Zambia, Kenya, and Ethiopia Choosing Yuan Over Dollar

What is going on in Africa?

7 Incredible African Traditional Dances - ZAMBIA 🇿🇲

Enjoy! Very recommendable! How the ladies shake their hips is amazing!

U.S. ambassador to Zambia cried during press conference announcing major cuts to medical aid for the country

Massive stealing of medications and medical supplies is a serious crime that apparently Zambia was unable to prevent!

"The U.S. ambassador to Zambia — Michael Gonzales — began his Thursday press conference on a somber note. After 29 minutes, he was wiping away tears.

His distress goes back to a discovery made in late 2021: Medications and medical supplies donated to Zambia by the U.S. were being stolen. After 13 months of demanding change and 33 meetings with senior members of the Zambian government, he said he had no choice but to cut $50 million in aid for medications and medical supplies. ..."

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Why this U.S. ambassador cried at a press conference — and is being called a hero

Michael Gonzales, U.S. ambassador to Zambia, at the Thursday press conference when he announced a cut of $50 million in aid for medications and medical supplies to the country. After 29 minutes, he was wiping away tears: "I've cried over this because I know that it's not going to be senior officials or the senior people ... who are going to hurt. I know it's going to be the poor family in rural Zambia whose baby gets malaria and they won't have access to antimalarials."

Trump Vows To Complete $5 Billion Lobito Corridor Rail Project To Ease Minerals Export In Africa

Good news! Recommendable! The Scramble for Africa heats up!

African countries thank Trump for cutting aid as a wake-up call

It has been known and discussed for at least several decades that Western aid to developing countries can be counterproductive.

"... Steep aid cuts from some of the world’s biggest donors, particularly America, are blowing holes in African health budgets as Washington, London, Paris and others slash their assistance spending. ...

“[African nations] must stand on their own,” South Africa’s health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, told the Telegraph on the sidelines of the G20 health summit in Durban.

“This message is to say please stand on your own, because no country can depend forever on another country. It’s a wake up call. ...

Similar sentiments have been voiced in other African capitals.

“I want to thank Mr Trump actually, I think he’s slapped us not on one cheek but on both cheeks, we should have been hammered a long time ago,” Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said. His country was receiving £460m ($600m) in aid a year from the US.

Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, has used the crisis to repeat his criticism of how aid  undermines sovereignty.

“Whoever gives you aid controls your life,” he said earlier this month.

Meanwhile Nigeria has said it refuses to beg. ..."

 

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‘We should have been hammered a long time ago’: African countries thank Trump for aid wake-up call "Just as European countries have grouped together on defence, African leaders want to take back control too"

President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema

The crypto mines bringing light to rural Africa

Good news! How are Bitcoins generated? Through excess electrical power in rural areas of Africa! It also helps with the electrification of these rural areas.

A railway museum in Livingstone, Zambia offers a clue to the African country's rich Jewish history

Amazing stuff! A living stone indeed!

When Stanley met Livingstone on 11/10/1870 by Lake Tanganyika: "... "Dr. Livingstone ... I presume", Stanley hesitantly inquires. It is indeed he." (Wikipedia)

"... “A tiny [Jewish] population influential beyond its numbers,” is how Oxford historian Hugh Macmillan described this community, which at its postwar peak numbered no more than 1,200.

“Jews have played an important part in Zambian history, especially in commercial business but also in the country’s political and intellectual life,” said Macmillan, co-author of the 1999 book “Zion in Africa: The Jews of Zambia.”
Today, there are almost no Jews living in Zambia, a nation of about 20 million in central Africa. But the influence of their historic presence is continuing to shape the developing nation, particularly as it builds up its medical infrastructure. ...
Unlike the other white Zambians (mainly British colonials) or in neighboring South Africa, the Jews of Zambia had open and equitable relations with Africans, Ron said. “We weren’t like the South African Jews who had nannies and houseboys,” she added. “We weren’t raised like that. When my father’s Indian and Black workers came to the house, they waited in the living room, not the back steps. Their children were my friends.” ..."

A railway museum in Zambia offers a clue to the African country's rich Jewish history - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The former synagogue of Livingstone, Zambia, is used today as a church.

Illegal to marry females below age 18 - Zambia passes the landmark Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2023

Good news! Hopefully, this legislation will be enforced.

"...“The legislation directly responds to the nation’s urgent challenges, with Zambia witnessing a staggering 1.7 million child brides, 400,000 of whom were married before age 15.” This alarming statistic underscores a grim reality  ..."

Illegal to marry below 18 - Zambia passes the landmark Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2023 - EIN Presswire Zambia passes landmark legislation setting the marriageable age at 18, without exception, in a major shift in the nation’s commitment to ending child marriage.

Credits: Human Progress Weekly Progress Roundup

Zambia's New Debt Restructuring Plan Vetoed by China-headed Committee with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Zambia owes about $4 bn to China.