By Cam McGrath
CAIRO, Jan 18 (IPS) – For three decades Western governments and lending institutions bankrolled a corrupt regime in Egypt that trampled human rights and stifled democracy. Now they appear ready to do it again, say critics of the military council that has ruled since removing president Hosni Mubarak last February.

"Foreign aid should not [...]

By Jake Lippincott
TUNIS, Dec 11 (IPS) – On the verge of officially forming a coalition government to run the country and rewrite the nation’s pre-revolution constitution, Tunisia’s dominant, Islamist political party Ennahda has come under fire for its economic neo-liberalism, both from opponents and from coalition partners.

After an election noted for its transparency, the major [...]

By Miriam Gathigah
BUSAN, Dec 1 (IPS) – Billions of people are marking yet another World AIDS Day – this one themed "Getting to Zero", for zero AIDS-related deaths, zero new infections, and zero stigma and discrimination.

But in Africa, what may be needed is zero tolerance for corruption so that funds required to fight HIV/AIDS and [...]

By Miriam Gathigah

Kenyan tea and coffee farmers remain disgruntled about the minimal profits they make selling their cash crops. / Nalisha Kalideen/IPS

NAIROBI, Nov 24 (IPS) – Kenyan tea and coffee farmers remain disgruntled about the minimal profits they make selling their cash crops, the country’s leading foreign currency earners, as the government receives millions [...]

Laura Lopez Gonzalez interviews Greenpeace International Executive Director KUMI NAIDOO

Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said Africa will be looking to a binding treaty at COP 17. / CIVICUS

MONTREAL, Canada, Sep 12 (IPS) – Durban should not be the burial ground for the Kyoto Protocol, says Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace [...]

By Mantoe Phakathi

University of Swaziland students. The university failed to open this term because of a lack of funds from government. / Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

MBABANE, Aug 15 (IPS) – Despite the 2.4 billion emalangeni (342 million dollar) loan from the South African government to its cash-strapped neighbour, Swaziland is sinking deeper into debt.

While the money [...]

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 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 Julio Godoy
PARIS, Jun 20 (IPS) – The high economic growth enjoyed by many African states during the 2000s have not led to poverty elimination. This is because the growth did not happen in the sectors where poor people work, as in agriculture, or in the rural areas where poor people live, or simply did [...]

By Tinus de Jager

Paul Baloyi, chief executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, says African governments are under pressure to deliver services. / Tinus de Jager/IPS

JOHANNESBURG, Jun 15 (IPS) – Some Indians and Africans believe Africa is on the verge of becoming a world economic power, but changes are needed to ensure that [...]

By Nastasya Tay

SACU's smaller members states depend on import revenue transfers for their survival. / Nastasya Tay/IPS

JOHANNESBURG, Sep 16 (IPS) – The mooted restructuring of the revenue-sharing agreement of the world’s oldest customs union could lead to at least two of its Southern African members collapsing into "failed states" status as well as macroeconomic [...]

By Isolda Agazzi

(l-r) Flassbeck and Panitchpakdi: Countries should allow wages to increase to boost domestic demand. / isolda Agazzi/IPS

GENEVA, Sep 15 (IPS) – While the recovery from the financial and economic meltdown remains fragile in especially the developed world, the outlook for Africa inspires optimism, according to UNCTAD. The agency also believes the crisis [...]

By Hilaire Avril
PARIS, Sep 8 (IPS) – After weeks of rumours sparked by the leaking of a draft World Bank position paper on so-called land grabs in poor countries, the international financial institution has officially released its report on the surge in farmland purchases and leasing which have elicited controversy for over two years.

Acquisitions of [...]

By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES, Sep 8 (IPS) – Damián López, of Argentina, has been riding his bicycle the length of the Americas for the past three years. His mission? In addition to completing the long journey, he wants to shine the spotlight on children who are at risk due to violence or abandonment.

"The bicycle is [...]

By Ruth Langa
LUSAKA, Jul 9 (IPS) – Zambia has sold more than 262 state-owned enterprises in the past 18 years, with the latest being the beleaguered telecommunications company Zamtel.

As the debate continues about whether privatisation is the best policy option for the country, the government has learned from experience and addressed labour concerns more adequately [...]