NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Somalia’s economy is expected to grow by 2.9% this year, from 2.8% last year, before growth quickens to 3.2-3.5% in the medium term, the World Bank said on Monday.



The Horn of Africa country has been in turmoil since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew President Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Over the past decade it has been hit by famine and sporadic terror attacks by al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab.



The higher growth forecast for the next three-to-five years would depend on the country being able to sustain its current economic reform momentum, the World Bank said in a statement.



Tax collection by the government increased by 29% last year, as the economy recovered from a drought the previous year and the government changes its tax policies, the World Bank said.



“While this progress is&nbsp;encouraging, the available fiscal space remains insufficient to meet expenditure needs&nbsp;(for) education and health&nbsp;sectors,” the bank said.



It asked the government to form a fund dedicated to education to allow authorities in Mogadishu to mobilise more cash from regional states and other partners to support learning.



In May, the International Monetary Fund said Somalia’s economy was on the right track but warned that it was still vulnerable to fragile security, climate change and poverty.



Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Toby Chopra

Somalia’s economy expected to grow by 2.9%, what you need to know

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/taylor-locke/">Taylor Locke</a> 



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/bill-gates/">Bill Gates</a>’ biggest fear is that his brain will “stop working.” That’s what Gates says in the upcoming three-part Netflix documentary“Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates.”



With the documentary, which drops Sept. 20, director and executive producer Davis Guggenheim aims to find out what goes on inside the mind of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/#57df5cba689f" class="">second richest man in the world</a>. But some things about how Gates’ brain works can be gleaned from the series short&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv29JKmHNY" class="">trailer</a>, released Thursday.



Gates is a&nbsp;″multiprocessor” says his wife Melinda Gates in the trailer. “He will be reading something else but then processing at the same time. It’s chaos!” Melinda says.



Gates&nbsp;″thrives on complexity,” Melinda says. “He makes aframework in his mind, then he starts slotting in the information. If something doesn’t line up, he gets really frustrated.”



“It’s scary,” says Melinda.“But when Bill stills himself, he can pull ideas together that other people can’t see.”



The idea of having a “framework” is something Gates has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/how-bill-gates-remembers-what-he-reads.html" class="">talked about himself</a>.



When explaining how he remembers what he reads, Gates told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xwh88cI_d8" class="">Quartz</a>:“If you read enough, there’s a similarity between things that make it easy, because this thing is like this other thing. If you have a broad framework, then you have a place to put everything.”



“At first it is very daunting,” Gates told Quartz, “but then as you get the kind of scope, then all these pieces fit in.



“It’s fun to say, okay, this is where this belongs and does this contradict something I knew before? And I better look that up, I better figure it out.”



According to the documentary trailer, Gates looks at problems from usual angles, which allows him to innovate, and “he’s at his best when the deck is stacked against him” — skills that come in handy as he tries to tackle some of the world’s most difficult problems like disease and poverty.



In addition to giving a small glimpse into Gates’ thinking, the trailer for the documentary also gives away some fun facts: Gates’ favorite food is a hamburger, he doesn’t eat breakfast and dogs are his favorite animal.



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HBEDE1yLopw?start=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/how-bill-gates-brain-works-netflix-documentary.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/30/how-bill-gates-brain-works-netflix-documentary.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

This is how Bill Gates’ brain works

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tapiwa-chagonda-554954">Tapiwa Chagonda</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

Zimbabwe is going through its worst socio-economic and political crisis in two decades. Crippling daily power outages of <a href="https://www.biznews.com/africa/2019/08/05/zimbabwe-tipping-point-economic-crisis">up to 18 hours</a> and erratic supply of clean water are just some of the most obvious signs. Meanwhile, an inflation rate of over 500% has put the prices of basic goods beyond the reach of most people.

Hopes that the end of President Robert Mugabe’s ruinous rule in November 2017 would help put the country on a new path of peace and prosperity have long <a href="https://theconversation.com/fantasy-that-mnangagwa-would-fix-zimbabwe-now-fully-exposed-110197">dissipated</a>. Efforts by his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa to <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/zimbabwe-is-open-for-business-says-mnangagwa-12913367">attract foreign investors</a>, who are critical in reviving Zimbabwe’s ailing economy, have also largely failed.

The situation has not been helped by the rejection of the 2018 presidential election results by the main opposition party. The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A) claims the governing Zanu-PF stole the elections even though the results were <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/africa/Regional-observers-Zimbabwe-election-free-and-fair/4552902-4692254-e75fje/index.html">endorsed</a> as free and fair by the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC). Only the European Union observers were somewhat circumspect <a href="https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/eu-observers-say-zimbabwe-election-fell-short-on-fairness-20181010">in their assessment</a>. 

