Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Africa

Billions promised, millions expected: Malawi's mining boom fiscal gap

Subject of discussion: Ghana MPs call for continental action against xenophobic violence in South Africa. Photo: Parliament of Ghana

Tension at home; citizens quizzed

Growing criticism across Africa questions South Africa's handling of migration, with countries like the Republic of Congo and Malawi…

Solutions: Kenya’s Trade and Industry cabinet secretary Lee Kinyanjui acknowledged frustrations around economic competition and said governments needed practical policy frameworks for clarity. Photo: Supplied

Open the borders – Kenya minister

As South Africa moves to tighten immigration controls amid growing concern over undocumented migration, <u>Kenya’s</u>…

Ghanaian President John Mahama’s high-profile visit to London this week, designed to showcase Ghana as a premier destination for foreign investment, was overshadowed by controversy. Photo Jubilee House

Mahama’s UK visit overshadowed by controversy

At the centre of it is London mining investor INIHC’s arbitration battle over the billion-dollar Black Volta gold project

Eswatini has signed a $300 million agreement with Taiwan to build a massive strategic oil reserve but the project is raising difficult questions in a country battling deepening poverty, soaring unemployment and allegations of elite enrichment

Eswatini’s oil reserve gamble

Eswatini has signed a $300 million agreement with Taiwan to build a massive strategic oil reserve but the project is raising difficult questions in a country battling deepening…

MW2063 identifies industrialisation as one of three transformational pillars of Malawi’s long-term development strategy, alongside agriculture and urbanisation.
(Facebook)

Malawi’s industrial dream built backwards

Malawi’s industrial strategy has achieved only 40% of its targets, while core industrial capacity continues to weaken

A charity chaired by Malawi’s first lady, Gertrude Mutharika, has accepted multimillion-dollar pledges from two men facing serious legal scrutiny in South Africa,

Malawi first lady’s charity faces transparency questions after multimillion-rand donations

Contributions from controversial regional figures revive scrutiny over governance and political influence

The claim follows a February 3 ruling by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal that the Reserve Bank of Malawi (above) acted unlawfully when it revoked the Finance Bank of Malawi’s licence in May 2005.

Defunct Malawian Bank seeks $552m compensation

A bank that ceased operations more than two decades ago is seeking compensation from Malawi that could approach a 10th of the country’s annual budget, following a court ruling…

New research links rural solar adoption to mobile money use, while raising concerns about inequality

Solar powers Malawi’s mobile money boom but leaves the poorest behind

New research links rural solar adoption to mobile money use, while raising concerns about inequality

International Finance Corporation managing director Makhtar Diop speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali
Picture: Supplied

African SMEs face finance, fragmentation and succession crisis, warns IFC chief

At the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Makhtar Diop calls for bold investment, private sector leadership and structural reforms

The suspects boarding a police van. Photo: Macmillan Mhone

Malawi’s century-old witchcraft law leaves door open to mob killings

Seven deaths in southern Malawi expose legal gaps, weak prosecutions and a colonial law that authorities say is no longer fit to manage modern waves of panic-driven violence

Malawi’s parliament has opened a third formal investigation into the June 2024 military aircraft crash that killed former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others. (Malawi24/Facebook)

Malawi plane crash probe targets aviation oversight

For the families of the nine victims who died on a remote hillside in northern Malawi, the question that first emerged after the crash remains unresolved. The country’s third…

Kenyan President William Ruto says bilateral trade between Kenya and Tanzania is expected to surpass $1bn in 2026, citing growing investment, regional integration and stronger East African Community ties

Ruto projects $1 billion Kenya–Tanzania trade milestone in 2026 as ties deepen

Kenyan President William Ruto says bilateral trade between Kenya and Tanzania is expected to surpass $1bn in 2026, citing growing investment, regional integration and stronger…

A nationwide shutdown by traders in Malawi has exposed a dispute that goes far beyond a new tax technology.
(Malawi24/X)

Malawi trader shutdown exposes deeper tension over tax reform and economic crisis

Malawi’s rollout of a digital tax platform has triggered widespread business protests, with traders arguing that economic pressures and foreign exchange shortages were ignored…

Inflation in mainland Tanzania is expected to remain within the 3% to 5% target range, supported by stable food supply and exchange rate stability

Tanzania projects 6.1% GDP growth as agriculture and mining support recovery

Inflation in mainland Tanzania is expected to remain within the 3% to 5% target range, supported by stable food supply and exchange rate stability

The claim follows a February 3 ruling by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal that the Reserve Bank of Malawi (above) acted unlawfully when it revoked the Finance Bank of Malawi’s licence in May 2005.

Malawi central bank removes pension trustees over disputed hotel deal

The unusually forceful intervention highlights concerns about governance in the management of public retirement savings

More than a year after the fatal Malawi Defence Force plane crash that killed Saulos Chilima, lawmakers have ordered forensic exhumations amid lingering questions over the official findings

Fresh inquiry into Malawi military plane crash to exhume Chilima and eight victims

More than a year after the fatal Malawi Defence Force plane crash that killed Saulos Chilima, lawmakers have ordered forensic exhumations amid lingering questions over the…

A Tanzanian commission investigating deadly unrest following the October 2025 general election has recommended national reconciliation, criminal investigations and fast-tracking a new Constitution by 2028. Photo: Wainaina Mburu

Tanzania probe into 2025 election violence urges reconciliation and reforms

A Tanzanian commission investigating deadly unrest following the October 2025 general election has recommended national reconciliation, criminal investigations and fast-tracking…

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan

Tanzania President Samia pledges action on 2025 election violence commission findings

She has committed to implement recommendations from the commission, including reconciliation efforts, constitutional reforms and further investigations

A Tanzanian commission investigating the October 2025 violence has released a report detailing the scale of human and economic losses, concluding that the events were organised

Tanzania inquiry finds 2025 election unrest was organised and financed

Presenting the report, the commission’s chairperson Judge Chande Othman said the inquiry drew on extensive evidence from both primary and secondary sources, including…