Government must commit to allocating funds for healthcare, health experts say:

The US cutting aid to South Africa has caused large job losses at a number of treatment centre

– The Mail & Guardian

US state and the capture of JD Vance:

In Hillbilly Elegy, the best-selling memoir of 2016, JD Vance generally comes across as the sensible victim of want and domestic breakdown. 

Vance calls himself a conservative. But he also excoriates the right-wing conspiracy-mongers flooding the internet with claims, for example, that Barack Obama is a foreigner out to destroy America, his government engineered a massacre to promote gun control and “everything the media tells us is a lie”. 

“This is deep scepticism of the very institutions of our country. And it’s becoming more mainstream,” he laments.

Vance’s fond description of his student “family” at the Yale Law School points to his embrace of multicultural diversity. 

It includes a black Canadian “with decades of street smarts”, an aspiring civil rights attorney, the super­smart daughter of Indian immigrants (perhaps his wife, Usha), and an “extremely progressive lesbian with a fantastic sense of humour”.

A friend at Yale, Josh McLaurin, describes an exchange in which Vance called Donald Trump “an idiot” and could not decide whether he was “a cynical asshole” or “the American Hitler”.

Is this really the current US vice-president? Since his elevation to the Senate in 2016, for which he sought Trump’s endorsement, Vance has been the darling of the Make America Great Again (Maga) right and a highly biddable Trump loyalist.

There is no chink in his far-right space-suit. 

An anti-globalist who scorns DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) as a “destructive ideology”, he wants a national abortion ban and the militarisation of schools in place of further gun controls. 

His foreign policy outlook amounts to “America first — except for Israel”, which he believes deserves unlimited US support. 

Last year he urged president Joe Biden to deny immigration protections to Palestinians, “a population of potentially radicalised individuals”.

His hatred of Vlodymyr Zelenskiy was unmistakable at last week’s media circus, and he allegedly told an intimate he couldn’t care what happened to Ukraine — including, presumably, the millions exiled by Vladimir Putin’s missiles.

He lauds Trump as the “best president in deterring Russia in a generation”. (On February 24, after Trump took office, a record 276 drones fell on Ukraine in a single night.)

The recent security conference in Munich, where he addressed European leaders, starkly showcased Vance’s hostility to moderate Europe and sympathy for Putin’s military dictatorship. 

In an 18-minute tirade, he accused European leaders of retreating from democratic fundamentals, including free speech, and warned they could no longer depend on US backing.

The speech was remarkable for its hypocritical self-righteousness — a fault of the Appalachian poor Vance’s book lambasts — ignorance of modern Europe and generous smattering of falsehoods and half-truths.

Ignoring the Ukraine war, he described immigration as Europe’s greatest crisis. In fact, illegal arrivals over the past decade — about 1.5??million, or 0.3% of the European population — are heavily outweighed by 6.3??million Ukrainian refugees. 

Peaking at one million in 2015, the illegal influx fell steadily to about 210??000 last year (according to European Union statistics).

He suggested power hunger drives mainstream politicians who refuse to co-operate with Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), seen as having neo-Nazi leanings. 

In this, and in paying court to AfD leader Alice Weidel, he showed no understanding of Germany’s decades-long de-Nazification programme. 

The free speech charge is particularly ironic given Trump’s barrage of threats, brickbats and lawsuits against the “fake news media” and handpicking of members of the White House press pool. 

During the election run-up, Vance played the organ-grinder’s monkey, encouraging supporters to boo journalists and branding the media “biased”.

In Munich, he falsely alleged Scotland may have outlawed silent prayer at home in measures to shield abortion-seekers. His inflammatory claim that Haitian migrants were devouring pets (which Trump has echoed) turned out to be baseless.

He has also offered the ludicrous canard that the United Kingdom could become the world’s first Islamist state with nukes.

What happened to the author of Hillbilly Elegy? In his rightward lurch it is hard not to see the influence of his pauperised childhood, which the book sketches in alarming detail.

As one of two Ohio fugitives at the Yale school, Vance was poor and surrounded by privilege — he tells of holding down two jobs and a full-time class load.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that he seems unusually open to the blandishments of wealth, and particularly the Trump-supporting moneybags who surfaced during his first term in historically liberal Silicon Valley.

Vance describes as “the most significant moment of his life” a speech at Yale in 2011 by the world’s 101st-richest man — the $ 16?billion-worth PayPal founder Peter Thiel.

With an eye for budding prospects and a taste for accumulating political power, Thiel is a Trumpite who funded pro-Trump groups before the 2016 election, when few corporations would touch him. 

He reportedly escorted Vance to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to iron out past differences. 

As his financial mentor, Thiel invited Vance to join his venture capital firm, Mithril, (a Tolkien reference; he is a fan) as a partner in 2016. 

A colleague is reported as saying he did not see him in the office for a year.