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/fantasy-that-mnangagwa-would-fix-zimbabwe-now-fully-exposed-110197">Fantasy that Mnangagwa would fix Zimbabwe now fully exposed</a>
 
 

<hr>


The opposition alliance has been calling for Mnangagwa’s government to relinquish power, and a <a href="https://www.openparly.co.zw/chamisa-calls-for-national-trasitional-authority/">national transitional authority</a> appointed to run the country for at least two years, or until the 2023 general elections.

How individuals who will sit on the national transitional authority will be chosen and by whom, is not clear. But the party and <a href="https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2019/03/01/towards-the-national-transitional-authority/">some academics</a> believe such a transitional authority would normalise Zimbabwe’s highly polarised political situation and help it revive its relations with the West.

The opposition may have a point on re-engagement with the West. This is key to helping end the investment drought that started in earnest <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.908.3003&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf">between 2000 and 2003</a> under sanctions imposed by Western countries for human rights violations linked to Zanu-PF’s violent land reform seizures and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jun/03/zimbabwe.andrewmeldrum">election rigging</a>.

But the transitional authority idea is doomed to fail because of lack of buy-in by Zanu-PF. So, it’s time to consider a more viable alternative path to peace for Zimbabwe.

<h2>Clamping down</h2>

For now, the government has dismissed talk of a transitional authority as unconstitutional. Instead, in May it launched its own platform, called the <a href="https://www.panafricanvisions.com/2019/zimbabwe-mnangagwa-launches-the-political-actors-dialogue-to-address-long-term-economic-challenges/">Political Actors Dialogue</a>. The forum comprises 17 small political parties that participated in the 2018 elections. 

The main opposition party is boycotting the process on grounds that Mnangagwa is an illegitimate president. Recently, it attempted to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=5&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi-gdPunLfkAhXfSBUIHdWZCeIQFjAEegQIBBAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-africa-49366224&amp;usg=AOvVaw0fkr2f1y4BV0-4W2SlJHGY">embark on public protests</a> in the hope of bringing the government to its knees. The protests fell flat after being blocked by the courts and the police.

It boggles the mind why the MDC-A, led by Nelson Chamisa, insists on marches when previous attempts were crushed with brute force. These led to deaths in <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=21&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwingbiQ87TkAhVsZhUIHWexAsIQFjAUegQICBAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news24.com%2FAfrica%2FZimbabwe%2Fzimbabwean-generals-deny-troops-shot-and-killed-6-protesters-20181113&amp;usg=AOvVaw02nyk1uLwat64nJso2EImF">August 2018</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwicyIfl87TkAhV9SBUIHXzrAC4QFjAAegQIAhAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fmg.co.za%2Farticle%2F2019-01-30-zim-army-responsible-for-murders-rapes-report&amp;usg=AOvVaw1fiTJ2kraC9xNiMyQ4TBM6">January 2019</a>. 

The Zanu-PF regime has always clamped down heavily on perceived threats to its rule since 1980. Why then does the MDC-A continue to endanger people’s lives through this deadly route as a way of resolving Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political crises?

I firmly believe that the opposition needs to change tack and focus on entering into dialogue with the government. 

<h2>Dialogue and unity government</h2>

Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis requires the two leading political protagonists &#8211; Mnangagwa and Chamisa &#8211; to enter into serious dialogue. Both leaders need to soften their hard-line stances towards each other and put the people of Zimbabwe first.

There’s a precedent for this. Ten years ago, then South African President Thabo Mbeki managed to bring then President Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=11&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiMheeVnrfkAhVXShUIHeBIDw04ChAWMAB6BAgAEAE&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.france24.com%2Fen%2F20080721-mbeki-harare-mediate-talks-zimbabwe-political-crisis&amp;usg=AOvVaw2pLPeTVwBEVrH2TSAcW5e3">negotiation table</a>. 

The talks culminated in the formation of the government of national unity that ran Zimbabwe from February 2009 to July 2013, with Mugabe as the President and Tsvangirai as the Prime Minister. The unity government was fairly successful and managed to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=10&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiv9PjanrfkAhUUTBUIHQR0D0cQFjAJegQIABAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindependent.co.zw%2F2013%2F07%2F11%2Freflecting-on-positive-zimbabwe-gnu-moments%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw25plQQHFWt-5PTjI9_Fi6J">stabilise the economy</a>.

