Africa Media Review for November 17, 2022

Sudan’s FFC to Sign Framework Agreement with Military Component in 10 Days
The purpose of the process is to ensure the participation of the revolution’s forces in the democratic transition and to form a large coalition backing the needed reforms, said Yasir Arman in statements to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday…He said they agreed on a two-stage process to ensure the inclusive participation of more social and political forces on the sticky issues. “First, there is a framework agreement including all the necessary mechanisms to end the coup and establish a democratic civil authority based on the document of the Sudanese Bar Association and the political declaration. This agreement will be signed within 10 days,” said Arman. Sudan Tribune

In Tunisia, a News Site Sued for Criticizing the Head of Government
It is the first media site to be prosecuted since the promulgation on September 16 by President Kaïs Saïed of Decree 54, strongly criticized by civil society. This text provides for five years in prison and a heavy fine for anyone “who deliberately uses communication networks and information systems to produce, promote, publish or send false information or false rumours”. The penalty is  “doubled”  if this “fake news ” targets state officials, according to the decree. Globe Echo

Madagascar: ‘Life Brought Me Here.’ An Island Nation Adapts to a Changing Climate
Madagascar, the world’s fourth poorest country, has in the last three years been strangled by drought and battered by successive cyclones and tropical storms that have only become more powerful in a changing climate….Climate disasters are compounding the poverty in Madagascar, an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa. During the storms earlier this year, at least 214 people were killed, and 571,000 needed food, shelter or medicine. More than two million in a country of 28 million face acute food insecurity, which could worsen by the end of this year and cause a new exodus of people from their farms to nearby towns, humanitarian agencies warn. New York Times

‘The Work We Do Is Overwhelming’ – Ugandan Doctors Face Fear and Shortages in Ebola Outbreak
When Ebola broke out in Uganda in September, 10 doctors immediately stepped forward to work in an isolation unit at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, but now only three are left. Staff are reluctant to work in the unit for fear of catching the deadly haemorrhagic fever, and also because of exhaustion and delayed wages, said one of the trio, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to talk to the media. Al Jazeera

Ghana’s Economy Battling ‘Malevolent Forces’, Says President
Ghana’s currency has been one of the world’s worst performing against the dollar this year, inflation is at a 21-year high of 40 per cent and debt servicing is expected to take up 47 per cent of revenue in 2022, a reversal of fortune for a country once hailed as an economic success…Many African economies have been hit hard by a global rise in food and energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine just as they were beginning to recover from Covid. The US Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy has led to a strong dollar, raising the cost of goods in import-heavy economies. In Ghana, this has been exacerbated by the cedi’s fall by more than 50 per cent against the dollar in 2022, the worst performance of the 148 currencies in a Bloomberg tracker. Financial Times

Nigeria Confirms Death of a Top Militia Leader
The authorities in Nigeria’s north-western state of Kaduna have confirmed the death of a top militia leader during a shootout with the army on Sunday. A state government spokesman said Kachalla Gudau was among scores of gunmen killed when they attacked a military facility. It’s alleged he was responsible for multiple kidnappings, killings and illicit drugs operations. It came as the Nigerian Air Force said it had carried out air strikes on bandits’ hideouts in several locations within the state, killing scores of them. With three months to go before Nigeria’s presidential election, security forces appear to have stepped up their attacks on suspected gangs. BBC

Nigeria Floods 80 Times More Likely with Climate Change
Heavy rains and flooding that swamped Nigeria, Niger, Chad and the surrounding region between June and October this year was made 80 times more likely because of climate change, a rapid analysis by international climate attribution experts found. Analysis released late Wednesday by the World Weather Attribution group used peer-reviewed methods and found that climate change was overwhelmingly behind the heavy rains that left over 800 people dead, with worse to come as global average temperatures continue to rise. AP

COP27: Africa’s Dash for Gas Sparks Debate at Climate Summit in Egypt
At the current COP27 negotiations in Egypt, dubbed by some as the “African COP”, the continent’s leaders are trying to get support and funding to tap into Africa’s vast gas reserves, arguing that gas is less polluting than alternative fossil fuels such as coal and oil. This argument has already been endorsed by the European Union…They argue that Western countries benefitted from dirtier fossil fuels so Africa should not be prevented from exploiting its cleaner natural gas in order to raise living standards on the continent. But climate campaigners and delegates from low-lying islands have said this will lock Africa into using fossil fuels for many years and make the crucial goal of slowing the global temperature rise more difficult. BBC

Gas Has ‘Transitional Role’ in Africa’s Green Goals, EU Says
While renewable energy is becoming cheaper globally, Timmermans said he understands Africa’s need to monetize its fossil-fuel resources. The EU and member states like Germany are currently turning to countries like Senegal and Algeria to help make up for a shortfall in Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine. Prominent African activists, like Mohamed Adow from Power Shift Africa, have accused Europe of using the continent as its “gas station” and of “energy colonialism.” They say that the EU’s short-term gas needs could risk locking Africa into decades of fossil-fuel infrastructure. Bloomberg

The Kids Are Still at It: Meet Young Activists at COP27
“I can say we find ourselves in a system that is completely greenwashing, but then we have to try and change that system and make it better,” Vanessa Nakate, a 26-year-old climate justice activist from Uganda, told Rathi and Quicktake correspondent Jennifer Zabasajja. “When you come from a community that is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, you have no other choice but to come and try and change the system. You have no other choice but to come and talk about what’s happening in your community. We have to be here, we have to try and make things better for our communities and for our future.” Bloomberg