Thiel and other bloated Godzillas of the microchip such as David Sacks (net worth $ 200?million), Marc Andreessen ($ 1.8??billion), and former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt (wait for it — $ 24??billion) then reportedly backed him in launching his own venture capital outfit, Narya.

He has become very rich very quickly, with an estimated $ 10??million fortune in investments, royalties, Bitcoin and a sumptuous real estate portfolio. Other than a bond on a Washington townhouse, he is reportedly debt-free.

In 2016, Thiel bankrolled his republican Senate run with the largest ever donation to a single candidate — $ 15??million — while campaign advertising went to a tax-exempt political action committee Thiel supported.

Thiel’s influence showed in other ways — for example, through their joint investment in Rumble, YouTube’s right-leaning rival.

Impressed by his links with the West Coast tech elite and keen parroting of the Maga priorities reshaping US conservatism, Trump named him as his running mate in mid-2024.

It was a profitable coup:  after a 35% raise, Vice-President Vance earns $ 235??000 a year.

In a party not renowned for its high median IQ, Trump may also have wanted to enlist his gloss of intelligence. 

Vance is a Catholic convert who admires St Augustine. He says he was drawn to Thiel, a “heterodox” Christian, because the latter disproved the notion that Christians are dumb and atheists clever.

Thiel’s conservatism is a complex — even incoherent — interweaving of libertarian and authoritarian beliefs.

A free-speech fundamentalist, he unexpectedly handed the Committee for the Protection of Journalists a “substantial” cheque. But he also threw $ 10??million at third-party privacy invasion suits against the irreverent blog Gawker for “outing” him as gay, forcing it to close.

Thiel has termed votes for women “unfortunate”. The son of German immigrants with South African links, he is ardently anti-immigration.

He has written that he considers democracy and freedom incompatible. His hobbyhorses of space colonisation and formerly “seasteading” — permanent settlements in international waters — are about putting him and fellow plutocrats beyond the reach of governments and taxes.

As with the world’s premier plutocrat, Elon Musk, Thiel’s governance model is the private corporation. 

He is influenced by “neo-reactionary” Curtis Yarvin, who argues that the “failed” US democracy should make way for “an accountable monarchy” along corporate lines. Author Max Chafkin talks of Thiel’s longing for a stronger executive.

“There’s got to be a tendency for any candidate who wants money to move towards his politics,” Chafkin observes.

In line with this, Vance, the reputed owner of $ 500??000 in cryptocurrency, has become a loud promoter of Bitcoin. 

This is of little interest to the working stiffs he claims to champion. But Chafkin remarks that it “matters a lot” to the libertarian/tech and rightwing community, which applauds Bitcoin’s decentralised character.

Vance fancies himself as a conservative Catholic intellectual in the mould of William Buckley, but has very few ideas of his own.

Perhaps because his father, indeed, his surname, changed constantly during his childhood with his mother’s dalliances, he seems subservient to his political and financial patrons and bereft of independent thinking.

For example, he has endorsed the mindless, internet-driven myth of Biden’s theft of the 2020 election.

He is also hung up on the need for gratitude to the US, saying this was the lesson of a cheap eraser (rubber) he gave to a delighted Iraqi boy during his military service.

Why should Zelenskiy thank the US for military aid, as Vance demanded at last week’s media circus? In global matters, it looks after only its strategic interests.

Vance puts a Yale-educated, high-sounding patina on the fanatical prejudices of the American ultra-right. And his mind follows the money…

Drew Forrest is a former deputy editor of the Mail & Guardian.

– The Mail & Guardian

AfDB report highlights growth, reforms and investment booms in Africa:

The latest report on Africa’s economy from the African Development Bank (AfDB) highlights how bold reforms, rapid investments, and pro-business policies are driving a shift toward a more self-reliant and shock-resistant economic future.

The report, “Africa’s Performance and Outlook,” by the African Development Bank (Afdb), confirms that Africa is now the second-fastest-growing regional economy after Asia, with growth projected to rise from 3.2% in 2024 to 4.1% in 2025 and 4.4% in 2026.

“Africa’s average real GDP growth is projected to increase by 0.9 percentage points to 4.1 percent in 2025. The growth outlook for this year is underpinned by expectations of moderating inflation as aggressive monetary policy gains traction and food prices begin to subside,” the authors outline in the February report.

According to experts, a wave of new governments is spearheading bold reforms, driving massive investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology.

“Last year, we saw massive regime transitions on the continent, with close to 20 countries holding presidential general elections. With regime change comes new governments that are actively vouching to implement fresh policies,” Redding Maseko, a South African economist and a member of the African Union Youth Alliance, told bird story agency.

The private sector is at the forefront of powering the continent’s growth, with startups, renewable energy, and AfCFTA trade unlocking new opportunities.

According to Albert Muchanga, African Union Trade Commissioner, the private sector has the potential to further propel strategic initiatives by investing in initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area.

