HARARE, June 25 (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s largest labour body on Tuesday threatened protests over the government’s decision to ban the use of foreign currencies and make the interim currency the sole legal tender.



President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government said the move on Monday to abandon a multi-currency system was an important step towards removing economic imbalances.



But many Zimbabweans are distrustful after a long succession of failed economic interventions.



“If the government does not reverse this ruinous policy immediately and announce U.S. dollar salary payments, we will immediately mobilise workers for mass action,” Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa told a news conference.



“The ZCTU has not moved from its position that the short-term solution is to dollarise and, as such, we are going into the tripartite negotiating forum (with government and business) to demand U.S. dollar salary payments,” Mutasa added.



In January, the ZCTU led nationwide protests against a 150% fuel price increase, triggering a violent crackdown by the army and police, which left at least 12 people dead, according to rights groups.



Mnangagwa replaced longtime leader Robert Mugabe after an army coup in November 2017, but a hoped-for economic turnaround has not materialised.



In February, Mnangagwa’s government introduced the RTGS dollar as a transitional unit before relaunching the Zimbabwean dollar. 



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Alison Williams)

Labour group in Zimbabwe threatens protests over ban on foreign currencies

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 Giving young people financial skills can lead to much better education and job outcomes.
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By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leila-patel-240768">Leila Patel</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-graham-251070">Lauren Graham</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zoheb-khan-274873">Zoheb Khan</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

The picture in South Africa is a bleak one for the average 15 – 24 year old. Many have finished their schooling with a qualification of little value in the eyes of employers. And they lack the basic skills that employers now need. The result is that a staggering <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=12121">39,6% (narrow definition) or 55,2%</a> (expanded definition which includes those who have stopped actively looking for work) are unemployed.

South Africa has grappled with high unemployment for many years and the private sector, civil society and government have invested heavily in interventions to address the problem. Youth Employability Programmes (YEPs) are one such example. These programmes aim to help young people make the transition from school to work more seamlessly via skills training.

YEPs are part of a broad suite of programmes designed to drive growth and employment. But there seems to be a piece missing from existing schemes: giving young people basic financial skills. Other countries have found that giving young people these skills leads to much better education outcomes. For example, they’ve led to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775712001409">better secondary schooling outcomes</a> in Ghana. And in Uganda they have been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2976060/">increase financial security</a> in vulnerable households. In the US they have helped <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775712001355">promote transitions to college in poor communities</a>.

We <a href="https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/humanities/csda/Documents/Siyakha%20Report%20June%202019%20Web%20LowRes.pdf">did a study</a> to find out whether including financial skills in existing programmes could help more young people find and keep work.

The answer is yes. We found that providing young people with financial capabilities does improve the picture. Those who got the training were 9 percentage points more likely to be employed than those who did not two years after completing the training.

<h2>Tracking over six years</h2>

The study, launched in 2013, tracked 1974 people who participated in one of eight YEPs at 44 sites across the country. Half of the training sites were randomly assigned to receive a short savings and basic financial management training module and access to a no-cost bank account.

We followed these two groups of young people as they entered the programmes and up to two years after completing their training to understand whether financial capability training should be a complementary intervention offered to young people.

The study participants were predominantly African (94,4%), women and from poor backgrounds, with an average per capita income of R527. This places them below the upper-bound poverty line. Most participants had experienced food insecurity in the year prior to joining the programme.

The majority of participants had a matric certificate – the equivalent of 12 years of schooling – and over half had some prior work experience, primarily short-term contract work, while a few had self-employment experience. Just under a third had started a post-secondary qualification. Despite this the vast majority were unemployed at the start of the study and 78% had been chronically unemployed (unemployed for longer than one year).

<h2>What we found</h2>

We tracked and interviewed the study participants before, during and after their training. During a period corresponding to between 12 and 24 months after their training, young people who received the financial capability training were 9 percentage points more likely to be employed than those who did not receive the intervention. 

Importantly, the financial capability intervention also had positive effects for young people who remained unemployed. They were more likely to persist with work seeking than those who did not.

Interestingly, young people who received the training did not differ in their reported savings behaviour from those in the control group. From this we can see that the effect of the intervention is likely due to the financial literacy training, and not the saving account.

<h2>What next?</h2>

We cannot definitively say why young people who received the financial literacy training showed better employment outcomes. One hypothesis is that improved financial literacy helps young people manage what little money they have better and this in turn helps them manage the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-south-african-case-study-how-to-support-young-job-hunters-110511">high cost of work-seeking</a>, especially in low-income households. 

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/south-africas-youth-speak-out-on-the-high-cost-of-finding-work-61024">South Africa&#8217;s youth speak out on the high cost of finding work</a>
 
 

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Another possibility is that the financial literacy training promotes belief in oneself, which in turn facilitates improved job search. It certainly appeared to be the case that those who received the treatment did have slightly higher levels of self-esteem after the intervention than those who did not receive the intervention.

The possibility of growth in self esteem supports other research which shows that improved financial literacy is associated with a greater sense of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02309.x?journalCode=pssa">future orientation</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074091100291X">increased motivation</a> and the <a href="https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1319&amp;context=csd_research">desire to achieve their own goals</a>.

The outcomes from the study are compelling. Although it’s unclear exactly how financial literacy training works, this kind of programme does seem promising as a complementary intervention to existing programmes for young people.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118860/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leila-patel-240768">Leila Patel</a>, Professor of Social Development Studies, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-graham-251070">Lauren Graham</a>, Associate professor at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/zoheb-khan-274873">Zoheb Khan</a>, Researcher, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-giving-young-people-basic-financial-skills-helps-them-find-jobs-118860">original article</a>.

Giving young people basic financial skills can aid them in finding jobs, here’s how

By <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/authors/maram-ahmed">Maram Ahmed</a>, Fellow, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London



While it is often difficult to make generalisations about Africa, Africa’s blue economy will remain a key facet of the continent’s future development.&nbsp; 



Dubbed the ‘new
frontier of the African renaissance’ by the African union, Africa’s blue
economy has vast potential. 



The blue economy
comprised of oceans, seas, lakes and rivers, reaps many benefits and is a great
source of wealth. It regulates the climate, enables trade, creates jobs and
provides mineral resources and food. 



Seventy percent
of African countries are coastal and more than 90 percent of the continent’s
trade is conducted by sea putting Africa’s blue economy high on the continents policymaker’s
agenda and fast becoming an area of geopolitical intrigue. 