Two decades of suffering have shown that it is not the threat of protests or sanctions from the West that can move Zanu-PF to change, but neighbouring countries under the aegis of <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=11&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwia1fucj7HkAhWnRhUIHcY8Dvc4ChAWMAB6BAgAEAI&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.fes.de%2Fpdf-files%2Fbueros%2Fmosambik%2F07874.pdf&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PSzn2eTrgI53Cnw2yrI2t">SADC</a>. South Africa is pivotal in this regard as the region’s strongest economic and military power. 

It’s time to experiment with a second government of national unity for Zimbabwe. But for this to happen, SADC and South Africa must have the appetite to intervene in Zimbabwe. This is currently lacking. 

<h2>Dialogue in Zimbabwe’s history</h2>

Historically, dialogue has moved Zimbabwe forward as a nation during its darkest hours. 

<ul>
<li>A year before independence in 1980, battle-hardened guerrilla commanders agreed to talk to the then Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, to end Zimbabwe’s liberation war even though they were convinced that they were winning. </li>
<li>In 1987 Joshua Nkomo, who was the leader of the main opposition party, the Zimbabwean African People’s Union, agreed to talk to his political nemesis, then Prime Minister Mugabe. Yet before this, he had been hounded out of the country by Mugabe in the mid-80s, and <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=zi-tWekXbD8C&amp;pg=PA19&amp;lpg=PA19&amp;dq=%22the+early+rain+which+washes+away+the+chaff+before+the+spring+rains%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=dWX2SIUj7r&amp;sig=0aDLpmmQfN93e_RNJuKcBmGGEYI&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwioi-joj6LWAhWE7hoKHRF_C7wQ6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&amp;q=%22the%20early%20rain%20which%20washes%20away%20the%20chaff%20before%20the%20spring%20rains%22&amp;f=false">thousands of his supporters killed</a>. </li>
<li>More recently in 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to enter into a unity government with Mugabe, despite winning the first round of the <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-10-00-zim-2008-election-taken-by-a-gun-not-a-pen">2008 elections</a>. The unity government briefly resuscitated and stabilised Zimbabwe’s fragile economy. Hyperinflation was tamed, basic commodities became available again and people regained purchasing power.</li>
</ul>

<h2>The way forward</h2>

Given the MDC-A’s positive contribution during its brief stint in the 2009-2013 unity government, the party should be expending its energies on dialogue. The main opposition party can enter into a second government of national unity, but continue building and strengthening its own support.

In the same vein, Zanu-PF also needs to realise that without the involvement of the MDC-A, its attempts to revive the economy and end the strife in the country, on its own terms, are destined to fail.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122726/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/tapiwa-chagonda-554954">Tapiwa Chagonda</a>, Associate Professor of Sociology, <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/zimbabwes-deepening-crisis-time-for-second-government-of-national-unity-122726">original article</a>.

Zimbabwe’s deepening crisis: Here’s why it’s time for a second government of national unity

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand strengthened against the dollar on Monday, with momentum reignited by upbeat remarks from the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman and a Chinese economic stimulus package.



At 0734 GMT the rand was 0.34% firmer at 14.7700 per dollar from an overnight close of 14.8200.



Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday in Zurich the central bank will continue to act “as appropriate” to sustain the economic expansion in the world’s biggest economy, sticking to a phrase that financial markets have read as signalling further interest-rate reductions ahead.



Powell’s remarks came as the Chinese central bank moved on Friday to cut how much cash banks must hold in reserve, releasing liquidity to shore up an economy hit by the Sino-U.S. trade conflict.



Easing policy is also expected in the Eurozone later this week when the European Central Bank (ECB) governing council meets.



“Risk-on trading patterns stemming from this move will be positive for emerging market assets this week,” Rand Merchant Bank’s Siobhan Redford said in a note.



Locally, investors will this week set their eyes on manufacturing and mining production data, which will provide an indication of the activity in the primary and secondary sectors of the economy.



“We expect the rand to trade sideways today and drift around the 14.80 level, but “risk-on” is still evident in the market thus we have a slight bias toward the rand drifting stronger,” Andre Botha, Senior Dealer at TreasuryONE said in a note.



In equities, the broader All-Share index inched up 0.04% to 55,615 points, while in fixed income the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 stood at 8.15%.



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, editing by Ed Osmond

South Africa’s rand strengthens, reignited by upbeat remarks from U.S. Federal reserve chairman

By Fifi Peters and Monique Vanek



Old Mutual could have avoided its costly legal battle with sacked CEO Peter
Moyo if it had explored more options to manage the conflict of interest with Moyo
and his company NMT Capital – the issue at the heart of the dismissal. Court
papers claim Old Mutual could have taken advantage of its preference share
subscription (PSS) agreement with the investment company, formerly known as
Amabubesi, which could have circumnavigated the dispute. 



