Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Who needs what to qualify for Afcon 2025?

By Our Correspondent,  NAIROBI  Kenya 

By this time next week we will know the 24 teams who will contest the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with the final two rounds of qualifiers set to throw up a number of winner-takes-all matches.

Ghana are the biggest name in danger of missing out on the tournament in Morocco, with the Black Stars needing to pick up maximum points and hope Sudan suffer two defeats.

The top two in each of the 12 qualifying groups progress, with former champions Algeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt and Senegal already assured of their places alongside Angola, Burkina Faso and the hosts.

Central African Republic are the only side still in contention who are yet to make their Nations Cup debut, while Botswana and Rwanda are bidding to make just a second appearance.

Group A is the tightest to call, with all four nations still in with a shout.

Leaders Tunisia are a point ahead of Comoros and two in front of The Gambia, with outsiders Madagascar further back.

The Carthage Eagles, who are chasing a record-extending 17th successive appearance at the finals, have placed Kais Yaacoubi in interim charge after sacking veteran boss Faouzi Benzarti.

Madagascar must beat the North Africans on Thursday to keep their faint hopes alive, while The Gambia face a crunch ‘home’ clash against Comoros a day later in Berkane.

Depending on those results, the final round of matches, when Tunisia welcome the Scorpions and Comoros entertain Madagascar, could be nerve-shredding for fans of all four countries.

Group B looks more straightforward, with Morocco having already guaranteed top spot and Gabon favourites to clinch second.

The Panthers host Morocco on Friday and will be through if they match Central African Republic’s result against Lesotho.

Otherwise, Gabon’s visit to CAR on Monday will be another must-watch decider.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns over Church abuse scandal

By Danica Kirka, LONDON England 

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

Pressure on Welby had been building since Thursday, when the archbishop’s refusal to accept responsibility for his failure to report the abuse in England and in Africa in 2013 kindled anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church. 

By Tuesday afternoon, Welby acknowledged that mistake.

“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby said in the statement announcing his resignation. 

“I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honored to serve.”

Welby’s resignation will send ripples around the world. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members in 165 countries, including the Episcopal Church in the United States. 

While each national church has its own leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered first among equals.

Welby, a former oil executive who left the industry in 1989 to study for the priesthood, was a controversial figure even before the scandal. 

A skilled mediator who has worked to resolve conflicts in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, he struggled to unite the Anglican Communion, which has been riven by sharply divergent views on issues such as gay rights and the place of women in the church.

The Church of England on Thursday released the results of an independent investigation into the late John Smyth, a prominent attorney who the report said sexually, psychologically and physically abused about 30 boys and young men in the United Kingdom and 85 in Africa from the 1970s until his death in 2018.

The 251-page report of the Makin Review concluded that Welby failed to report Smyth to authorities when he was informed of the abuse in August 2013, soon after he became Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Had he done so, Smyth could have been stopped sooner and many victims could have been spared the abuse, the inquiry found.

Welby said he didn’t inform law enforcement agencies about the abuse because he was wrongly told that police were already investigating. 

Even so, he took responsibility for not ensuring that the allegations were pursued as “energetically” as they should have been.

As late as Monday, Welby’s office said he had decided not to resign, even as he expressed his “horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse.”

Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, said Welby’s position had become “untenable” after some members of the General Synod, the Church of England’s national assembly, started a petition calling on him to step down because he had “lost the confidence of his clergy.”

But the strongest outcry came from Smyth’s victims. Andrew Morse, who was repeatedly beaten by Smyth over five years, said resigning was a chance for Welby to start repairing the damage caused by the church’s broader handling of historical abuse cases.

“I believe that now is an opportunity for him to resign,’’ Morse told the BBC before Welby stepped down.

Welby’s resignation comes against the backdrop of widespread historical sexual abuse in the Church of England. 

A 2022 report by the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse found that deference to the authority of priests, taboos surrounding the discussion of sexuality and a culture that gave more support to alleged perpetrators than their victims helped make the Church of England “a place where abusers could hide.”

Welby’s supporters had argued that he should remain on the job because of his role in changing the culture of the church.

Church officials were first made aware of Smyth’s abuse in 1982, when they received the results of an internal investigation into complaints about his behavior at Christian summer camps in England. 

The recipients of that report “participated in an active cover-up” to prevent its findings from coming to light, the Makin Review found.

