Talking Africa

Dr Nkengasong of the Africa Centres for Disease Control has become an authority over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. While he is 'proud and pleased' of the five African countries now manufacturing diagnostic tests for Covid-19, he believes their needs to be root and branch reform of African healthcare systems.

In our first episode in this new season of Talking Africa, we delve right into a juicy discussion about humanity's obsession with greed, looting and corruption, and if there's hope for a better future.How can African nations stop the looting of their natural wealth by rogue politicians and an international band of financial predators? How do you join the dots between illegal gold-mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, smuggling trips to Dubai and a financial laundromat based in the City of London? Most of all what does it take to track down these shadowy operations and bring the culprits to justice?To help our quest, we have an in-depth conversation with Tom Burgis, author of the non-fiction thriller 'Kleptopia: How dirty money is conquering the world'. It traces the evolution of an international but virtual republic based on stolen money.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

Will political change and the pandemic force a reset of US diplomatic and security priorities – and where will Africa figure in the new order? This week on Talking Africa, we try to dissect the evolving relations and questions between Africa and the United States.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

Women in power get things done says Melinda Gates; you just have to look at who has come out on top in managing the coronavirus.Moved to action by what the UN calls a 'shadow pandemic' of violence against women during lockdowns , the co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been speaking out.She speaks to us this week on Talking Africa.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

Tundu Lissu, a prominent member of Tanzania's opposition, was driving home in 2017 when gunmen sprayed his car with over 30 bullets. He barely survived, and went into exile.Now he is returning to Tanzania; but he has not lost any of his vehemence that Tanzania needs to change course, accusing President Magufuli of wanting to drag the country back to the days of dictatorship.

The number of COVID-19 infections across Africa surpassed half a million on 8 July said the World Health Organization, as it flagged growing concern of countries in the continent experiencing a sharp rise in cases. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO director for Africa, raised the alarm bells when she added: "With more than a third of countries in Africa doubling their cases over the past month, the threat of COVID-19 overwhelming fragile health systems on the continent is escalating."To further understand the situation across the continent, Dr. Moeti joins us this week on the Talking Africa podcast.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, is due to start filling the dam in the coming weeks.Egypt has tried in vain to put the breaks on the project that it claims will negatively impact its access to water. At the start of last week, it took the matter before the UN Security Council.Meanwhile the African Union concluded after an Extraordinary Meeting of the Bureau of the GERD on 26 June, 2020, that problem must be given "African solutions to an African problem."And throughout all back and forth bickering between Egypt and Ethiopia, Sudan has been following events, with each party trying to secure a more concrete stance from its Sudanese neighbour.To better understand the three different perspectives, we hosted a debate in this week's podcast.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

Today, many compare the political confrontation and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe with the position of the country a decade ago.  Blighted by drought and lack of farming inputs, more than half the country’s 16 million people are food insecure, the latest version of the Zimbabwe dollar is rapidly losing its value against the us dollar and inflation is running at over 780%. Added to which, the country is threatened by the spread of the coronavirus.To make some sense of this, we speak to Dr Alex Magaisa, one of the most prolific and respected analysts of the politics and economics of Zimbabwe.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

For the 14 heads of state that Tony Blair advises across the continent, the coronavirus pandemic has sharpened the need to overhaul government.But Blair also points to the need for reform at the international level; our global institutions, like the WHO, need to be re-examined to face the challenges of the 21st century.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, has once again reignited the on-going fight across the United States for equality and the end of racism against the African-American community. It has also shone a spotlight on police brutality, particularly rampant against persons of colour. Are those topics relevant today across Africa? How are Africans seeing this global movement and what importance does it play?Discussion with Nana-Ama Danquah, Zukisa Wanner, and Veronique Tadjo.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

Tensions spike between Ethiopia and Egypt, as the commencement of the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam approaches. We speak to William Davison of the International Crisis Group to find out where an agreement might be found.

Fred Swaniker, the Ghanaian co-creator and Chairman of the African Leadership Group is well known for not just complaining about the lack of leadership in Africa, but actually doing something about it."Development will be driven by the sum total of the skills, knowledge and experience that a society possesses", says Swaniker, who want to take our current moment to think about what the continent can do differently.

As the coronavirus lockdown eases in South Africa and Nigeria, how are governments and companies coping? We talk to our correspondents on the ground to find out. + a discussion on the US attack on the WHO, how Ghana is testing smart, and much much more.

Bill Gates has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the fight against COVID-19.He wants an army of innovators to hit the problem, and focus on the longterm rebuilding of African healthcare systems. Not enough for you? He also wants to rehabilitate our global institutional architecture to take on the challenges of the 21st century.

The global pandemic of coronavirus may be waning in Asia and Europe, but it's hasn't quite peaked across Africa, and in particular North Africa. How is the region dealing with a sudden drop from tourism, oil and investment? Are governments trusted by their people to make the right decisions?We talk about North Africa and Egypt with Mohamed el Dahshan, devlopment economist and founder of Oxcon to find out more. Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sounded a dire warning for the continent:“The region’s economy is set to shrink by 1.6% in 2020, and real per capita income to fall by even more -- 3.9% on average.”We spoke to the Director of the IMF's Africa department, Abebe Selassie, to find out what can be done.Join us at www.theafricareport.com, @theafricareport, and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/theafricareport/

Francophone Africa is set to cut its colonial ties through the introduction of a new regional currency, the Eco.That would put to rest the CFA franc currency that has been supported by France since 1945.The Eco was set to roll out this year, but with the arrival of coronavirus, what impact will it have on the region, and ultimately on the timing of this new currency?

There are cataclysmic warnings about the impact of coronavirus on Africa's economy.But Citibank's chief economist for Africa David Cowan thinks some of this is overblown. Most of Africa's economy today, for example, is subsistence agriculture; unlikely to be too badly affected. That doesn't mean that oil exporters and tourist hubs will be spared.

Thomas Piketty believes that times of crisis can reveal the fragility of dominant ideologies.The shock delivered by coronavirus is no exception.He says African countries should quickly roll out social safety nets to protect the population; and in the conversation about how to pay for them, much could change.

As Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg fall silent, how do informal workers survive? How are governments coping? What are the geopolitics of the moment, the international response and the local fightback?We speak to our correspondents on the ground -- RECORDED 27 MARCH