14 July 2021
South Africa: 10 times more soldiers will be deployed to deal with riots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, 25,000 instead of the original 2,500. By now, “(t)ens of thousands of businesses have been ransacked”. According to the latest figures, at least 72 people have so far died in the riots, 45 in Gauteng and 27 in KwaZulu-Natal.
BBC Africa Live 14 July 2021. 17:17
And also: https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1203340/politique/afrique-du-sud-72-morts-dans-des-violences-selon-un-nouveau-bilan/
Somalia: MP Fawzia Yusuf Adam is the first woman to declare her candidacy for the 10 October presidential elections. The former deputy prime minister and former foreign affairs minister promises to “breathe a new lease of life into Somalia”.
BBC Africa Live 14 July 2021. 13:06
13 July 2021
IMF: From 1980 to 2015, there were 763 IMF programmes. Of these, 512 were interrupted. Of these, 291 did not resume. The article’s two authors “show that they simply entail too many policy conditions. Even reform-minded governments struggle to implement them.” Yet interruption of an IMF programme means that investors tend to lose confidence in the concerned country. Presently, there is “a record-high number of 80 new IMF lending arrangements due to the COVID-19 crisis.” Shouldn’t the IMF be more careful with its “help”?
https://theconversation.com/lots-of-imf-programmes-are-never-completed-because-theyre-unworkable-161905
Mozambique: A two year military training mission has been approved by the EU to provide “capacity building of the Mozambican Armed Forces units that will form part of a future rapid reaction force”. The mission will consist in “military training, including operational preparation, specialised training in counter-terrorism, and training and education in the protection of civilians”.
BBC Africa Live 13 July 2021. 6:50