By Claire Ngozo

A deserted maize mill during one of the many power outages in Malawi. / Claire Ngozo/IPS

LILONGWE, Aug 11 (IPS) – Malawi’s attempts to improve trade and investment in the country have taken a huge step backwards following a decision by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a United States government foreign aid agency [...]

By Sam Olukoya
LAGOS, Aug 4 (IPS) – "We are suffering in the midst of plenty." That was how Nelson Ilemchi summed up his plight as he spent an entire day queuing to buy kerosene. Since January Africa’s largest producer of crude oil has been experiencing a protracted nationwide scarcity of the refined product.

"We produce this [...]

By Charlton Doki
JUBA, Jul 27 (IPS) – Less than three weeks after gaining independence, South Sudan is embroiled in a row with Sudan over pipeline fees charged by the latter to export oil.

Last week South Sudan made its first shipment of oil as an independent nation, despite the lack of an agreement on revenue sharing [...]

By Charles Mpaka

Persistent fuel shortages ignited violent nationwide public protests in Malawi as protestors called for President Bingu wa Mutharika’s resignation. / Charles Mpaka

BLANTYRE, Jul 21 (IPS) – In light of the recent spate of protests in Malawi, government should rethink its policy to devalue the local currency, economists say.

Economic and democratic governance [...]

By Protus Onyango
JUBA, Jul 7 (IPS) – The sharing of oil between North and South Sudan needs to be urgently addressed otherwise conflict between the two regions will escalate and could possibly lead to civil war, according to government officials and rights organisations.

Ambassador James Morgan, who represented Sudan in Indonesia until June, said matters related [...]

By Servaas van den Bosch
WINDHOEK, Jul 1 (IPS) – African trade with India and China flourished over the past decade but, with unemployment rising and industrialisation failing to take hold, cracks are appearing in Africa’s much-vaunted "Look East" doctrine. Meanwhile, from across the Atlantic, Brazil is making inroads into the continent.

Could relations with the Latin [...]

By Kristin Palitza

Some aid agencies use microfinance to "kickstart new markets" for renewable energy products among poor people. / Kristin Palitza/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Jun 27 (IPS) – Projects to fight climate change are being designed all around the world. But only five percent of them can be financed with the current international funds available, which [...]

By George Mhango
BLANTYRE, Malawi, Jun 27 (IPS) – In Malawi’s administrative and commercial capitals, Lilongwe and Blantyre, two things are clear, especially at night: blackouts and the sound of generators in various workplaces.

Power interruptions continue to affect both private and public sectors. And captains of industry insist that the Malawi/Mozambique interconnector power project must come [...]

By Kristin Palitza

"Rural women don’t have access to funds. They are the ones working in the fields, but it’s their husbands who manage the money." / Kristin Palitza/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Jun 27 (IPS) – Of the millions of dollars spent on climate change projects in developing countries, little has been allocated in a way that [...]

By Charlton Doki
JUBA, Jun 22 (IPS) – South Sudan is facing severe fuel shortages less than three weeks before it gains independence from the rest of the country. Many gas stations have shut down and those that remain open have people lining up overnight for fuel.

The shortage has affected all aspects of life. For the [...]

By Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla
CAIRO, Jun 22 (IPS) – On a blazingly hot summer’s day in Cairo, it’s 36 degrees Celsius in the shade. Air-conditioners and fans whirr across the city, burdening the national electricity grid. Last summer, the populous city experienced frequent water and power cuts, causing a furore. Consumption had grown by 2,600 megawatts, an [...]

By Tariro Madzongwe

The high carbon emissions of second hand Japanese cars has led government to announce a ban on further importation. / Tariro Madzongwe/IPS

HARARE, Jun 10 (IPS) – For Mathew Marufu, who has a disabled 10 year-old son, owning a second hand Japanese car has been an ‘answer from God’.

"My son has to travel [...]

By Charles Mpaka

NENO DISTRICT, Malawi
, Jun 10 (IPS) – Seventy kilometres outside Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, a profitable cooperative enterprise is providing villagers jobs and preserving forests.

The Zalewa forest in the southern Malawi district of Neno, like other wooded areas within reasonable distance of urban areas, has long been under pressure from people seeking wood [...]

By Servaas van den Bosch
WINDHOEK, May 31 (IPS) – A radical rethink of current energy policy can cut South Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent in 2050 compared to 1990 levels. More than that – after an initial spike in investment – South Africans four decades down the line would pay 23 billion dollars [...]

Carbon finance is putting efficient charcoal stoves into hundreds of thousands of kitchens in Uganda.