Preference share
subscription agreement &nbsp;



The means were there according to court papers. In 2004/2005 when Old
Mutual, as part of its <a href="https://www.oldmutual.com/docs/default-source/investor-relations-files/plc/reports/2004/2004-old-mutual-annual-report.pdf?sfvrsn=dc1cf217_6">black
economic empowerment objectives</a>, became a 20 per cent
shareholder in NMT Capital it ensured that it contractually protected itself over
its R46 million preference share capital funding to the investment company.



Court documents show that under this preference share subscription (PSS)
agreement, no dividends were allowed to be paid on ordinary shares if the
preference share debt had not been settled. This issue was at the centre of the
conflict of interest argument. 



The PSS agreement also provided Old Mutual with the option to convert
the preference shares into fully paid ordinary shares of equivalent value if
NMT Capital failed to repay the preference share funding by the redemption
date.&nbsp; 



Another option was that the PSS agreement allowed South Africa’s second largest insurer to receive interest on all amounts owing, if the preference dividend was not paid, once the company had redeemed the preference shares. 



Instead, Old Mutual agreed to redemption extensions in 2010, 2013 and 2017. In 2018 the company requested another extension. According to a <a href="https://www.nmtcapital.co.za/index.php/newsroom/clarification-sens-statement-dated-18-june-2019-issued-old-mutual">statement from NMT Capital</a> it entered into talks with Old Mutual over the redemption extension with little success. 



In the statement the majority black owned investment company claims:



“NMT Capital had started discussions with Old Mutual aimed at extending
the redemption date of the preference shares. There was also a proposal sent to
that effect. These discussions were ongoing and Old Mutual was aware at that
stage that NMT Capital did not intend to redeem the preference shares but
preferred an extension of the redemption date.



“For its part, NMT Capital has on several occasions made attempts to
meet with Old Mutual representatives to iron out these issues towards finding
common ground. This includes a meeting with the Chairman of Old Mutual, Mr.
Trevor Manuel, which took place on the 30th of May 2018.”



The background to all of this tells its own story. Instead of Old Mutual
taking up the options made available to it, through the PSS agreement, it fired
Moyo in June 2019, mainly, for his role in chairing an NMT Capital annual
meeting on June 4 2018.At this meeting the black economic empowerment group
approved the payment of ordinary dividends ahead of settling its preference
share debt payments. 



Old Mutual said it held three sub-committee meetings to discuss the NMT
matters prior to firing Moyo. 



Moyo claims the board was driven by improper motives when firing him and
that his dismissal followed protective disclosures he made about Manuel. The High
Court ruled in favour of Moyo’s version of events on July 30. He is expected
back at work for the second time since the sacking this morning after winning
yet another court battle last week. 



In his founding judgement, presiding Judge Brian Mashile said:



&nbsp;“The Respondents (Old Mutual)
would let this court believe that the issue concerning the Applicant’s (Moyo)
conflict of interest arose well before he made the disclosures. In short this
is factually misguided. The Respondents might have been holding meetings as
early as January 2019 but it was not until retrieval of certain documents from
archives of NMT during or at the end of April that they learned of the alleged
conflict. The discovery of the alleged conflict therefore came after the disclosures.
For this reason, the connection is apparent – disclosure followed by alleged
conflict and then occupational detriment.”



Old Mutual did not respond to questions about why it approved NMT’s
redemption extensions several times. Also, questions as to why it did not take
up its options to convert the then outstanding preference debt from NMT into
ordinary dividends. Nor did it respond to questions on why the May 2018 talks
failed to reach a settlement and whether Moyo knew this.



Conflict of interest
options 



Aside from the PSS agreement, Old Mutual had other options to deal with
Moyo’s conflict of interest, according to court papers.



They include: an independent disciplinary hearing; asking Moyo to resign
as a director from the NMT Group; divesting his interests in the company into a
blind trust, or as a last resort, arbitration.



The job of managing any conflict appears to be at Manuel’s door.



“Any conflict of interest resulting from the executive’s position as
non-executive director of NMT will be dealt with by the chairperson of the
company and/or in terms of clause 25.2 of the executive’s employment contract,”
the contract says. 



Section 25.2 suggests arbitration by a private firm to resolve an
impasse that would normally be handled by The Commission for Conciliation,
Mediation and Arbitration. 