As with any
emerging frontier, the rules of the game are being written and opportunities and
challenges abound. 



As we celebrate <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/environmentday/">World Environment Day</a>
and <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/oceansday/">World Oceans Day</a> this
month, how viable is Africa’s blue economy?&nbsp;




The blue economy
covers a wide-range of sectors such as fisheries, maritime transport, tourism,
aquaculture, energy and extractive industries. These sectors need to work
together in order for the blue economy to be sustainable. 



A number of
challenges face the continent. 



Firstly, climate
change and ocean acidification is <a href="https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/scientists-chart-out-future-of-ocean-acidification-research-in-africa-at-high-level-conference-in-liberia">threatening
the marine ecosystems</a>. This is a direct impact from human-related activity
such as <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7933589.stm">fossil fuel
burning</a> that has caused a change to the chemistry composition of the seas. 



In brief, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7933589.stm">burning fossil fuels</a>
increases the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere which is partly
absorbed by the seas. As excess carbon dioxide is dissolved in sea water, it
decreases the ocean’s acidity level causing ocean acidification. This, combined
with other climate change related stressors, adversely impacts fisheries,
aquaculture and coral reefs. For many African countries, marine ecosystems are
a lifeline for livelihoods and rich sources of food. 



Secondly, rapid
population growth in Africa, as well as illegal fishing, is <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-july-2017/overfishing-destroying-livelihoods">dwindling
fish populations</a>. At the moment, the gap between the amount of fish being
caught compared to those being replaced by natural reproduction, is quickly <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-july-2017/overfishing-destroying-livelihoods">widening</a>.
Fish account for “<a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/may-july-2017/overfishing-destroying-livelihoods">a
major source of animal protein</a>” and are an integral part to food security
and nutrition for millions of Africans. Furthermore, the fisheries sector is a
major employer and source of income for rural communities impacting millions of
livelihoods. 



Thirdly, ocean pollution such
as plastic poses an imminent threat to marine life. More than <a href="http://web.unep.org/environmentassembly/estimated-8-million-tons-plastic-waste-enter-world%E2%80%99s-oceans-each-year-0">8 million tons of plastic</a> are infesting in
the oceans every year. If the current trend continues, there will be more
plastic that fish in the ocean <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-catalysing-action">by 2050</a>. Tons of plastics
polluting African seas are being ingested by marine animals, causing their
deaths, or are being caught up in them. 



An African
solution to an African opportunity?



Recognising the
blue economy is only the beginning. As with any natural resource, unlocking its
potential poses various challenges. 



As governments
across the continent initiate efforts to harness the blue economy and formulate
strategies, a pan-African commitment and cooperation is required to drive
progress. Africa’s sixteen landlocked countries should be an integral part of
process given how interconnected the blue economy is.&nbsp; 



In order to
reach UN Sustainable Development Goals goal&nbsp;<a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14">number
14</a> “conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas and marine
resources for sustainable development”, an inclusive approach is needed. 



Governments
must pledge to put conservation and sustainability at the heart of the agenda.

Op-Ed: Why Africa’s blue economy is one of its biggest opportunities

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mosoka-fallah-631916">Mosoka Fallah</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/harvard-medical-school-1710">Harvard Medical School </a>

More than <a href="https://www.who.int/ebola/situation-reports/drc-2018/en/">2000 cases of Ebola</a> have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since last August. Now, despite authorities’ efforts – such as <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/311641/SITREP_EVD_DRC_20190331-eng.pdf?ua=1">screening millions of travellers</a> moving between the DRC and its neighbours – the disease has spread. The World Health Organisation <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48603273">announced</a> on 12 June that a five-year-old boy had died in Uganda after testing positive for Ebola. A day later, his grandmother died. It’s believed he contracted Ebola when they attended the funeral of his grandfather (who died of Ebola) in the DRC. The Conversation Africa’s Natasha Joseph asked Professor Mosoka Fallah to explain the implications.

There have now been two Ebola deaths in Uganda. Do we know anything more about these cases?

We now know that a family of 14 travelled from the DRC to Uganda. Most of them crossed at the formal border, but five evaded the main port of entry. Instead they crossed over informally. Those five arrived with symptoms that included diarrhoea and bleeding. This implies a period of illness in the DRC and that they were most likely symptomatic while travelling.

It appears they knowingly evaded the official check point that would have monitored their temperature and physical signs to pick them up as possible Ebola cases.

In some ways this is a replica of the cross-border import and export of Ebola cases between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone that were hit by the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/history/2014-2016-outbreak/index.html">2014 outbreak</a>. Many borders between countries in the region are porous: people are in fact much more likely to cross into a neighbouring country without even going through a formal border crossing. 

People cross for all sorts of reasons. One of them is funeral rites. The spread of the cases from Guinea to Liberia and eventually to Sierra Leone centred around funeral rites.

Authorities have worked hard to keep Ebola from spreading beyond the DRC. Does the spread mean they need to do more, or do things differently?

The response teams from both the DRC and Uganda must be commended for preventing the mass cross-border export of Ebola cases given the complex nature of the current outbreak.

There are a lot more informal crossings than the formal ones. The surveillance system for scanning people who are crossing into Uganda are at these formal crossings. This isn’t always foolproof. When I was working in Liberia during the West African epidemic between 2014 and 2016, we found that some people would take antipyretic medications to avoid being detected at the formal border crossings. These drugs bring fevers down so that scanners don’t detect a high temperature.

You may wonder why people would do this. The reality is that people across geographical boundaries don’t have any physical boundaries in their minds. When they are in the DRC and fall ill, they will do what anyone would: seek support from their relatives and friends, some of whom are in border towns.

All of this means that health authorities’ interventions must be strategic. They cannot physically monitor all of the informal porous borders between these countries.

What they need to do now is to mobilise all of the towns and villages that share border points with the regions of DRC that are at high risk for the export of Ebola. These villages and towns can physically monitor their individual crossing points. The local leaders and chiefs can keep a visitor log and identify a common building to keep new visitors from the DRC for observation. These logs should be reported to the regional response team daily.

The visitors can then be tracked back to their village of origin to investigate any linkage to a cluster of cases. Coordinating visitors’ movements across the multiple borders will be the greatest strategic intervention. If possible, mobile application can be deployed to local youths to enter these data for real time reporting and coordination. 

This strategy was employed in Liberia during the latter part of the Ebola crisis in the region and was critical in preventing the cross-border import of cases. Even within Liberia some counties – sub-regional division – did this to prevent the import of cases from Monrovia or neighbouring counties. When Lofa county went to zero in November of 2014, it was able to maintain that status by using these methods.