Smyth moved to Zimbabwe in 1984 and later relocated to South Africa. He abused boys and young men in Zimbabwe, and there is evidence that the abuse continued in South Africa until he died in August 2018, the investigation found.

Smyth’s actions weren’t made public until a 2017 investigation by Britain’s Channel 4 television station, which led police in Hampshire to start an investigation. Police were planning to question Smyth at the time of his death and had been preparing to extradite him.

Stephen Cherry, dean of the chapel at King’s College Cambridge, said Welby could no longer represent the people.

"There are circumstances in which something happens whereby a person in a position of prominent leadership essentially loses the trust and the confidence and the capacity to do that really wonderful thing that someone like an archbishop does, which is represent everyone at a certain moment publicly,’’ Cherry told the BBC before Welby resigned.

“And the pain in the victim community and the history of not listening to people and not responding to people who are profoundly hurt by those in positions of power means that this is no longer a person who can carry the representative role of that office.”

Dozens killed after car ploughs into crowd in China

By Kelly Ng, ZHUHAI China

At least 35 people were killed and 43 more injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of people exercising at a stadium in Zhuhai, China on Monday, according to authorities.

A 62-year-old male driver, surnamed Fan, is alleged to have driven an SUV through a barrier and into Zhuhai Sports Centre in what local police described as a "serious and vicious attack". Chinese media reported that many elderly people, as well as teenagers and children, were among the injured.

Fan was arrested while trying to flee, police said, and is currently in a coma as a result of self-inflicted wounds.

The incident took place despite heightened security in the city, which is hosting a major civil and military airshow.

Police have said initial investigations suggest the ramming attack was triggered by Fan’s dissatisfaction with the outcome of a property settlement following his divorce.

However, due to his coma, he is unable to be questioned by the authorities.

Most videos of the incident posted by eyewitnesses had been scrubbed off Chinese social media by internet censors by Tuesday morning, but some footage still circulating online showed many people lying on the ground and being attended to by paramedics and bystanders.

An eyewitness, Mr Chen, told Chinese news magazine Caixin that at least six groups of people had gathered at the stadium for their regular walks when the incident happened.

The groups use a designated walking path that traces the stadium's perimeter.

Mr Chen said his group had just completed its third lap around the stadium when a car suddenly charged towards them at a high speed, "knocking down many people".

"It drove in a loop, and people were hurt in all areas of the running track - east, south, west, and north," another eyewitness told Caixin.

It is unclear whether the incident was linked to the high-profile Airshow China, which started on Tuesday at a venue just 40km (24 miles) away from the stadium. China is showcasing its latest warplanes and attack drones at the show, and top Russian official Sergei Shoigu is expected to attend.

Several entrances and exits to the sports centre have been closed during the airshow to facilitate "control", the centre's management said on Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his deep concern over the incident, instructing authorities to make every effort to treat the injured and calling for the perpetrator to be severely punished.

In response, the central government dispatched a working group to help handle the incident.

Investigations into the case are ongoing.

China has seen a spate of violent attacks on members of the public in recent months.

In September, a man went on a stabbing spree at a supermarket in Shanghai, killing three people and injuring several others.

In that same month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died a day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.

North Korea ratifies major defense treaty with Russia

SEOUL, South Korea

North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North’s state media reported Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Russia had completed the ratification of the treaty last week after it was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. It is considered both countries’ biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty will take effect when both sides exchange documents on the ratification, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korea ratified the treaty through a decree signed Monday by the country's president of state affairs, KCNA said, using one of Kim's titles.

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, has the right to ratify treaties but Kim can unilaterally ratify major ones, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

The treaty requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked. It also calls for the two countries to actively cooperate in efforts to establish a “just and multipolar new world order” and strengthen cooperation on various sectors including peaceful atomic energy, space, food supply, trade and economy.

Some observers speculate the treaty’s ratification in both countries could signal North Korea could formally enter the Russia-Ukraine war soon.

According to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments, up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia likely as part of the June treaty.

Last week, Ukrainian officials said Ukraine and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale fighting while Ukraine’s army fired artillery at North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk border region.

North Korea’s troop dispatch threatens to escalate the almost three-year war. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners also worry about what Russia could give North Korea in return. Possible Russian transfer of sensitive technology to enhance North Korea’s already-advancing nuclear and missile programs would be an alarming development for the U.S. and its allies.

