Two of Zambia’s key copper mines have returned to foreign private control. The metal, which is 70% of Zambia’s exports, is a major source of foreign exchange at a time when the country is facing a major debt crisis

People took to the streets of Accra for a three-day action under the slogan #OccupyJulorbiHouse to protest the rising cost of living and worsening economic conditions. Ghana is facing a severe debt crisis and has entered into its 17th loan program with the IMF, raising fears of further austerity measures 

70% of Zambia’s debt is held by Western institutions, and 220 million is held by investment giant BlackRock.

Western institutions own 70% of Zambia’s debt. It’s time for the largest private owner of such debt to cancel it entirely, say activists

After police killed six protesters and arrested more than 300 on July 19, Kenya’s left and human rights group warned of a resurgent police state. Kenyans have been protesting President William Ruto’s Finance Act that increases taxes on essential goods

Kenya’s Finance Act 2023, which has provoked country-wide protests by aggravating the cost of living crisis through taxes on basic commodities and incomes, is welcomed by the US because it will “give Americans safety on investing in the country”

At least 12 people have been killed and hundreds arrested in mass protests that have been rocking Kenya for over a week. A root cause of the anger is the doubling of taxes on fuel that will have a disastrous impact on the people who are already facing a cost of living crisis

The activists have vowed to return to the streets if taxes on menstrual hygiene products are not removed.

On June 22, Ghanaian activists will take to the streets for the “Don’t Tax My Period” march which is being organized by the women’s wing of the Socialist Movement of Ghana and allied organizations. The mobilization takes place as anger builds over the heavy taxation of menstrual hygiene products.

A dossier and accompanying discussion hosted by the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research interrogates the vicious cycle of debt rooted in neocolonial extraction that continues to trap countries across the African continent 

Amid rising debt payments the Kenyan government has proposed new tax and levy regimes in the Finance Bill 2023. Unions and left forces, especially the Communist Party of Kenya, have argued that the measures will further burden workers while they are already struggling under an economic crisis 

Political Economist Grieve Chelwa explains the reasons why countries of the Global South are forced to go time and again to the International Monetary Fund for aid.