Africa Daily

The singer Akon has said he's building a new city in Uganda, to add to the one he's already planning in his home country of Senegal. His plans include gravity-defying skyscrapers, luxury apartments and places for study, work and leisure - all within a short walk of each other. The city will even have its own cryptocurrency - "Akoin". It's a far cry from the problems that blight many African cities: poor housing, water shortages and electricity black-outs. These futuristic cities are cropping up across the continent, but some experts wonder if they really are the utopia they seem. Sakhile Mngadi is a city councillor for Durban and an architect. He said many of the futuristic cities "aren't really speaking to the context they live in." So how do you build a hi-tech city that also benefits the people that live there? That's what Alan Kasujja's been finding out in today's episode of Africa Daily

Darfur’s recent history is one of violence.But, after Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir was ousted from the presidency in 2019, there was hope.A transitional government was formed – and with it came promises of stability.A peace agreement was signed with rebel factions that, for years, had fought the government.And yet, despite those deals, a new wave of violence has hit West Darfur.Who’s behind? And how did it come about in the first place?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter) #AfricaDaily

Kenya’s running low on anti-HIV drugs.Antiretrovirals can be really helpful when it comes to keeping people living with HIV healthy.But for the last couple of months, they’ve been hard to come by in Kenya.This is partly due to a tax dispute between the government and donors who import the drugs.Health workers on the ground tell a different story though.Some say access to these life-saving drugs has been a problem for a while.So, how’s this affecting the lives of the estimated 1.5- million Kenyans living with HIV?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily

West Africa is the home of cocoa.Roughly 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa supply comes from Ghana and Ivory Coast.But farmers there complain they’re not getting paid fairly for their crops.By some estimates, many of them make less than a dollar a day from growing cocoa.And yet, the chocolate industry makes billions and billions of dollars around the world.So, where’s the money going? And how can the farmers get a larger slice of the (chocolate) cake?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily

One dam. Three countries. A big headache.Ethiopia couldn’t be more proud of it, but the Grand Renaissance Dam has proven controversial.The dam is being built on the Blue Nile River.When complete, it will be Africa's biggest hydroelectric power plant.Problem is: both Egypt and Sudan fear the dam will limit their access to water. Ethiopia, on the other hand, says the project is vital to its development.Negotiations between all three countries are going nowhere.So, how did we get there? And how can the deadlock ever be broken?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily

Is police abuse gone from Nigeria?Late last year, a wave of protests against police brutality shook Nigeria to the core. At the heart of it was the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars), a much-hated police unit.As the so-called #EndSars protests spread across the country, the world’s eyes were on Nigeria.And, at the time, politicians responded with promises of change and reform. But, six months on, what happened to those pledges? And how much has #EndSars really changed the country?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily

Feet up, phones switched off.Alan and the Africa Daily team are taking a quick break for Easter. But don’t worry: we’ll be back with another episode on 6 April.#AfricaDaily

Black is beautiful. Never forget that.And yet, skin bleaching products are everywhere you look – be it in billboards or social media.Both men and women are doing it, even if they don’t always want to admit to it in public.The problem is: making your skin lighter could actually be dangerous to your health.That’s why some countries are taking action to regulate these products or ban them altogether.But why just now? And what does skin bleaching tell us about our own ideals of beauty?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily

This is the golden age of gaming.Never before has there been so much money to be made in video games.Africa’s game makers want their story to be one of success. And there’s no shortage of talent: just look at South Africa, Kenya, or Cameroon.But how easy is it for them to take on an industry dominated by big Western players?What’s stopping from being the next big thing in gaming?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily

South Africa’s teachers are worried.Children seem to be dropping out of school at alarming rates.Experts say the problem isn’t new, but it certainly hasn’t been helped by Covid-19.The pandemic has forced many families to pull their kids out of the classroom – but at what cost?And what exactly is South Africa doing to deal with the problem?Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter)#AfricaDaily