When asked why Manuel did not use all the options available to him to
manage Moyo’s conflict, Old Mutual did not comment. In response to a question
about why it invested in NMT Capital and the Group to start with, Old Mutual’s
chief of communications, Tabby Tsengiwe said:



“The history of
Old Mutual’s NMT investment is not relevant.&nbsp; Old Mutual’s concerns relate
to subsequent management by Mr Moyo of his conflict of interest with NMT and
among others, that ordinary dividends were paid out while OM&nbsp;[Old Mutual] should
have been paid first as a preferential shareholder.”



Following the litigation and hullabaloo over the payment of the
preference share debt NMT Capital has settled the preference share loan it
received. Asked how much the holding company NMT Group still owes, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/09/03/old-mutual-on-results-zimbabwe-litigation/">Old
Mutual acting CEO, Iain Williamson</a> said the insurer’s
exposure was around R290m.Old Mutual has said it is negotiating to exit this
investment.

How Old Mutual could have avoided a costly legal battle with Peter Moyo

#WEFA19: The Nature Economy

#WEFA19: Closing Plenary

#WEFA19: Africa’s Economic Update

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Following are key milestones in the life of Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe.



1924 &#8211; Mugabe is born on Feb. 21 in what was then British-ruled Southern Rhodesia.



1940s-1950s &#8211; He is educated at Catholic schools and attends South Africa’s University of Fort Hare. He teaches in Zambia and Ghana, where he is influenced by African independence movement leaders.



1960s &#8211; Mugabe campaigns for Zimbabwe’s independence and is imprisoned in 1964 for political agitation. While incarcerated, he earns two law degrees from the University of London External Programme.



1974 &#8211; Released from prison, he escapes to Mozambique were Zimbabwe African National Union guerrilla fighters elect him to lead their struggle against white minority rule. A number of rivals die in suspicious circumstances, rights groups say.



1980 &#8211; Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party wins independent Zimbabwe’s first election. He takes office as prime minister on April 18.



1982 &#8211; Mugabe deploys North Korean-trained troops to crush an insurgency by former guerrillas loyal to his liberation war rival Joshua Nkomo. Government forces are accused of involvement in the killing of 20,000 civilians, which Mugabe denies.



1987 &#8211; He becomes president with sweeping executive powers after changes to the constitution and signs a unity pact with Nkomo, who becomes one of his two deputies.



1990 &#8211; ZANU-PF and Mugabe win parliamentary and presidential elections.



1998 &#8211; An economic crisis marked by high interest rates and inflation sparks riots.



2000 &#8211; Zimbabweans reject a new constitution in a referendum, Mugabe’s first defeat at the ballot box.



&#8211; Thousands of independence war veterans and their allies, backed by the government, seize white-owned farms, saying the land was illegally appropriated by white settlers.



2001 &#8211; The United States puts a financial freeze on Mugabe’s government in response to land seizures, beginning a wave of Western sanctions. Mugabe’s relationship with the West, especially the U.S. and Britain, never recovers.



2002 &#8211; Mugabe wins a disputed presidential vote, which observers condemn as flawed.



&#8211; Zimbabwe is suspended from the British Commonwealth over accusations of human rights abuses and economic mismanagement. Mugabe pulls his country from the grouping the following year.



2008 &#8211; Hyperinflation reaches 500 billion percent, the nadir of an economic implosion that forces millions of people to leave the country, many to neighbouring South Africa.



&#8211; Mugabe loses a presidential vote but wins the run-off after opponent Morgan Tsvangirai withdraws citing violence against his supporters by security forces and war veterans. A power-sharing agreement is signed.



2010 &#8211; Media reports say Mugabe is seriously ill with cancer, speculation that continues in following years.



2013 &#8211; Mugabe wins another disputed presidential vote. Western observers site multiple accounts of electoral fraud.



2016 &#8211; Protesters led by a pastor stage the biggest show of defiance against Mugabe in a decade, prompting speculation about life after the veteran leader.



2017 &#8211; Mugabe is forced to resign in November following an army coup and is replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man he had fired as his deputy two weeks earlier.



2018 &#8211; Mugabe is seen in public for the first time since leaving power. He berates his former ZANU-PF allies and backs opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on the eve of an election.



2019 &#8211; Mugabe travels several times to Singapore to seek medical treatment as pictures of the gaunt, gray-haired former leader circulate on social media.



Compiled by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Joe Brock and Alexandra Zavis; editing by Darren Schuettler

TIMELINE: A look at the life of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe

This is a developing story 



Zimbabwe&#8217;s former president Robert Mugabe has died at the age of 95. The former president died in a Singapore hospital where he was receiving medical treatment. 



