The growing visibility of the BRICS countries in international development cooperation has led to claims that they represent a challenge to the development paradigm, emphasising distinctive characteristics of horizontality, solidarity, mutual learning and partnership. Yet, beyond the political rhetoric, it is far from clear whether such a new approach is indeed emerging, and if so what it comprises.

Abidjan: The US Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Phillip Carter, said in Abidjan that West Africa’s food import bill will shoot up to a trillion dollars in 20 years as the economies in the region record fast growth. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a conference on removing trade barriers in West Africa, Carter noted that the current food cost which stood at 313 billion dollars, might quadruple.

Challenge: It is frequently postulated that Sino-African relations are burgeoning in part because China offers African leaders a more acceptable alternative economic ideology to the "Washington Consensus", aptly called the "Beijing Consensus". In many ways a host of other criticisms of China's engagements across the continent follow from this, somewhat over-simplistic, misunderstanding.

Kampala: Sindiso Ngwenya, the Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Friday called the decision by the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to form a Free Trade Area “a bold decisionâ€�.  “For successful economic integration, we need the kind of enthusiasm that led to African Independence. The decision made  by our leaders to merge the EAC, COMESA and SADC and have a Free Trade Area is one of the boldest decisions that African leaders have taken in 10 years. This clearly shows political commitment and let us give our leaders a chance,â€� he said.

Los Cabos: The G20 Development Working Group (DWG) met for the third time under the Mexican Presidency on May 3-5 in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur. The meeting ended successfully; a report with the group’s recommendations will be presented at the Leaders’ Summit in June. The group will work to ensure that their recommendations have an impact on reducing poverty and promoting sustainable growth in developing countries.

Cape Town:  The government will give financial support to South African  Airways (SAA) as it expands into Africa, Public Enterprises Minister  Malusi Gigaba said on Wednesday. This was not a bailout, he told reporters before delivering his department's budget speech in parliament. Gigaba said the point would come when SAA would have been "properly capitalised".

Dar es Salaam: The government said yesterday that it was facing great difficulty in making informed decisions due to unavailability of relevant information on both local and foreign investors. Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (Investment and Empowerment) Dr Mary Nagu said this in Dar es Salaam when launching the Africa Investment Report and Investment Monitoring Platform prepared jointly by the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC) and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido).

Kigali: I can no longer count the number of times I have had to board a bus to travel and travel for hours before crossing the Rwanda-Uganda Gatuna or Katuna border depending on which side of the crossing you are coming from. I have been a passenger of numerous bus companies that have come and gone. My preferred spot is usually among the back seats but on a few occasions, I have sat close to the driver, getting a better view of what the driver sees during the journey.