What is being done now to try and ensure the cases in Uganda do not lead to more Ebola infections?

Health workers are tracking the cases, finding out who the five people came in contact with and then taking them to a treatment centre immediately. From the recent situation report from Uganda, they have tracked down 98 contacts which is very impressive. As the average number of contacts per case is 10-12. But they have gone beyond that average.

These are very critical response steps in any epidemic. The surveillance team has to enter the mind of a typical villager from the DRC who knows they’re infected and is trying to escape to relatives in Uganda. They will have to figure out whether the infected people visited traditional healers or local medicine stores. How long were they in Uganda before they were picked up? In this way they’ll be able to identify all the contacts and monitor them.

Ebola is a very difficult disease to contain because of human social and behavioural factors. But it can be easily contained if 100% of the infected people’s contacts are identified and monitored and if cases are quickly removed into treatment units. The sooner you are treated, the higher your chances of surviving Ebola. And the more survivors there are, the more the community will trust response workers.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118719/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mosoka-fallah-631916">Mosoka Fallah</a>, Deputy Director General at National Public Health Institute of Liberia and Visiting Scientist, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/harvard-medical-school-1710">Harvard Medical School </a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-africas-porous-borders-make-it-difficult-to-contain-ebola-118719">original article</a>.

Are Africa’s permeable borders making it difficult to contain Ebola?

(Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone operator Vodacom Group Ltd on Friday said it has entered an agreement to sell its Business Africa unit’s Angolan operations and assets to Internet Technologies Angola for an undisclosed amount.



Separately, Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone Group Plc, also announced an agreement to sell the unit’s operations in Nigeria, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire to Synergy Communications.



Vodacom said it will no longer service enterprise customers directly in any of the four markets but will continue to service clients through local service providers.



Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich

Vodacom unit plans to sell operations in four African markets, what you need to know

BLANTYRE (Reuters) &#8211; Malawian President Peter Mutharika has appointed minister of agriculture Joseph Mwanamvekha, an economist and former banker, as finance minister in his new cabinet, the chief secretary to the government said on Wednesday.



Mwanamvekha moves from Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development where he was credited with boosting food security through surplus harvests of maize, Malawi’s staple grain.



Mwanamvekha replaces Goodall Gondwe, who has been the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development for a decade.



Also on Wednesday, lawmakers elected member of parliament Catherine Gotani Hara as the first female Speaker in the history of the southeast African country.



Mutharika won Malawi’s presidential election in May with 38.57% of votes, narrowly securing a second five-year term. [nL8N2333RZ]



He has pledged to fight corruption and revive the economy following accusations of corruption and mismanagement.



The president is expected to deliver his State of the Nation Address on Friday in Parliament in the capital Lilongwe.



Reporting by Frank Phiri; additional reporting by Mabvuto Banda in Lilongwe; writing by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Alison Williams and Grant McCool

Malawi’s Mutharika appoints economist Mwanamvekha as finance minister in new cabinet

WINDHOEK (Reuters) &#8211; Namibia is to host a two-day economic summit which is expected to attract at least $1 billion worth of investments over the next two years, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said on Wednesday.



Namibia’s economy has contracted for the last two years, and the southwest African nation has been ravaged by a drought which the meteorological services estimate to be the deadliest in 90 years.



The economic summit, which will take place from July 31 to Aug. 1 in the capital Windhoek, is aimed at reviving and growing the Namibian economy, creating job opportunities and attracting investment opportunities, the ministry said in a statement.



It will also seek to promote Namibia as an investment and tourist destination as well as identifying and removing bottlenecks that are slowing the growth of the local economy.



The International Monetary Fund projects that Namibia’s economy, which contracted by 0.8% and 0.1% in 2017 and 2018 respectively, will mildly contract again this year due to poor rains and reduced diamond production.



About 600 delegates from across the country, Africa and the world are expected to attend the summit, which is the first of its kind.



“The summit will provide a platform to showcase growth and investment prospects in the local economy as well as present local and international investors with a portfolio of investment projects in several sectors,” the ministry said.



Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Editing by Alison Williams

Namibia aiming for $1 billion worth of investments, here’s what you need to know…

By Mansoor
Hamayun, CEO and Co-Founder of BBOXX



At the current rate,
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved
by 2030. The <a href="https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PublicationFiles/era2019_eng_fin.pdf">United Nations</a>’ Economic Commission for Africa estimates that
upwards of $600bn is needed to meet the
global goals and this is just on the African continent – and here rapid population
growth is pushing these goals further out of reach. 



It is an urgent
task but unlike other crises, issues such as the global energy gap are often
excluded from daily news agendas. As a result, finding new ways to achieve universal
electrification by 2030 (SDG 7) remains an insurmountable task to many people. 



I am often surprised by how little discussion there is about the how of meeting SDG 7. We have reached the tipping point and the global community must act now if it is to meet SDG 7, which acts as the trigger for wider economic development and growth. Here are my five steps to reaching the goal: 



1. Disrupting the model



By now it is clear that previous ways of thinking about and paying for electrifying entire communities, countries and continents have run their course. The fact that over 1.2 billion people still live without electricity and 1 billion live without reliable energy access are strong indicators of this. Tackling the energy access gap requires a sea change in our thinking and an entirely new approach. 



2. Leapfrogging the way in which we tackle the problem



The question should no longer be how do we extend traditional and expensive grid infrastructure but how do we provide the appliances along with reliable connections to individuals and businesses without electricity? It is here that technological advancements take centre stage. In the past ten years, innovative solar home systems that are centrally and remotely managed have become capable of delivering on-grid experiences to rural and off-grid communities that were previously considered unreachable.



3. How one SDG can have a domino effect on knocking down the others



Access to affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) is the entry point to solving a host of global goals. The transition to clean energy is crucial if we are to tackle climate change (SDG 13), thanks to the offset of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions. Electricity enables local businesses to take off and acts as a trigger for economic growth and poverty alleviation, SDG 1. It is equally the entry point to other basic needs, such as clean water and cooking, SDG 6. 



4. Partnering to deliver on the mission, including Governments, companies large and small



Blending new partnership models is the key to unlocking scale and rapid growth – from the visionary heads of state who are prepared to back the race to electrification of nations, to the large utilities who bring scale, to new entrants who bring fresh thinking – just as we have done. So think big and partner with global leaders. 