North Korea and Russia have been significantly strengthening their military and other cooperation. South Korea’s spy agency said last month that North Korea had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional arms to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Arab and Muslim leaders reaffirm support for Palestinian

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

The leaders of Arab and Muslim countries who attended an extraordinary summit in Riyadh on Monday to discuss Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon issued a closing statement in which they affirmed the importance of the Palestinian cause, and their firm support for the Palestinian people and their efforts to achieve their legitimate and inalienable national rights.

These rights include the right to freedom, the leaders said, the right to an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the right of return for refugees, the right to the compensation to which they are due in accordance with international resolutions, and the right to challenge any attempts to deny or undermine these rights.

The leaders also reaffirmed their support for the full sovereignty of the State of Palestine over occupied East Jerusalem.

They said Jerusalem remains a red line for Arab and Muslim nations and expressed absolute solidarity in protecting the Arab and Islamic identity of occupied East Jerusalem and defending the sanctity of Islamic and Christian holy sites there.

They also affirmed their absolute support for Lebanon, including its security, stability, sovereignty and the safety of its citizens.

Monday, November 11, 2024

"Mozambique, don't lose faith in the path of democracy, justice and peace” - Pope Francis

ROME, Italy

Pope Francis on Sunday referred to the situation in Mozambique, urging its citizens not to lose faith in the path of democracy, justice and peace.

“The news from Mozambique is worrying. I invite everyone to engage with tolerance in dialogue and the tireless search for just solutions. Let us pray, for the entire Mozambican population, that the present situation does not cause them to lose faith in the path of democracy, justice and peace,” the leader of the Catholic Church said during the Sunday Angelus at the Vatican.

Pope Francis also offered prayers and sympathies for the victims of the volcanic eruption in Indonesia and flood victims in Valencia, Spain. He appealed for dialogue over unrest in Mozambique and an end to bloodshed in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and Sudan.

On Friday 8 November, the Catholic Bishops of South Africa, Botswana and eSwatini (SACBC) sent a letter to members of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM) expressing “solidarity and prayers with the people of God” following the post-election unrest.

Days earlier, the spokesperson of the Mozambican Catholic Bishops Conference (CEM) issued a strong appeal for peace, tolerance and respect for life among all compatriots.

“In this moment of tension, when many are preparing to express their concerns, as pastors we feel the urgency to address each of you with an appeal for peace, tolerance and respect for life,” said the Archbishop of Maputo, Dom João Carlos Hatoa Nunes, in a video.

Zelensky says Russia has 50,000 troops in Kursk

KYIV, Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his military's ongoing incursion into Russia's Kursk region is now holding down 50,000 Russian troops.

In his daily address to the nation, Zelensky said the operation was reducing Moscow's ability to attack inside Ukraine itself. The president has long cited this as the goal of the offensive, despite scepticism from some Western allies.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a US non-profit, Russia had 11,000 troops in Kursk when Ukraine began its shock incursion in early August.

However, a report in the New York Times suggests Moscow has achieved its troop build-up in Kursk without any need to pull its soldiers out of Ukraine.

The paper says North Korean troops are also being deployed in Kursk as part of an imminent Russian counter-offensive.

In his speech, Zelensky said he had been briefed by his Сommander-in-Сhief, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyy, who announced earlier on Monday that he had carried out an inspection of Ukrainian units deployed in Kursk.

"Our men are holding back... 50,000 of the occupier's army personnel who, due to the Kursk operation, cannot be deployed to other Russian offensive directions on our territory," the Ukrainian president said.

Gen Syrskyy said separately that were it not for Ukraine's forces inside Kursk, "tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian assault units would have been storming" Ukrainian positions in Donetsk region, a key battleground since the conflict erupted a decade ago.

Fighting rages on in Donetsk, where the two sides accused each other on Monday of damaging a dam near the Ukrainian-held town of Kurakhove. Russian troops have been slowly advancing in the region for months towards the key city of Pokrovsk - a major supply hub for Ukrainian forces.

The New York Times, which quotes both US and Ukrainian unnamed officials, puts the number of Russian and North Korean troops being readied for the reported counter-offensive in Kursk at 50,000.

"A new US assessment concludes that Russia has massed the force without having to pull soldiers out of Ukraine’s east - its main battlefield priority - allowing Moscow to press on multiple fronts simultaneously," the paper says.

Both Ukraine and the US say that more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia. Moscow neither confirms nor denies that troops from North Korea, a close ally since Soviet times, are in Kursk.

