ANGOLA: Balance of payments with Usd 1.1 billion deficit

Angola’s balance of payments recorded in the first quarter of this year a Usd 1.1 billion deficit against the figures of the corresponding period of 2019 when it reached a surplus of Usd 1.7 billion. The revenues that the country collects with the export of goods, continue to exceed the expenses with the import of goods, but the magnitude of this surplus recorded a significant contraction. The reduction in total exports in the period under analysis is justified by the drop in the average price of crude oil.

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MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique ranks second among countries with highest number of ecological threats

Mozambique faces the second highest exposure to ecological threats in the world, according to a classification released yesterday, which says the country may face five environmental threats by 2050. Mozambique is also included among the 12 countries, all in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest prevalence of food insecurity, a list which also includes Angola. It is estimated that 65% of the Mozambican and Angolan populations, respectively 20.4 and 18 million people, faced in food insecurity in 2018.

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NAMIBIA: Zambezi battles locust outbreak

The Zambezi region is experiencing another African migratory red locust outbreak which is extensively destroying grazing areas and crops. The locust outbreak in northeast Zambezi region was detected in August in the floodplains at Lusese, Nakabolelwa, Ibbu and the surrounding areas. Even though the summer cropping season has come to an end, the locust poses a serious threat to river field crops and livestock grazing areas.

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SOUTH AFRICA: Government tightens law to curb GBV
The South African government and its partners will make good on its promise to protect the country’s women and children against gender-based violence, President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed. To demonstrate this commitment, government recently set the wheels in motion to tighten perceived legislative loopholes. The swift action comes after public calls to action following a series of brutal murders and attacks on women and children over the past year.

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ZIMBABWE: 300 families kicked out of farm in Banket, Zimbabwe

Three hundred Banket families are set to lose their sources of livelihood after their state-allocated small-holder plots were grabbed from them by suspected government officials. The disenfranchised families, mainly residents of the tiny Mashonaland West town, were using the peri-urban land for subsistence farming.

The disputed land is at Wigtown farm whose previous owner Tim Henwood was kicked out of the property at the height of the country’s chaotic land reform programme.

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