5. Meeting the SDGs through practical steps



This means including those who are on-the-ground,
like we are, being involved in how to best tackle the macro task. Training and
mobilising a local ‘SDG taskforce’ to implement and educate on electricity
usage is essential to achieving energy access for all. Subsidies can also have
a role to play in accelerating the process. This is model the Government of
Togo is using with our joint venture with EDF in the country. Again, a
practical example of blending different models to reach a desired outcome.



In order to advance
the SDGs, the global community must wake up and start working together to move
the dial on electricity provision. Only then will energy act as the driving
force for wider economic development, unlock potential and transform lives in
Africa and beyond.

Op-Ed: Why the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of providing energy access for all by 2030 is currently unachievable. Here’s what needs to change

<figure>
 <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278898/original/file-20190611-32366-lel0is.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&#038;q=45&#038;auto=format&#038;w=754&#038;fit=clip" />
 <figcaption>
 Introducing technology into the classroom is important, but teachers need proper support.
 Rich T Photo/Shutterstock/Editorial use only
 </figcaption>
 </figure>

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mmaki-jantjies-457732">Mmaki Jantjies</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-western-cape-1018">University of the Western Cape</a>

South Africa says it is pushing ahead to grasp the many opportunities presented by the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/what-is-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/">fourth industrial revolution</a>. President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a <a href="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/president-appoints-commission-fourth-industrial-revolution">commission of experts</a> to explore what this fusing of the physical, digital and biological worlds, driven by technology, will mean for the country. 

One of the areas in which technology is already playing a major role is the school system with some South African schools having already embraced it. President Ramaphosa announced in his <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-2019-state-nation-address-7-feb-2019-0000">2019 state of the nation address</a> that tablets would be rolled out to all South African schools. There’s also been <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/view/143683">extensive research</a> in recent years into the potential role of electronic and mobile learning in the country’s schools. 

And there have been other initiatives such as introducing <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/292316/tech-overhaul-for-sa-schools-will-put-a-tablet-in-the-hands-of-all-learners-report/">robotics education</a> in primary schools as well as ensuring the provision of <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2018-06-15-00-the-future-of-ict-is-in-gautengs-classrooms">digitising learning resources</a>. 

But are all South Africa’s public schools ready for this shift? As an academic <a href="http://www.mmakij.co.za/">whose research</a> focuses <a href="https://theconversation.com/marrying-technology-and-home-language-boosts-maths-and-science-learning-104587">on educational technology</a>, I would suggest that five important factors must be considered before the answer is a resounding yes. 

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/marrying-technology-and-home-language-boosts-maths-and-science-learning-104587">Marrying technology and home language boosts maths and science learning</a>
 
 

<hr>


Of course, schools in the country are not <a href="https://www.schoolguide.co.za/for-parents/school-review-guidelines/1036-education-guide/10975-school-fees-quintiles.html">homogeneous</a>. But, broadly speaking, infrastructure, ongoing teacher training and support, appropriate localised content, technical support and safety and security must all be prioritised so that educational technology actually does what it’s supposed to: <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/countries-to-watch-and-learn-from">enhances teaching and learning</a>.

<h2>Focus areas</h2>

The first important area is infrastructure.

Schools need technical infrastructure to support both online and offline access to digital resources. That physical infrastructure needs to managed and properly maintained. For this, proper planning is needed: hardware tends to be the last priority for schools when they have many other financial needs. A sustainable financial plan for hardware maintenance is crucial in the introduction of any technology in schools.

<a href="https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/data-costs-still-too-high-in-south-africa-19606374">Data costs</a> are another major concern. Software, related applications and learning content need to be available offline so that pupils can keep working beyond the school premises. 

The second area that needs attention is teacher training and support. This is not a once off process – it must be continuous. But as it stands, many of the teachers in the education system received <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/viewFile/143683/133397">very few or no</a> technology infused learning experiences while they were studying.

And, crucially, introducing more educational technology is about more than the addition of a piece of hardware or some software. It also means introducing novel approaches to teaching and learning. Universities that train teachers need to be cognisant of this. 

In my own work with the <a href="https://peoyap.org/">Peo Ya Phetogo</a> Foundation, a non profit organisation aimed at empowering teachers with computer and digital literacy skills, my colleagues and I have learned that teachers need local <a href="https://wiki.lib.sun.ac.za/images/f/f3/Teaching-in-a-digital-age.pdf">communities of practice</a> where people work together and learn from each other. This can support their journey of transition from older teaching materials to modern technology. There is also <a href="https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/42311/Vandeyar_Practice_2013.pdf?sequence=1">extensive South African research</a> which reflects this issue. 

Then there’s localised content. There’s already a lot of local learning software in South Africa but a lot of this is in English. Most South African pupils don’t speak English as their first language, and have to battle with <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/saje/article/viewFile/143683/133397">translating difficult concepts</a> into their native language to try and understand what’s being taught. This is made even tougher when they are also learning new platforms and methods, like digital education tools.

Content and education technology developers need to provide adaptable systems which consider the context of use, the culture of use as well as language of use. The design process needs to follow a co-design process which also involves teachers. After all, a potential mobile learning user in South Africa can be some non-English speaker, accessing the mobile learning content in a cattle <a href="https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/kraal">kraal</a> in a village.

<h2>More support and security</h2>

The fourth area is technical support. Technology introduction in schools needs ongoing “help desk” support. This task is often left to <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/CD/National%20Curriculum%20Statements%20and%20Vocational/CAPS%20FET%20_%20COMPUTER%20APPLICATIONS%20TECHNOLOGY%20_%20GR%2010-12%20_%20Web_6AC6.pdf?ver=2015-01-27-154348-193">Computer Applications Technology</a> or Computing subject teachers. These teachers become burdened: they are seen as the the all round computing experts, expected to always be able to handle help desk questions. 

My colleagues and I have heard this often in our teacher workshops – these teachers’ colleagues also expect them to keep and remember their passwords on their behalf. Schools in urban, peri-urban and rural schools will need dedicated technical support services which teachers will be able to rely on when facing any technical difficulties.

Finally, there’s safety and security. The use of high-end technology within and beyond schools not only affects teachers and learners but also the affects communities in which the schools are based. In a <a href="https://time.com/longform/south-africa-unequal-country/">highly unequal society</a>, crime becomes a challenge for schools, teachers and learners who have to make use of such technologies. Any introduction of technology must be accompanied by a sustainable security plan.