In North Korea itself, it was announced that its leader, Kim Jong un, had signed a decree ratifying a mutual defence treaty with Russia, which was approved in June at a summit in Pyongyang with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

North Korea and Russia have grown increasingly close since Moscow found itself largely internationally isolated after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The US has repeatedly accused Pyongyang of sending vast amounts of military hardware to Russia, including ballistic missiles and launchers.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte recently suggested that Pyongyang was receiving military technology and other support from Moscow to help it evade international sanctions

Elsewhere, amid much speculation over the impact of Donald Trump's re-election victory last week, the Kremlin has denied media reports that he held a phone call with President Vladimir Putin.

The call, which was first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, is said to have happened on Thursday. Trump is said to have warned the Russian president against escalating the war in Ukraine and mentioned America's extensive military presence in Europe.

Mauritius prime minister accepts 'huge defeat' in election

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius

The prime minister of Mauritius has accepted that his coalition, L'Alliance Lepep, has suffered a "huge defeat" following Sunday's parliamentary election.

Opposition supporters are already celebrating victory

"The population has decided to choose another team," Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, 62, told journalists on Monday.

Jugnauth was seeking a second five-year term, but his main rival, Navin Ramgoolam, 77, leader of the Alliance of Change coalition, looks set to become the next leader of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Mauritius is known as one of Africa's most stable democracies, but this election was tainted by a phone-tapping scandal, with leaked recordings of public figures posted online.

ALSO READ: Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

In response, the government issued a social media ban until after the election, although this led to an outcry and the decision was reversed within 24 hours.

Final results are yet to be released but Ramgoolam's party looks set to win.

Ramgoolam, a former doctor, told reporters that his party was "heading towards a huge victory", but didn't go into any further detail as he said all votes must be counted first.

"We must respect this choice... and we wish the country and the population good luck," said Jugnauth.

Pravind Jugnauth said he respects
the people's choice

The mood in the capital Port Louis reflects this changing tide, as people gathered in hopeful anticipation of results that signal a fresh direction for the country.

People were dancing and singing in the streets with vuvuzelas, the national flags in their hands and fire crackers.

Ibrahim, who voted for the Alliance for Change said that "growing public dissatisfaction" was a major reason the ruling party lost.

The cost-of-living crisis has been a major issue for many Mauritians, along with a growing concern about governance and corruption.

On the campaign trail, both parties promised to improve the lives of people on the islands.

Ramgoolam - whose father was a liberation hero and has already twice served as prime minister - said he would increase pensions, introduce free transport and internet and reduce fuel costs.

Mauritius' former foreign minister and a member of the opposition coalition, Arvin Boolell, told reporters the election was a "victory of the people".

Voter turnout was about 80%, according to the electoral commission.

Citizens went to the polls to elect lawmakers for the 62 seats in parliament for the next five years.

Additionally, up to eight "best loser" seats are allocated to ensure fair ethnic representation in parliament.

The vote comes after a historic agreement in which the UK gave up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

ICC announces investigation into chief prosecutor

THE HAGUE, Netherlands

The International Criminal Court has announced an external investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct against its chief prosecutor.

Karim Khan said he would engage in the process and continue in his role while the investigation was ongoing. He denies the allegations.

The chief prosecutor had requested an investigation by the court's watchdog, but on Monday the ICC's governing body said it would pursue an "external investigation".

The announcement followed media reports about a document outlining accusations against Mr Khan, understood to include unwanted sexual touching and "abuse".

In a statement, Mr Khan said he "had previously called for an investigation in relation to this matter".

"I welcome the opportunity to engage in this process," he said, adding he would continue "all other functions as prosecutor" while the investigation is ongoing.

Any issues relevant to the investigation into allegations against him would be handled by deputy prosecutors not reporting to him, "so as to ensure that the rights of all persons are fully respected," he said.

According to the Guardian newspaper, a female lawyer who claims to have been subjected to unwanted sexual advances by Mr Khan had raised concerns about the competence of the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), the ICC's watchdog.

The paper also reported that Khan responded to a formal sexual misconduct complaint against him by trying to persuade the alleged victim that she should deny the claims, despite having been advised to avoid one-to-one contact.

Mr Khan denied asking the woman to withdraw any allegations, the Guardian reported.

Paivi Kaukoranta, the president of the body charged with overseeing the court, last month said the IOM had been in contact with the alleged victim, but said it was not in a position to proceed with an investigation at that stage.

