THIS WEEK

 

15: Rwandan presidential elections. There is very little room for improvement for President Paul Kagame after getting almost 99% of the vote last time round. The scale of his victory in 2017, along with his 95% in 2003 and 93% in 2010, raised some questions about how truly democratic the elections were.

 

15: UN World Youth Skills Day

  

16: 2024 Infrastructure Africa Business Forum. Convened under the theme ‘Bringing you the Business of Infrastructure Development in Africa’, the event will connect industry stakeholders, foster dialogue, provide leading-edge information, promote investment and expansion, as well as facilitate business development around Africa’s growth and infrastructure needs. (Cape Town)

  

16-26: Trade, Industry & Competition Minister Parks Tau will lead a high-level delegation to the US to continue explaining Pretoria's position on a wide range of issues. According to the Office of the US Trade Representatives, the 21st US Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (Agoa Forum) is expected to take place in Washington DC, from 24-26 July.

  

17: Ghana’s Supreme Court will rule on a request for an injunction by the lawyers of Amada Odoi and Richard Dela Sky against Parliament – a ruling which will decide whether Parliament can send the anti-LGBTQ Bill to the President for signing (Accra).

 

18: President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his Opening of Parliament Address (Cape Town).

 

18: 5th West Africa LPG Expo. A premier event that stands at the forefront of shaping the burgeoning LPG market in the West Africa region. More than 1 000 LPG experts will attend and it features more than 50 exhibitors representing 10 countries (Dakar).
 

 

18: UN Nelson Mandela International Day
 

 

OTHER:

 

* Rwanda has donated 1 000 tonnes of grain as part of a global response to an appeal by Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa after the country was affected by the El Nino-induced drought which has rendered half of Zimbabwe’s population of more than 15m food-insecure during the 2024-2025 season.

  

* After 14 months of escalating internal conflict, Sudan is now confronting its most severe food security crisis on record. The latest situation report, released on 27 June, reveals a grim picture: more than half the population of 47.2m is facing acute food insecurity. This signifies severe lack of food, high malnutrition and starvation leading to death.

 

* The 2024 Young African Leaders Initiative of the Mandela Washington Fellowship is underway. It hosts young African leaders to the US for six weeks for academic coursework and leadership training.

 

* South African artist Zanele Muholi, whose work prominently features the lives of black South Africans in the LGBTQ+ community, has returned to the Tate Modern after being cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. The revived exhibition features over 300 photographs representing their career to date, from their first images to their more recent works. The exhibition is on until January 2025 (London).

 

* Namibia has opened a three-month voter registration period, ahead of 27 November elections. The registration period for the presidential and National Assembly elections is due to run until 1 August.  For the first time since independence, the ruling party, the Swapo will have a female presidential candidate, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.