<h2>Policy review</h2>

This is not to say that technology doesn’t belong in schools. On the contrary, the renewed focus on introducing technology to schools should be celebrated. But it also requires a review of South Africa’s existing technology in education policies and a sustainable plan to ensure that no child is deprived of a skill that is no longer a luxury.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118612/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mmaki-jantjies-457732">Mmaki Jantjies</a>, Senior Lecturer in Information Systems at the University of the Western Cape, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-western-cape-1018">University of the Western Cape</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-south-africa-must-get-right-for-tech-in-schools-to-work-118612">original article</a>.

South Africa needs to get these five things right in order for tech in schools to work

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. energy firm Anadarko Petroleum Corp on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the construction of a $20 billion gas liquefaction and export terminal in Mozambique, the largest single LNG project approved in Africa. 



The announcement, which occurred at an event in Mozambique, was widely expected after Anadarko last month flagged the decision date.



&#8220;As the world increasingly seeks cleaner forms of energy, the Anadarko-led Area 1 Mozambique LNG project is ideally located to meet growing demand, particularly in expanding Asian and European markets,&#8221; Chief Executive Officer Al Walker said in a statement&nbsp;<a href="http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/htmlnews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&amp;u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20190618:nPn4scVtza.">here</a>



Anadarko has agreed to be taken over by Occidental Petroleum Corp. Once that deal goes ahead, Occidental has agreed to sell assets including the Mozambique LNG project to French oil major and large LNG trader Total SA. Officials at Total were not immediately available for comment.



Natural gas use is growing rapidly around the world as countries seek to meet rising energy demand and wean their industrial and power sectors off dirtier coal.



The project, which has committed long-term supplies to utilities, major LNG portfolio holders and state companies around the world, underscores the industry’s conviction that LNG demand will soar in years to come despite a slump in prices this year.



Low prices for the gas that is super-cooled for transportation prompted fears final investment decisions (FIDs) such as Anadarko’s would be delayed or scrapped. But the U.S. company gathered enough long-term buyers to underpin the financing of the project.



“Flexible commercial arrangements, including an innovative co-purchase agreement with Tokyo Gas and Centrica, have been instrumental in securing the project a roster of high-quality customers in a crowded LNG market,” said Frank Harris, head of LNG Consulting at Wood Mackenzie.



LNG prices slumped this year as a jump in supply from new terminals in the United States, Australia and Russia were not totally met by higher demand in Asia.



The trade is also nowhere near as developed as the market for crude oil, causing erratic price movements.



“At $20 billion, today’s FID is the largest sanction ever in sub-Saharan Africa oil and gas,” added Jon Lawrence, an analyst with Wood Mackenzie’s sub-Saharan Africa upstream team.



The project is also expected to be transformational for Mozambique, one of the poorest nations on earth beset by economic crisis, conflict stemming from a civil war and serious governance malaise, whose annual gross domestic product is just $13 billion.



The government of Mozambique said the project is expected to create more than 5,000 direct jobs and 45,000 indirect jobs.



With a 12.88 million tonne per year (mtpa) capacity, Mozambique LNG is one of the largest greenfield LNG facilities to have ever been approved. It involves building infrastructure to extract gas from a field offshore northern Mozambique, pump it onshore and liquefy it, ready for further export by LNG tankers.



On the African east coast, the liquefaction plant will be able to sell LNG to both the lucrative Asian market, home to 75%of global LNG demand, and to the flexible European market, which helps balance global LNG trade by soaking up excess supply.



Mozambique LNG joins other mega-projects approved in the past year such as Exxon Mobil Corp’s 16 mtpa U.S. Golden Pass plant and Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 14 mtpa LNG Canada facility.



Still expected this year are approvals from Exxon for a 15.2 mtpa project also in Mozambique, and from Russia’s Novatek for its 19.8 mtpa Arctic LNG-2 plant.



Anadarko’s partners in the Mozambique LNG project are Mitsui, Mozambique state energy company ENH, Thailand’s PTT and Indian energy firms ONGC, Bharat Petroleum Resources and Oil India.



Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki in London; additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Debroop Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey, Marguerita Choy and Arun Koyyur

U.S. energy firm Anadarko approves $20 bln LNG export project in this African country

JOHANNESBURG, June 18 (Reuters) &#8211; Former Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo is to challenge the employer’s conduct in court after the insurer fired him citing a conflict of interest.



A statement by Moyo’s lawyer said Old Mutual had suffered no financial or other prejudice as a result of any action from Moyo.



Reporting by Emma Rumney. Editing by Jane Merriman

Ex-CEO Peter Moyo plans to take Old Mutual to court

<figure>
 <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279117/original/file-20190612-32342-1vm3l7w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
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 Belo Horizonte’s traditional food market.
 Shutterstock
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 </figure> 


By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brittany-kesselman-754783">Brittany Kesselman</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-witwatersrand-894">University of the Witwatersrand</a>

South Africa faces a <a href="https://www.health-e.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/National-Strategy-for-prevention-and-Control-of-Obesity-4-August-latest.pdf">double burden</a> of hunger and malnutrition, on the one hand, and obesity with associated non-communicable diseases (NCDs), on the other. In many countries, in both the global North and South, malnutrition and obesity frequently co-exist in the same people. This is a condition known as “<a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/hidden-hunger-south-africa">hidden hunger</a>”. 

Hidden hunger is a result of various factors. These include poverty, inequality, urbanisation and industrialisation of the food system. The interplay of these factors leaves low income households with very limited access to fresh, healthy foods. Instead, many South Africans – and other people living in similar conditions – subsist on diets high in <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-outputs/view/1218">sugar and processed starch</a>. These diets contribute to increasing levels of obesity. But they don’t meet nutritional needs.

My <a href="https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/16310">research</a> among urban farmers and low-income residents in Johannesburg identified the complexity of factors that influence dietary choices. It also identified the obstacles to accessing healthy food. Cost is a major impediment while physical access, nutritional knowledge, concentration in the food industry and dietary norms also played a role in shaping diets. Without addressing all of these, South Africa will be unable to address the double burden of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Despite the fact that diet has been a major contributing factor to the growth of NCDs in recent years there are virtually no connections between South Africa’s agricultural and health policies. Policies to address hunger and malnutrition have tended to be housed in the Department of Agriculture. They have focused on increasing production, whether through <a href="http://www.afsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Web-Battersby-et-al-Looking-Beyond-Urban-Agriculture.pdf">urban agriculture</a> or support to small-scale farmers in rural areas. 