In a statement on Monday, she defended the IOM's ability to carry out the investigation but said that "given the particular circumstances," she did not object to "exceptionally resorting to an external investigation".

"An external investigation is therefore being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process," she said.

It comes amid intense scrutiny of the ICC and Mr Khan after the prosecutor's request for arrest warrants linked to the conflict in Gaza.

In May, Mr Khan said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahiya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity from the day of Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October onwards.

Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh have all since been killed by Israel.

In an earlier statement, Mr Khan did not explicitly blame Israel, but did juxtapose the sexual misconduct allegations and efforts to undermine his position when he described this as "a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threat".

But the sexual misconduct allegations are understood to pre-date his request for arrest warrants linked to the conflict in Gaza.

A panel of three ICC judges is currently considering the arrest warrants requested by Mr Khan.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 12/11/2024

 



Mauritius awaits results of close-fought vote

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius

Mauritians are set to find out Monday who will govern their Indian Ocean Island nation for the next five years after a hotly disputed election race.

Both the incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and his main rival Navin Ramgoolam claimed their political blocs had triumphed in Sunday’s legislative poll, but appealed for calm after several incidents were reported at polling stations.

Turnout on Sunday was robust, at about 80 percent according to provisional estimates by the election commission.

Ballot counting began on Monday morning and final results are expected later in the day.

Voters had voiced concern about the continued political and economic durability of one of the richest and most stable democracies in Africa, with the election overshadowed by an explosive phone-tapping scandal.

The poll came on the heels of an historic agreement last month that saw Britain cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a long-running dispute.

ALSO READ: Mauritius heads to the polls in wake of wiretapping scandal

But Jugnauth’s hopes he would handily win a new term on the back of the deal were dented when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats and journalists began to be leaked online last month.

Seeking to keep a lid on the scandal, the authorities announced a social media ban until after the election, before making an embarrassing climbdown in the face of opposition and media outrage.

The move added to concerns that Mauritius’s much-vaunted democracy and civil liberties were being gradually eroded.

Jugnauth’s Militant Socialist Movement and its allies are seeking to hold on to their 42-seat majority in the 70-member National Assembly but faced a stiff challenge from former prime minister Ramgoolam’s Alliance of Change.

During a lively and sometimes heated campaign, both camps promised voters they would take measures to improve the lot of ordinary Mauritians who face cost of living difficulties despite strong economic growth.

“We are confident of winning because the people appreciate our record,” 62-year-old Jugnauth said after polls closed, accusing the opposition of trying to hinder the smooth running of the vote.

Ramgoolam, 77, issued a similar declaration: “We are heading towards a big victory tomorrow. The people are waiting for this liberation.”

Ramgoolam had warned early on polling day about the risk of fraud, but later said voting went off largely without incident.

Police had been stationed in polling stations to ensure the security of the vote, and police spokesman Shiva Coothen reported several incidents in some areas as ballot boxes were being taken to counting centres, without giving more details.

Both Jugnauth and Ramgoolam are members of the dynasties that have dominated politics in Mauritius since it became independent from Britain in 1968.

A new bloc, the Linion Reform alliance, campaigned against the establishment politicians with the slogan “Neither Navin, Nor Pravind”, and criticised corruption and nepotism.

Sixty-two seats were up for grabs under a first-past-the-post system, with the remaining eight allocated under what is dubbed the “best loser” system.

The majority-Hindu nation has seen remarkable stability and growth since independence, building an economy based on tourism as well as financial services and textile manufacturing.

GDP growth was seven percent in 2023, but analysts say Mauritius needs to diversify its economy, and concerns about governance and corruption are growing.

The island is renowned for its spectacular palm-fringed white beaches and turquoise waters, attracting 1.3 million visitors last year.

The Chagos deal was a major success for the government, though Britain will retain a lease for a joint US military base on the island of Diego Garcia for an “initial” 99 years.

Jugnauth hailed it as the completion of the nation’s “decolonisation”.

But some have voiced concerns that president-elect Donald Trump’s approach to the US military presence in the Indian Ocean might have repercussions for the agreement.

Main Ghana opposition leader tipped to win presidential vote, poll shows

ACCRA, Ghana

Ghana’s main opposition leader John Dramani Mahama looks set to win December’s presidential election, an opinion poll showed on Monday, placing him ahead of his main challenger, ruling party candidate Muhamudu Bawumia.

