Africa – 29 July 2015

US President Barack Obama says time for world to ‘change approach to Africa
US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that it was time for the world to change its approach to Africa, as he made the first address to the African Union by a US leader.
“As Africa changes, I’ve called for the world to change its approach to Africa,” Obama said in a speech at the AU’s headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital.
“A half century into this independence era, it is long past time to put aside old stereotypes of an Africa forever mired in poverty and conflict. The world must recognise Africa’s extraordinary progress.”
The Economic Times

Obama tells Africans to build democracy, create jobs to thrive
ADDIS ABABA, July 28 (Reuters) – Barack Obama told African nations on Tuesday they needed to respect democratic rules and create jobs to avoid a slide into disorder.
In the first speech by a serving U.S. president to the 54-nation African Union, he said violence unleashed in Burundi by the president’s bid for a third term in office showed the risks of ignoring constitutional rules.
“Africa is on the move, and a new Africa is emerging,” he said at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, adding the continent’s rapid economic growth was changing “old stereotypes” of a continent of war and poverty.
But he said there was an “urgent task” facing a continent whose 1 billion people will double in a few decades.
Reuters

ANC bemoans slow growth of SA economy
The ANC has bemoaned the sluggish state of the South African economy and has admitted to incapacity within the state and the ripple effect it is having on the economy.
In its three-day mid-year lekgotla, the ruling party paid significant focus on the economy at a time when mining companies have threatened mass retrenchment.
“Lekgotla noted that the economy is growing at a disappointingly low rate,” ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg on Monday.
He said the party was concerned with how mining companies deal with challenges in the economy.
Mail& Guardian

At least 25 people killed by militants in Nigeria’s northeast
At least 25 people were killed by suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants in raids on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning on three communities in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, military and police sources said.
Fighters in pick-up trucks attacked the town of Dille and two smaller communities in the Askira/Uba area in Borno state about 250 km (160 miles) south of Maiduguri the capital of Borno state and the epicenter of the insurgency.
Vigilantes resisted the attack on Dille that came around 1 p.m. local time (1200 GMT), the sources said.
Reuters