For its part, the Department of Health remains confined to treatment with medication and limited advice – like diet and exercise. This is despite the fact that the department recognises there needs to be a <a href="https://extranet.who.int/ncdccs/Data/ZAF_B3_NCDs_STRAT_PLAN_1_29_1_3%5B2%5D.pdf">multi-pronged approach</a> to NCDs. 

This needs to change. South African practitioners and policy makers could learn from international examples, where the public and private health sectors have begun to make the link between food and wellness. In particular, policies that were introduced a quarter of a century ago in a city in Brazil provide a useful template of what an integrated approach could look like.

<h2>Connecting the dots</h2>

Innovative policies and programmes in various countries are beginning to link food and health.

To draw a few examples from the United States, which faces high rates of <a href="https://www.who.int/nmh/countries/usa_en.pdf?ua=1">obesity and NCDs</a>, the new field of <a href="https://nutrition.org/the-art-of-cooking-for-health-culinary-medicine/">culinary medicine</a> looks at how dietary changes can restore and maintain health. A number of hospitals are creating <a href="https://www.bu.edu/today/2017/rooftop-farm-at-boston-medical-center/">food gardens</a> to serve healthy meals to patients. Doctors are writing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5496208/">scripts for fruits and vegetables</a> so that patients can afford them. 

At the same time, in the US and Canada, food banks and other organisations that combat hunger are attempting to distribute healthier foods. These organisations are also <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/214764/the-stop-by-nick-saul-and-andrea-curtis/9780307360793">engaging in advocacy</a> for a more just and equitable food system.

The link is also being made between the livelihoods of food producers and the environmental sustainability of the food system. In the US a non-governmental organisation incentivises recipients of the government’s food assistance programme, SNAP, to buy fresh produce at local farmers’ markets through a <a href="https://www.wholesomewave.org/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Double-Value-Coupon-Program-Diet-Shopping-Behavior-Study.pdf">double value coupon programme</a>. The UN’s <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4291e.pdf">Purchase from Africa for Africans</a> Programme leverages public procurement for school meals to improve children’s health and education while supporting small-scale family farmers. It draws lessons from Brazil and has been implemented in five African countries. 

The city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil provides a noteworthy example of how innovative, integrated food and nutrition security policies can assist communities. It has been implementing <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/152897901786732735">policies</a> designed to ensure that residents are able to enjoy the right to food for the past 25 years. The city’s programmes include:

<ul>
<li>popular restaurants serving subsidised healthy meals;</li>
<li>shops selling subsidised fresh fruit and vegetables in under-served areas;</li>
<li>a food bank. This reduces food waste by rescuing food otherwise discarded by retailers. The food is then checked and provided to social programmes (such as crèches and old age homes);</li>
<li>farm stalls and farmers’ markets. These enable small-scale farmers to sell directly to consumers, cutting out the middleman and thereby raising incomes;</li>
<li>public procurement from small-scale farmers, especially those using agroecological production methods;</li>
<li>school lunches and school gardens. These ensure that children have access to nutritious meals and that they learn about food production and nutrition.</li>
</ul>

On a <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/research-news/2018/2018-12/a-healthy-meal-in-every-neighbourhood.html">research visit</a> to Belo Horizonte, I saw how these programmes improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables – a key measure in the fight against malnutrition and obesity. 

They also support decent incomes for small-scale producers through direct market access and public procurement. In addition, environmentally sustainable production is encouraged through reservation of additional public funds to purchase agroecologically-farmed foods. 

Beyond the health and economic benefits, the programmes support social cohesion through communal eating spaces, cultural events that feature local gastronomy, and local farmers’ markets where people can meet the farmers who grow their food and enjoy a sense of community.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Belo Horizonte’s food and nutrition security programme is its low cost: less than 2% of the city’s budget. Another is the degree of cooperation among government departments, as well as partnership with <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3023e.pdf">civil society organisations</a>. 

When the policies and programmes developed in Belo Horizonte were rolled out nationally, Brazil experienced a notable <a href="https://www.wfp.org/stories/brazil-shows-world-how-beat-hunger-says-wfp-head">decline in hunger</a>. 

The model provides many useful lessons that could greatly benefit South Africa. The Department of Health, along with other government departments and civil society partners, needs to take a bold move to tackle the problems of malnutrition, obesity and associated NCDs through a multi-faceted approach.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118613/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brittany-kesselman-754783">Brittany Kesselman</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-the-witwatersrand-894">University of the Witwatersrand</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-should-learn-from-brazil-about-how-to-tackle-hidden-hunger-118613">original article</a>.

What South Africa can learn from Brazil on how to tackle ‘hidden hunger’

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia will fine and break ties with mining firms that fail to operate according to the southern African country’s laws, President Edgar Lungu said on Thursday, escalating a dispute with India-listed Vedanta.



Vedanta is fighting Zambia’s decision last month to name a provisional liquidator to run its Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) business and is seeking international arbitration.



Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, says KCM has breached the terms of its licence.



The dispute between Vedanta and the Zambian government has intensified concerns among international miners about rising resource nationalism in Africa.



Lungu said in a statement at a mining and energy conference in Lusaka that the government expected investors to operate within the confines of the law.



“Failure to do so will result in the government imposing sanctions and disengaging with the unwilling parties,” he said in the statement read out by Mines Minister Richard Musukwa.



Zambia’s Chamber of Mines said last month that 2019 copper output could be as much as 100,000 tonnes lower than last year because of changes to mining taxes.



Zambia plans to introduce a new non-refundable sales tax in place of Value Added Tax, despite criticism from mining companies.



Lungu disagreed with the Chamber of Mines’ predictions, saying the government forecast copper output would reach 890,000 tonnes by the end of the year, more than last year.



He said the government was ready for dialogue with miners, which account for 70 percent of export earnings.



But he added: “The government will not take kindly to any form of arm-twisting on the part of industry with regard to meeting their obligations.”



Reporting by Chris Mfula; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Why Zambian president is threatening to fine miners

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-773x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-338112" width="358" height="474" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-773x1024.png 773w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-226x300.png 226w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-768x1018.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-696x923.png 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-1068x1416.png 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor-317x420.png 317w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Victor.png 1545w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 358px) 100vw, 358px" /></figure></div>



&#8211; Dr. Victor Oladokun, Director of Communication, African Development Bank



In 2018, the fictional country of Wakanda
in the blockbuster movie Black Panther, was ranked fourth as the most
mentioned ‘country’ in Africa during TV broadcasts, according to a recent study
by the University of Southern California. Coverage of Wakanda far exceeded
mentions about African business, travel, health; sports, or development. While
the finding is amusing, it is a reminder of the significant narrative challenge
an integrated Africa faces in showcasing opportunities and the many
transformational changes taking place on the continent. Ultimately, effective
and transparent communication will be key to regional integration, and the
capacity to attract investor and partner interest.