Ghana's former president and current main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama, 65, addresses supporters during a political campaign

Global InfoAnalytics, an Accra-based research group, released poll results on Monday that saw Mahama winning 52%, followed by 41.3% for Bawumia. The poll has a 1.9% error margin.

It found that voters were mainly concerned about the economy, jobs, education and infrastructure.

Mahama invested heavily in infrastructure during his 2012-17 presidency, when he faced criticism for power shortages and economic instability. His government was also embroiled in corruption allegations, although Mahama was never directly accused.

He is running again as the candidate of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Bawumia, an economist and former central banker, is running for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), which grappled with Ghana’s worst economic crisis in a generation.

Both candidates have presented plans to boost the economy and improve livelihoods.

Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, defaulted on most of its $30 billion external debt in 2022 after years of overstretched borrowing.

Akufo-Addo’s government secured a 3-year, $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in 2023 and is now on the final lap of a painful process required for the money to be disbursed.

The Economist Intelligence Unit predicted an NDC win in October due to the NPP’s economic record. Fitch Solutions published a similar forecast that month.

Both Mahama and Bawumia are from northern Ghana, a historic NDC stronghold where the NPP has been making inroads.

Political analyst Alidu Seidu of the University of Ghana said the election would probably be a very close contest between the two.

Results were difficult to predict and a run-off vote was likely, he said.

No party has ever won more than two consecutive terms in Ghana’s democratic history.

Putin offers African countries Russia’s ‘total support’

SOCHI, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered what he called “total support” for Africa, including in the struggle against terrorism and extremism.

The speech was read out at a summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to his African counterparts.

Several African governments have cut ties with traditional Western allies and are looking to Moscow for help in tackling frequent attacks by jihadists.

During the summit, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said Russia was a more suitable international partner than the former colonial power, France.

It is a view shared by several of France’s former colonies – and was reiterated by Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, who contrasted the Kremlin’s “sincere” partnership to the “neo-colonial” relationship of Western powers.

He said that as well as military co-operation, Mali was exploring other joint projects in the energy, telecommunications, technology and mining sectors.

“Russian companies are working in all these areas with the Malian government and [private] partners in Mali to provide solutions to the challenges facing the Malian people. The two parties have agreed to step up the pace to ensure rapid results,” he said on the second and final day of the conference of African foreign ministers.

Wagner mercenary fighters – now rebranded under the Africa Corps banner by Russia’s defence ministry – were the preferred choice for the military leaders who ordered French and UN troops to leave.

Russia’s help, often in exchange for access to raw materials, also comes with a promise that there will be no meddling in a country’s internal affairs or lessons on how to run an election.

However, Russia’s military expeditions to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have helped protect the junta leaders there, but have failed to make much progress in the fight against Islamist militants.

Nonetheless, the Kremlin is trumpeting about these new-found friends, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying the conference had dashed Western hopes for Russia’s isolation.

And Lavrov said Russia’s relations with Africa were strengthening “more and more” with progress “on all axes”.

Putin’s speech underlined this point.

“I would like to reiterate that our country will continue to provide total support to our African friends in different sectors: ensuring sustainable development, the struggle against terrorism and extremism, combating epidemics, food problems and the consequences of natural disasters,” it said.

Emanuela Del Re, the EU special representative for the Sahel region of West Africa, told the BBC the West needed to accept the shifting sands of allegiances.

While Russia was “certainly a very malicious actor”, the Italian diplomat explained it had a strong bond with Africa going back to before independence and was not alone in its interest in the Sahel.

“It’s largely a desert but in reality the region is very crowded: because at the moment you see Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran… all member states of the EU and the UK,” she said.

In fact, African leaders were pragmatic about their need to “diversify their partnerships”, Ms Del Re said, adding it was not a time for the EU to abandon what she called the “three difficult countries” of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which have all experienced coups in recent years.

Her point was that it should not be seen as a competition.

Rwanda, which has strong ties with the UK and the West, is one of several African countries that have already signed deals with Moscow to get help building a nuclear power plant.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, who is also in Sochi, told the AFP news agency hundreds of Rwandan students had graduated from Russian universities, including “those who specialise in nuclear science”.

“We hope to be able to train a certain number of scientific managers specialising in this field,” he added.

Five years ago, Putin promised to double trade with Africa – this has not happened.

But using other means, which the West sees as destabilising the continent, Russia’s influence has grown significantly.