In 2017 Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe’s president shortly after parliament began an impeachment process to end his nearly four decades of rule. 



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Cde Mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. His contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace (2/2)&mdash; President of Zimbabwe (@edmnangagwa) <a href="https://twitter.com/edmnangagwa/status/1169839311430115329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

#BREAKING: Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe has died

#WEFA19: Africa: Rising Continent in a Fractured World

#WEFA19: Delivering the Promise of Africa’s Youth

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s central bank on Monday approved KCB Group’s acquisition of National Bank of Kenya.



KCB is Kenya’s biggest lender by assets. Lenders in the East African nation have turned to consolidation to boost profit growth after the government capped commercial interest rates in 2016, crimping their margins.



NBK was founded by the government in 1968 but is now listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.



Reporting by George Obulutsa; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Katharine Houreld

Kenya’s central bank has approved KCB Group’s acquisition of NBK

PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s economy grew 3.1% in the second quarter, following a revised 3.1% contraction in the first three months of the year, Statistics South Africa data showed on Tuesday.



Economists polled by Reuters had predicted an expansion of 2.4% quarter-on-quarter.



Year-on year GDP growth was 0.9% compared with zero previously.



Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana, writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by John Stonestreet

South Africa’s GDP expands by 3.1% in Q2

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Olga-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-344123" width="275" height="412"/></figure></div>



By Olga Arara-Kimani, Regional Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand &amp; Marketing for Standard Chartered in Africa and the Middle East



In recent years there has been significant improvements
towards empowering women in Africa and the Middle East (AME). Despite these
steps towards inclusion, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global
Gender Gap index<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>,
it will take more than 150 years to close the gender gap between men and women
in Africa and the Middle East. The effect of gender divide means women often
face barriers and end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a small
minority of those in senior positions.



The divide hasn’t gone unnoticed. Regional
governments are increasingly moving ahead with progressive policies and
legislation, whilst Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been instrumental
in providing women with new skills and spurring attitudinal change. A solid
foundation has been laid for women to maximise their potential, however
government legislation and NGOs will not suffice if we are to truly level the
playing field. For this to occur, the private sector must be engaged as a key
partner to deliver on female equity. 



To begin with the public sector, governments across the region have moved to increase female participation in the workplace in recent years.  In the UAE, the government recently passed a resolution to increase women&#8217;s representation in the Federal National Council (FNC) to 50 percent<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>, whilst South Africa President, Cyril Ramaphosa has just announced that government plans and budgets will have to include gender-specific delivery targets.  Governments across the region have also been instrumental in introducing legislation to encourage women both in, and into, the workplace. For instance, Lebanon has increased paid maternity leave from 49 to 70 days. Progressive policies are not only helping women enter and stay in the workforce, but in the long-term will have a positive impact on the region’s GDP. In the GCC alone, some estimates tout a 50 percent boost to economic output if women participate in the workforce to the same extent as men. International organisations have also contributed to significant advances in female economic empowerment across Africa and the Middle East, with a significant impact on attitudes towards equality. The United Nations (UN) has led this charge, with gender equality high up on its agenda as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the Middle East, UN Women awarded 200 youth volunteers at HeForShe for reaching 20,000 commitments on women’s empowerment<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a>, and in Africa, the organisation aims to empower up to two million women through various initiatives aimed at increasing income, wealth and business leadership skills. Beyond the UN, a large number of international organisations have also been instrumental in empowering women across the AME region. Oxfam, for example, has launched a global campaign called Raising Her Voice (RHV) which aims to promote women’s rights. This included a budget in Pakistan of over US$500,000
between the years of 2008-2013<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>.
In South Africa, the RHV campaign received roughly US$50,000 annually for
training and workshops that involved feminism and advocacy skills<a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>.



Local NGO initiatives have also been key in
the advancement of female inclusion throughout the AME region. As an example, five
Lebanese NGOs and the Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB) teamed up in
2016 to form Girls Got IT, an NGO to provide female students with access to hands-on
tech workshops, talks by industry leaders and tutorials on digital innovation. To
take but one of many examples from Africa, a Tanzanian NGO called ‘Village
Enterprise’ works on ending extreme poverty by helping women in rural areas
through entrepreneurship and innovation. The group has been working successfully
and achieved a milestone of one million lives transformed in May 2019<a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a>. 