At the heart of every civilisation is a
human desire for game-changing solutions that transform nations and human
lives. Vibranium, Wakanda’s equally fictional precious metal, was the
key to making it the most technologically advanced nation on the planet. But in
reality, critical to a regionally integrated ecosystem will be how Africa
continues to innovatively use, manage and add value to its tremendous
resources. 



Tectonic global shifts are already
changing every aspect of our economies and enterprises. Also affected, are
policies, education, research, ICT, finance and banking, trade, migration and
the mobility of human capital, goods and services. The African Continental Free
Trade Area agreement, which came into force on May 30, 2019, holds the
tantalizing prospect for the creation of a single market for goods, services
and the movement of persons, with a total GDP of $2.5 trillion, and a combined
population of one billion people. 



Astounding and rapid technological
developments are already underway in artificial intelligence, robotics,
nanotech, quantum computing and Big Data. The African Development Bank and
partners such as The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, and Facebook, have
launched a Coding for Employment Program to create over 9 million jobs and
reach 32 million youth and women across the region. With an eye on the future,
the African Development Bank is also working to bring advanced drone
technologies to African agriculture with a pilot project already underway in
Tunisia, and plans for potential regional rollouts.



The fact is that it’s no longer ‘business
as usual.’ The ground underneath our feet is shifting at amazing speed. So, one
thing is certain. The near future will be radically different from anything we
might contemplate today. Which is why the African Development Bank and its
partners, will continue to work toward integrating the best ideas,
technologies, policies, systems and infrastructure.



Creating the regionally integrated Africa
of our dreams, will require political will, policy changes, and private and
public sector partnerships. It will also require positive human agency and
energy that is characterized by vision, great hope, trust, and a genuine love
of humanity. Only then, can we expect to bring the greatest benefit to the
greatest number of Africans ever. 



In 2019, as the African Development Bank
commemorates its 55th anniversary, we are poised to play an even more strategic
role, in conjunction with the African Union Commission and other partners, to
help make Africa’s economic integration a concrete reality. 



Together, we will irreversibly impact and
transform the lives of millions of Africans.

Op-Ed: Shaping the Africa of  the future

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Ratings agency Moody’s said on Monday that it had lowered its forecast for South Africa’s 2019 economic growth to 1.0% from 1.3% after it said a first-quarter contraction had dented the government’s revenue and policy options.



Moody’s is the last of the big three international credit firms to rate South Africa at investment grade.



President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to revive Africa’s most advanced economy were dealt a blow last week when data showed gross domestic product had contracted by a quarterly 3.2% in the first three months of 2019, the largest contraction in a decade.



Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) is also in the midst of a row over the central bank’s role, which has rattled financial markets.



“The quarterly decline, the largest in 10 years, is credit negative for the Government of South Africa’s (Baa3 stable) revenue and policy options,” Lucie Villa, Moody’s lead sovereign analyst for South Africa, wrote in a research report.



“The first-quarter contraction presages low growth in the year as a whole,” Villa added.



If Moody’s were to relegate South African debt to “junk” status, billions of dollars could leave the economy, analysts say.



Reporting by Alexander Winning; editing by John Stonestreet

Moody’s lowers South Africa’s growth forecast after Q1 GDP contraction, what you need to know…

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; A fter Thomas Gumede’s father died in April, the Zimbabwean bus driver could not afford an expensive funeral. So, he applied for a burial plot through the local municipality.



He never expected he would end up burying his father halfway across Bulawayo, a city in southwest Zimbabwe.



“There are no cemeteries near where I live,” said Gumede, 39, whose father’s burial plot is about 25km (15 miles) from his home.



“Imagine the transport costs,” he lamented. Each time he visits his father’s grave, he spends “at least $20 on petrol”.



As demand for housing continues to drive Bulawayo’s growth into surrounding rural areas, the city is struggling to find enough space to bury its dead, said Emmanuel Ndlovu, coordinator of the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association.



World Bank figures show about one-third of Zimbabwe’s 16 million people live in urban areas, and that its urban population is growing around 2 percent annually.



“The truth is, the municipality has run out of land, as it cannot keep expanding and encroaching into rural districts,” said Ndlovu, whose organisation lobbies the local municipality on behalf of residents.



With cemeteries in and around the city full to capacity, local authorities are encouraging citizens to consider alternatives to traditional burial.



But attempts to promote cremation, double burials or even recycled graves are coming up against long-held cultural and spiritual beliefs.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘UNAFRICAN’</h3>



When Gumede was asked if cremation could be an option for his family, he rejected the idea outright by invoking “ubuntu,” the southern African philosophy that says a person is who they are because of their connectedness to all of humanity.



“We did not even consider (cremation) as a family. It’s unheard of in our ubuntu as Africans,” he said.



Early this year, the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) held public meetings to try to convince residents of the benefits of cremation, but the idea was roundly rejected as “unAfrican”, said Ndlovu.



According to BCC spokeswoman Nesisa Mpofu, the city of about 1.5 million people has had fewer than 30 cremations since the start of the year.



Searching for other solutions, the local government has started suggesting people bury two family members in the same plot, Mpofu told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in emailed comments.



But, like cremation, the idea has met resistance among residents.



“I have never heard of any such thing as a double burial,” said Lloyd Tshuma, a secondary school teacher.



Tshuma planned to avoid the stress of finding a cemetery space in the city by being buried in his family’s traditional plot in the countryside.



“I will be buried in my rural (area), as has my whole family,” he said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TWO NEW CEMETERIES</h3>



Bulawayo municipality has also considered reusing old graves, a practice that is becoming more common in many parts of the world, as a growing number of countries find themselves low on space to bury the dead.



But Gibson Banda, a member of the Bulawayo United Residents’ Association, another organisation representing residents’ rights in the city, said families are not ready to bury loved ones in other people’s graves.



“There is a problem there because we believe people’s spirits linger in their graves,” Banda said.



“Imagine, then, your relative being buried among unknown spirits.”



BCC spokeswoman Mpofu noted that there are two new cemeteries planned for the city, but construction for both has been delayed.



