afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - Despite massive pressure to stop the prosecution of Kenya's recently elected President, Uhuru Kenyatta, the International Criminal Court (ICC) today set a new date for the trial against the state leader. Mr Kenyatta is accused of crimes against humanity.
afrol News - The official election results in Kenya have finally been announced, and Uhuru Kenyatta managed to win the first poll round outright with a narrow 50.7 percent. But the main opponent, PM Raila Odinga, is filing a vote rigging complaint to the courts.
afrol News editorial - As the counting process has started today, the polls are getting exciting: not due to the violence many foreign media claimed to expect, but because it may become a tight race. Contrary to media reports, little ever pointed to a violent election.
afrol News - International election observers have hailed the preparations for next month's elections in Kenya. The electoral commission seems well in charge and no unrest has been registered. A repetition of the last, traumatic polls seems improbable.
afrol News - In the first-ever significant opposition election victory, Erias Lukwago was declared winner of the polls in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. But the powers of the mayor's office have been limited.
afrol News - The National Libyan Council, the interim government in "liberated Libya", is claiming that Kenya, Niger, Mali have sent regular troops to assist the Ghaddafi regime.
afrol News - Large spending by Uganda's incumbent President Yoweri Museveni to win the 2011 elections is said to have kept away an IMF team that was to assess the country's economic discipline.
afrol News - With 98 percent of the votes already counted, Uganda's Electoral Commission can already conclude on a large victory for President Yoweri Museveni. But will the opposition accept defeat?
afrol News - A well-funded "major programme" to support the cultural sector is close to be approved. The programme would fund Tanzanian entrepreneurs in the cultural field and help conserving national heritage.
afrol News - While the climate in Uganda's 18 February presidential elections is getting rougher, President Yoweri Museveni is nevertheless described as "so far less ruthless" than in earlier years.
afrol News - This month's general elections in Uganda, widely expected to be won by President Yoweri Museveni, are held in a rough climate, with the opposition crying fraud and the army getting engaged.
afrol News - David Kato, a Ugandan activist fighting for sexual minorities' rights, was killed in his home by a mob today. Shocked Ugandan gay activists promise to keep on "the struggle for justice and equality."
afrol News - Already, 1.6 million Kenyans are receiving food aid to compensate for drought and poor harvests. Government however warns the number could skyrocket to 5 million within a few months, as rains have kept failing.
afrol News - The five states making up the East African Community (EAC) are in a hurry to prepare for their common currency, which according to plans is to be introduced already next year. Experts now see how they can fast-track the process.
afrol News - The shores of Lake Tanganyika, a "secret" African travel destination, are shared between the four diverse countries Tanzania, Burundi, DR Congo and Zambia. The enormous lake offers unique sports fishing, wildlife, swims, vibrant African villages and cities and a fairytale colonial ferry.
Africa Renewal - When the Kenyan government announced it would stop charging fees for primary school education - just days before the beginning of the 2003 school year - the result was pandemonium. Teachers, headmasters and parents scrambled to find desks, pencils and books for over a million extra students. Many African countries have followed Kenya's example.
Misanet / IPS - The oldest known African bead is more than 12.000 years old and was found in the Kalahari Desert, but South African beads may be up to 75,000 years old. Almost equally old beads are found in Libya and Sudan. As a continental-wide cultural heritage, beads have served as fine jewellery, small pieces of art, haute couture, royal regalia, divine faience and even legal tender throughout the history of Africa. In Kenya, a handicraft-centre-turned-museum exposes this showcase of African heritage.
afrol News - A growing number of researchers question the "official" inflated numbers of HIV/AIDS prevalence in African countries such as Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho. Poor testing, a special diagnosis of AIDS in Africa and erroneous computer-generated estimates by the UN had led to "misleading" numbers, they hold. The history of AIDS in Uganda serves as proof.