It’s clear that governments and civil society have done much to integrate women into AME economies, positively affecting millions of lives along the way. Nevertheless, much remains to be done. Female labour force participation rates vary widely among African states, with South Africa at 49 percent<a href="#_ftn4">[4]</a> and Tanzania at 80 percent<a href="#_ftn5">[5]</a>. On the other hand, in the GCC, women comprise just 19.2 percent of the workforce according to one study<a href="#_ftn6">[6]</a>. In this context, the private sector, with all of its economic might, constitutes perhaps the most crucial element in addressing the balance. A recent study by Deloitte showed that Africa’s private sector represents 75 percent of generated wealth and 90 percent of all employment opportunities in the continent<a href="#_ftn7">[7]</a>. Fortunately, there are encouraging signs that companies are stepping up across AME and pursuing a concerted effort to empower women with new skills and opportunities. Standard Chartered stands as a case in point. The Bank has committed to raise USD50 million, between 2019 and 2023 through fundraising and Bank-matching, to empower the next generation to learn, earn and grow via its Futuremakers programme. By no means is Standard Chartered satisfied to merely provide financial donations – it also actively implements women’s empowerment programmes such as Women in Tech, aimed at promoting the economic and social development of women entrepreneurs. To date, this programme operates in five countries with entrepreneurial female participants from Pakistan, Nigeria, the US, the UAE and my home country, Kenya. The Bank is also committed to creating a more inclusive environment to help working parents balance work and family responsibilities; its staff can enjoy the benefit of flexible working policy, a parental paid leave of up to 140 calendar days for the mother and two weeks for the spouse.



Achieving gender equality is an important moral principle and acts as a catalyst to other development outcomes such as poverty reduction, well-being and health<a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>. Governments and NGO’s have been active in empowering women; however, change will take a collective partnership between government, NGO’s and private enterprise across the region to elevate women to an equal status. The outcome of maximising women’s potential and achieving gender equality will result in greater contributions being made and benefits to the entire region.

Op-Ed: What are the steps needed to challenge the gender divide ?

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kathleen-elkins/">Kathleen Elkins</a>



Berkshire Hathaway CEO and self-made billionaire Warren Buffett turned 89 on Friday, August 30. He’s also celebrating his 13th wedding anniversary with his wife, Astrid.



In honor of the Oracle of Omaha’s big day,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/" class="">CNBC Make It</a>&nbsp;rounded up seven of his best pieces of life advice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Marry the right person</h2>



Buffett made his fortune through smart investing, but if you ask him about the most important decision he ever made, it would have nothing to do with money. The biggest decision of your life,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/warren-buffett-says-the-most-important-decision-is-who-you-marry.html" class="">Buffett says</a>, is who you choose to marry.



“You want to associate with people who are the kind of person you’d like to be. You’ll move in that direction,” he said during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/A-Conversation-with-Warren-Buffett" class="">a 2017 conversation with Bill Gates</a>. “And the most important person by far in that respect is your spouse. I can’t overemphasize how important that is.”



It’s advice he’s been giving for years. As he said at the <a class="" href="https://buffett.cnbc.com/2009-berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting/">2009 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting</a>: “Marry the right person. I’m serious about that. It will make more difference in your life. It will change your aspirations, all kinds of things.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Invest in yourself</h2>



“By far the best investment you can make is in yourself,” Buffett&nbsp;<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/warren-buffett-shares-keys-success-134329028.html" class="">told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer</a>&nbsp;earlier this year.



First, “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/05/warren-buffett-how-to-increase-your-worth-by-50-percent.html" class="">learn to communicate better</a>&nbsp;both in writing and in person. ” Honing that skill can increase your value by at least 50%, he said in a Facebook video posted in 2018.



Next, take care of your body and mind — especially when you’re young. “If I gave you a car, and it’d be the only car you get the rest of your life, you would take care of it like you can’t believe. Any scratch, you’d fix that moment, you’d read the owner’s manual, you’d keep a garage and do all these things,” he said. “You get exactly one mind and one body in this world, and you can’t start taking care of it when you’re 50. By that time, you’ll rust it out if you haven’t done anything.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Associate yourself with ‘high-grade people’</h2>



Who you associate with matters, Buffett told author Gillian Zoe Segal in an interview for her 2015 book,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419715704/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;amp;amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;amp;amp;creative=9325&amp;amp;amp;amp;creativeASIN=1419715704&amp;amp;amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;amp;amp;amp;tag=getti043-20&amp;amp;amp;amp;linkId=X6UNEWPT2UNOA7CQ%20%5Ct%20_blank" class="">“Getting There: A Book of Mentors.”</a>&nbsp; “One of the best things you can do in life is to surround yourself with people who are better than you are,” he said.