But, once the two new cemeteries are finished “projections are that these will be enough burial space for all in the foreseeable future,” Mpofu said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A CRISIS OF SPACE</h3>



Bulawayo’s efforts to make space for the dead mirrors its struggles to find affordable housing for the living.



According to Mpofu, the city has a housing waiting list of about 115,000 applicants and a target to provide homes for 3,000 people every year.



But as people continue to migrate into cities from rural areas, meeting housing targets has proven difficult across the country.



According to the finance ministry’s 2019 Infrastructure Investment Plan, the country has a backlog of more than one million who need housing.



About 400 kilometres north of Bulawayo, the capital Harare is also expanding at a rate faster than the municipality can cope with, according to city officials.



In April, minister of state Oliver Chidawu told state media that land shortages in the city were largely due to what he called “weak” government institutions that had allowed developers to buy up council-owned land, including plots that had been earmarked for cemeteries.



The Harare municipality office did not reply to several requests for comment.



In Bulawayo, council officials are stressing the urgency of finding enough cemetery space.



At a city council meeting in March, councillor Mlandu Ncube warned that the city needs “more graves than houses”.



The city’s ongoing shortage of burial sites has Gumede worried about the choices his family will face when he dies.



As he mourned his father, he hoped to take comfort in the idea that he could be near him again in death. Now, he fears that chance has gone.



“By the time I die, I have no idea where I would be buried,” he said.



&#8220;I would have loved to be buried next to the old man, but it&#8217;s clear that won&#8217;t happen.&#8221; (Reporting by Marko Phiri, Editing by Jumana Farouky and Zoe Tabary. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women&#8217;s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://news.trust.org/">news.trust.org</a>)

Zimbabwe has a grave problem

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; On a sunny morning in the central business district of Zimbabwe’s second city Bulawayo, 14-year-old Tapiwa is basking in the sunlight on a busy pavement.



After running away from his abusive stepmother last year, Tapiwa turned to sex work to earn a living on the streets.



He is one of the rising number of homeless children in a nation crippled by a cash crunch that has led to shortages of fuel and price hikes of basic necessities.



Child rights’ groups said the sexual abuse of underage girls was widely discussed but to date little attention had been given to the boys caught up in the sex trade to survive.



Gay sex is illegal in Zimbabwe, carrying a prison sentences of up to three years, but non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said reports of rising numbers of underage boys selling themselves on the streets were rife.



“There is a brothel on 12th Avenue here in the city where my friends and I solicit for sex in exchange for money,” Tapiwa told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding his clients usually paid $10 for 30 minutes.



Zimbabwean parliamentarian Ncube Siphiwe, a senator for Bulawayo Metropolitan province, said the authorities were aware of this trend, with abandoned beer halls converted into unofficial venues for sex work.



“Of course, we know what is happening in the city &#8230; we don’t support this as leaders and parents because it makes children lead a bad life,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.



Bulawayo City Council spokesman Nesisa Mpofu confirmed the authority has leased unused beer halls to the community for businesses and had no say on how tenants ran those places.



“We are not aware of the 12th Avenue brothel but that should be reported to the Zimbabwe Republic Police,” she said, adding that this would now be investigated.



Sikholiwe Ncube, programmes officer at the Bulawayo-based Thuthuka Street Children’s Home, said the nation’s economic crisis has forced more children onto the streets, leaving them vulnerable.



After suffering from decades of decline, Zimbabwe is also facing a drought and devastation from Cyclone Idai that has further dashed hopes that the economy will quickly recover in the wake of the downfall of Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MORE LIVING ROUGH</h3>



Historic data on the number of children living rough is scarce but the Social Welfare Department estimated Zimbabwe in 2017 had more than 4,700 children working and living on the streets of major cities Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo and Beitbridge.



“This year the number of children living on the streets of Bulawayo has risen due to the economic meltdown in the country. Children as young as 10 years are on the streets,” Ncube said.



Thuthuka Street Children’s home estimated there were between 150 and 250 street children in Bulawayo’s city centre, eking out a living mainly by begging while some engaged in criminal activities and others ended up in the sex trade.



This put them at risk of HIV with the southern African country having one of the world’s largest HIV epidemics, with about 13% of 15-to-49-year-olds and 57% of sex workers living with the virus in 2017, according to UNAIDS.



Yet Bulawayo residents in the central business district have little sympathy for street children.



“They are a nuisance,” Nigel Matupire, a local shop owner told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Every day I clean up their mess in front of my shop door.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SEX FOR MONEY</h3>



Selling sex has become a daily reality for Munashe, 15, from Mberengwa District in Zimbabwe’s central heartlands.



“I come from a very poor background and I lost both parents then I decided to come to Bulawayo to look for a better life,” Munashe told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on a street corner.



Initially, he travelled to South Africa where he said he lived under a bridge until someone told him about the sex trade.



“I laughed at the idea that men pay for sex with us until he one day (took) me to his clients. But life was tough at that point,” he said.



He said he moved back to Bulawayo after the South African police started to crackdown on homeless people and at first begged before moving into the sex trade.



“I get a lot of money from the sex trade to survive in the streets,” Munashe said.



Danai Chirawu, a lawyer at the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA), said children under 16 cannot consent to sex under the law but there were some grey areas.



Heterosexual sex between a man over the age of 16 and a girl between the ages of 12 and 15 is legal if the girl consented while sexual intercourse between a girl below the age of 12 and a man aged over 16 is automatically classified as rape.



Sex between men or boys – of any age – is illegal but prosecutions are rare, according to a British government report that found authorities more commonly harassed LGBT+ people for loitering, indecency and public order offences.



Bulawayo’s Chief Inspector Precious Simango said there had not been any reports of underage boys in the sex trade but every police station had a special “Victim Friendly Unit” for such cases to be recorded if they did come up.



However, the Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), a non-profit organisation that supports marginalised vulnerable groups such as sex workers and the LGBT+ community in Bulawayo, said there had been an increase in the number of children in the sex trade.



“As an organisation we see that as child exploitation,” said Mojalifa Mokoele, SRC programmes officer.



&#8220;It is not sex work, it is exploitation of minors and children into sex work. This is something that we speak against as an organisation.&#8221; (Reporting by Lungelo Ndhlovu @Luxy58; Editing by Hugo Greenhalgh and Belinda Goldsmith. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian news, women&#8217;s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://news.trust.org/">news.trust.org</a>)

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Labour group in Zimbabwe threatens protests over ban on foreign currencies

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