermining democracy by curbing political activity and cracking down on dissent.
More than 10 people, including university students, have been charged in different court cases over the past few months for insulting the president via social networking platforms, such as WhatsApp.
Insulting the president was made a criminal offence in Tanzania under a cybercrimes law passed in 2015, punishable by up to three years in jail, a fine of around $3,000, or both.
The government described the arrest of the musician and the banning of his song by a state-run arts council as &#8220;drastic measures&#8221;.
Tanzania&#8217;s information minister, Harrison Mwakyembe, told journalists the president wanted wa Mitego to rework the song .    &#8220;It should be improved to also talk about other evils in society, such as tax evasion and drug trafficking,&#8221; the minister quoted the president as saying to him.
Police confirmed that the musician was released on Monday without charge.
Activists and opposition leaders had criticised the arrest.
&#8220;The president has no right to authorise a song by an artiste or not to. It was wrong to arrest Ney and the president&#8217;s order is meaningless too,&#8221; opposition leader Zitto Kabwe said via Twitter.
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng&#8217;wanakilala; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Gareth Jones)
&nbsp;

Tanzanian frees musician arrested for mocking the government

Tanzania&#8217;s President John Magufuli sacked the country&#8217;s information minister on Thursday, the first cabinet change since taking office in late 2015.
Magufuli, nicknamed &#8220;the Bulldozer&#8221; for his strict leadership style, launched a reform drive soon after he was elected by dismissing dozens of senior public officials over allegations of corruption and inefficiency.
The president removed Nape Nnauye as the country&#8217;s Minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports just days after the minister ordered a probe into an alleged raid on a private television station by a senior government official on March 17.
Harrison Mwakyembe was appointed information minister while Palamagamba Kabudi was named justice and constitutional affairs minister, the portfolio previously held by Mwakyembe.
No reason was given for the cabinet changes, but some analysts said there were reports of friction among some government officials over Magufuli&#8217;s strict leadership style.
On Thursday, police officers prevented Nnauye from holding a planned press conference at a Dar es Salaam hotel after his sacking.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t expect to see any major rift that could affect the performance of the government as a result of conflicts between some government officials,&#8221; Benson Bans, a Dar es Salaam-based political analyst told Reuters.
<blockquote>&#8220;Recent opinion polls give Magufuli an approval rating of over 80 percent so he is still very popular among Tanzanians and has a mandate to push through his reforms.&#8221;</blockquote>
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng&#8217;wanakilala; Editing by Aaron Maasho and Toby Chopra)

Tanzanian leader sacks information minister

Zimbabwean opposition parties demanded on Wednesday that presidential elections next year be conducted by a committee set up by the United Nations and African Union because they had lost confidence in the neutrality of the local election agency.
President Robert Mugabe, 94 and in power for 30 years, is due to run again.
Leaders from several political parties, including Movement for Democratic Change&#8217;s Morgan Tsvangirai, told a few hundred supporters during a protest rally in the capital that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) had failed to be partial and should be disbanded.
Police deployed water cannon and anti-riot officers on the streets of the capital throughout the day after confining the protesters to an open space on the edge of the city centre.
The opposition parties, who were united under a National Election Reform Agenda (NERA), were protesting against changes to the voter registration process and said they would rally behind Tsvangirai to face Mugabe in the presidential vote.
Anti-government protests in August descended into some of the worst violence seen in the southern African nation for two decades as anger over economic hardship boiled over.
NERA chairman Farai Mbire said the United Nations, African Union and the Southern African Development Community &#8220;must immediately establish an independent, tripartite election management body to take over the full functions of ZEC.&#8221;
The opposition parties also said Mugabe&#8217;s government should back off from its decision to take over the purchase of biometric voter registration kits from the United Nations.
They fear this will make it easier for Mugabe&#8217;s ZANU-PF to skew the list of eligible voters in its favour.
Mbire did not say what would happen if Mugabe&#8217;s government rejected their demands. ZANU-PF legal secretary and Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told the state-run Herald newspaper that it was ZEC&#8217;s constitutional right to run elections.
Anti-riot police allowed a handful of NERA officials to present a petition to the offices of ZEC.
Zimbabwe is due to hold its next presidential and parliamentary election by July 2018. Mugabe has been endorsed as the ruling party&#8217;s presidential candidate.
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Ed Cropley/Jeremy Gaunt)

Zimbabwe opposition demand UN-conducted vote

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari chaired his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday since coming back from medical leave last week.
Buhari has had no public appearances outside the presidential villa since coming back on Friday from London where he had been treated for seven weeks for an undisclosed illness.
Buhari called for two ministers for Christian and Muslim prayers before the national anthem was played at the start of the closed-door meeting, the usual practice before reporters were asked to leave the room.
(Reporting by Feix Onuah and Alexis Akwagyiram; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
&nbsp;