If you’re around what he calls “high-grade people,” you’ll start acting more like them. Conversely, “If you hang around with people who behave worse than you, pretty soon you’ll start being pulled in that direction. That’s just the way it seems to work.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Work for people you respect</h2>



“Try to work for whomever you admire most,” Buffett told Segal. “It won’t necessarily be the job that you’ll have 10 years later, but you’ll have the opportunity to pick up so much as you go along.”



While&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/25/most-employees-dont-negotiate-their-salary.html" class="">salary is&nbsp;an important factor&nbsp;</a>when thinking about your career, “You don’t want to take a job just for the money,” said Buffett.



He once accepted a job with his mentor and hero, Benjamin Graham, without even asking about the salary. “I found that out at the end of the month when I got my paycheck,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ignore the noise</h2>



Investing can get emotional, and it doesn’t help that you can see how you’re doing throughout the day by checking a stock ticker or turning on the news.



But no one can be certain which way the financial markets are going to move. The best strategy, even when the market seems to be tanking, is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/08/heres-what-warren-buffett-says-to-do-when-the-market-tanks.html" class="">keep a level head and stay the course</a>, Buffett says.



“I don’t pay any attention to what economists say, frankly,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/warren-buffett-explains-why-he-never-listens-to-economists.html" class="">he said in 2016</a>. “If you look at the whole history of [economists], they don’t make a lot of money buying and selling stocks, but people who buy and sell stocks listen to them. I have a little trouble with that.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success isn’t measured by money</h2>



Buffett is consistently one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/#4d68b6251c71" class="">richest people in the world</a>, but he doesn’t use wealth as a measure of success. For him, it all boils down to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/31/how-warren-buffetts-measure-of-success-shaped-2018-for-bill-gates.html" class="">if the people you’re closest to love you</a>.



“Being given unconditional love is the greatest benefit you can ever get,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/cmsmedia/2809438/buffett-2008.pdf" class="">Buffett told MBA students in a 2008 talk</a>.



“The incredible thing about love is that you can’t get rid of it. If you try to give it away, you end up with twice as much, but if you try to hold onto it, it disappears. It is an extraordinary situation, where the people who just absolutely push it out, get it back tenfold.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special-report/2019/08/29/billionaire-elon-musk-computers-will-surpass-us-in-every-single-way/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special-report/2019/08/29/billionaire-elon-musk-computers-will-surpass-us-in-every-single-way/</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Warren Buffett just turned 89—here are 6 pieces of wisdom from the investing legend

YENAGOA (Reuters) &#8211; A gas pipeline in Nigeria’s Delta state was shut down on Friday following a breach, according to state oil company NNPC and local authorities.



Locals in Otu-Jeremi in Ughelli South area of Delta state reported an explosion on the pipeline, though NNPC said the pipeline was shut down following a leak. Police said they were investigating the situation.



Two local residents said there was an explosion.



“NPDC are saying that it was a rupture and not fire, but my men have gone there to find out,” said Adeyinka Adeleke, a senior police officer in Delta state.



NNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu said the company had ordered the pipeline closed following a leak and that repair works would commence soon.



The pipeline flows from Oil Mining License 34, which is owned by Nigeria Petroleum Development Co, a subsidiary of NNPC, and Nigerian company ND Western.



OML 34 produces an average of 390 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, and 17,000 barrels per day of oil and condensates.



Gas processed from the field goes into the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline, which feeds Egbin power plant, the largest in Nigeria.



Reporting by Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa; writing by Libby George; Editing by Leslie Adler

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Special Report

Somalia’s economy expected to grow by 2.9%, what you need to know

This is how Bill Gates’ brain works

Zimbabwe’s deepening crisis: Here’s why it’s time for a second government of national unity

South Africa’s rand strengthens, reignited by upbeat remarks from U.S. Federal reserve chairman

How Old Mutual could have avoided a costly legal battle with Peter Moyo

#WEFA19: The Nature Economy

#WEFA19: Closing Plenary

#WEFA19: Africa’s Economic Update

TIMELINE: A look at the life of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe

#BREAKING: Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe has died

#WEFA19: Africa: Rising Continent in a Fractured World

#WEFA19: Delivering the Promise of Africa’s Youth

Kenya’s central bank has approved KCB Group’s acquisition of NBK

South Africa’s GDP expands by 3.1% in Q2

Op-Ed: What are the steps needed to challenge the gender divide ?

Billionaire Warren Buffett just turned 89—here are 6 pieces of wisdom from the investing legend

A gas pipeline in Nigeria’s Delta state has been shut down, here’s why

News Tips

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