“I expect African businesses to establish logistics centres and warehouses across the continent. I also expect them to start planning for an African shipping line…. We are sitting on immense potential, which we are yet to fully respond to,” Muchanga said.

Regionally, the authors expect the East African region to surge ahead, fuelled by growing private investments and infrastructure developments. Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya are building, expanding, and attracting capital.

Half of East Africa’s economies—South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya—are set to grow by at least 5% in 2025, driven by strong investments, expanding infrastructure, and a booming private sector.

Agriculture, energy and tourism are especially reshaping the region’s economy. Kenya’s agritech boom is fueling growth, transforming farming with innovation. In Tanzania, a thriving service sector, led by a surging tourism industry, is creating jobs and attracting investment.

Interestingly, South Sudan is roaring back, with its oil sector rebounding. The country’s economy is expected to grow by 17% in 2025 after shrinking by 24.5% last year, thanks to the recovery of oil production and exports.

The West African region will trail the East with its major economies such as Nigeria and Senegal thriving in the region thanks to oil price stabilization and success with oil refineries.

A year after the Dangote oil refinery was launched, the facility is making significant refining progress, with the latest revelations showing it is on track to achieve 650,000 barrels per day full production capacity next month.

According to Aliko Dangote, the US$ 20 billion refinery currently “produces enough refined products, like gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, to meet 100 percent of Nigeria’s requirements.”

“We can satisfy more than the local needs of Nigeria. As we speak, we have more than half a billion litres (of petrol). We have more than N600bn worth of stocks here today in the refinery. We have more than enough,” he is quoted in the Punch newspaper during a visit to the facility this week with Zambia’s Minister for Energy.

Senegal this week also marked a milestone in self-sufficency when Société Africaine de Raffinage (SAR) processed its first locally-extracted crude at a newly-launched 90,000-ton refinery.

According to a February 2025 press statement, SAR processed 650,000 barrels of crude oil, yielding 90,000 tons of petroleum products, the company announced.

A refinery boom appears to be reshaping West Africa’s energy landscape, boosting local capacity and reducing reliance on imports.

Nigeria’s Port Harcourt refinery recently completed a US$ 1.5 billion overhaul to boost its capacity while Ghana has embarked on a US$ 12 billion petroleum hub project in Jomoro, featuring a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical plants, aiming to position itself as a regional leader in the oil sector.

The expansion of refining capacity in West Africa is expected to significantly impact the region’s economy.

In 2023, Europe exported an average of 1.33 million barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline, with approximately one-third destined for West Africa (predominantly, Nigeria) according to research and data firm Kpler.

Beyond the West, North Africa’s economy is also on the rise, with Egypt driving reforms and Morocco recovering from drought. Real GDP is set to climb from 2.7% in 2024 to 3.9% in 2025 and 4.2% in 2026, fueled by infrastructure, tourism, and foreign investment.

Libya will also contribute significantly to the region’s economy. After a -3.2% contraction in 2024, and following a lengthy civil war, Libya’s economy is set to surge, with 7.5% growth expected in 2025, driven by revived oil production and a breakthrough deal on central bank and oil revenue control.

The demand for critical minerals continues to be the greatest driver of economic growth in Central Africa. Growth in the region is, however, projected to hold steady at 4.0% in 2025 and improve marginally to 4.1% in 2026.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will stay the region’s growth leader, driven by a sustained rebound in private consumption. Growth in the DRC will undergo a moderation from 5.5% in 2024 to 5.3% in 2025 and 5.0% in 2026.

However, recent events could alter projections. The DRC’s deepening humanitarian crisis is crippling livelihoods and disrupting key economic hubs like Goma, amplifying financial strain.

The Southern African region is also set for a strong rebound, with real GDP expected to almost double from 1.8% in 2024 to 3.0% in 2025 and 3.1% in 2026, driven by robust performances in Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where growth is expected to be at least 5%.

“This pickup marks the first time since 2021 that the region’s growth has exceeded 2 percent,” the authors explain.

While Southern Africa’s largest economy, South Africa, will remain sluggish — rising from 0.9% growth in 2024 to 1.7% in 2025 — most other countries, except Namibia and Lesotho, are set to grow between 3% and 4%.

Despite the positive trajectory, the report highlights that Africa’s growth remains below the 7% threshold required for substantial poverty reduction. The continent also continues to grapple with geopolitical tensions, structural weaknesses, climate-related disasters, and prolonged conflicts.

Most strikingly, Africa’s growth is outpacing the global average, with 12 African economies projected to be among the world’s top 20 fastest-growing in 2025.

According to Maseko, “this signals a maturing continent — one that, despite inflationary pressures, debt challenges, and geopolitical risks, is increasingly setting its own economic agenda for the future.”

“If this momentum is sustained, Africa will not only withstand global shocks but also emerge as a key player in shaping the world’s economic future.”

— bird story agency

– The Mail & Guardian

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