Nigeria’s Buhari chairs first cabinet meeting since return

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari returned home on Friday after nearly two months of medical leave in Britain, state television and a Reuters witness said.
Buhari, 74, landed at an air force base in the northern city of Kaduna.
Details of his condition have not been disclosed. In images released by his office this week, Buhari looked painfully thin but was smiling as he greeted Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in London.
(Reporting by Garba Mohammed and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Ed Cropley)
&nbsp;

Nigeria’s ailing President Buhari returns home

Ghana&#8217;s President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Monday the country had run out of excuses for failing to end poverty and corruption, 60 years after it became the first in sub-Saharan Africa to win independence from colonial rule.
Akufo-Addo said Ghana must not sacrifice its environment as it pursues development, in an anniversary speech delivered in the capital where Kwame Nkrumah became the country&#8217;s founding president after Britain departed.
Akufo-Addo beat his predecessor John Mahama in December and his advisors say he must implement his election promises quickly to retain the support of voters who have ejected the government of the day three times since 2000. [L5N1GF3LG]
He has vowed to stabilize national finances, help create private sector jobs, cut taxes and promote development with a dam in every village and a factory in every district. Last month, he appointed a special prosecutor for corruption cases.
<blockquote>&#8220;We assumed &#8230; rapid economic development would follow the political freedom that we had won. Sadly, the economic development that was meant to accompany our freedom has still not materialised,&#8221; Akufo-Addo said.</blockquote>
&#8220;The challenge before us is to build our economy and generate a prosperous &#8230; and dignified life for the mass of our people. Hard work, enterprise, creativity, discipline and a consistent and effective fight against corruption in public life will bring the transformation that we seek,&#8221; he said.
Ghana&#8217;s independence in 1957 was a milestone in the struggle against colonial rule under nations including France, Britain, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, opening the floodgates to independence by most of the continent. [L5N1FV4Q1]
Nkrumah&#8217;s support for liberation across the continent and African unity inspired other leaders, some of whom thought his socialist vision of development could be a template for the rest of the continent.
But the economy floundered and Nkrumah was toppled in a 1966 coup that was followed by several others. Ghana has held six peaceful elections since 1992 but its leaders say the country of 27 million has yet to live up to its promise.
Ghana has avoided corruption scandals on a scale seen in Kenya and Nigeria but many voters say graft is a growing problem. Its per capita gross national income stood at $250 in 1966 and $1,480 in 2015, according to World Bank data.
(Editing by Tim Cocks and Jon Boyle)
&nbsp;

presidency

LIVE: Opposition parties in South Africa march to #ConCourt to fight for a #SecretBallot

France’s Macron takes power, vows to heal division, restore global status

Nigeria’s Buhari to go to London for more medical tests

Nigeria almost triples budget for Niger Delta amnesty

Ivory Coast cocoa farmers should raise output, quality – President

Kenya’s opposition alliance picks Odinga as presidential candidate

South Africa’s Ramaphosa backs graft probe of Zuma’s government

Mali President Keita names loyalist cabinet ahead of 2018 elections

S.Africa’s top court to hear on secret no-confidence ballot on Zuma

Benin president abandons plan to reduce number of presidential terms

Benin parliament rejects bill aiming to reduce presidential terms

Tanzanian frees musician arrested for mocking the government

Tanzanian leader sacks information minister

Zimbabwe opposition demand UN-conducted vote

Nigeria’s Buhari chairs first cabinet meeting since return

Nigeria’s ailing President Buhari returns home

No excuses for Ghana poverty 60 years after independence: president

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presidency

LIVE: Opposition parties in South Africa march to #ConCourt to fight for a #SecretBallot

France’s Macron takes power, vows to heal division, restore global status

Nigeria’s Buhari to go to London for more medical tests

Nigeria almost triples budget for Niger Delta amnesty

Ivory Coast cocoa farmers should raise output, quality – President

Kenya’s opposition alliance picks Odinga as presidential candidate

South Africa’s Ramaphosa backs graft probe of Zuma’s government

Mali President Keita names loyalist cabinet ahead of 2018 elections

S.Africa’s top court to hear on secret no-confidence ballot on Zuma

Benin president abandons plan to reduce number of presidential terms

Benin parliament rejects bill aiming to reduce presidential terms

Tanzanian frees musician arrested for mocking the government

Tanzanian leader sacks information minister

Zimbabwe opposition demand UN-conducted vote

Nigeria’s Buhari chairs first cabinet meeting since return

Nigeria’s ailing President Buhari returns home

No excuses for Ghana poverty 60 years after independence: president

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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