Tag Archives: Azerbaijan

AMA, Business

Bolt Extortion Scandal: Governance Gaps Exposed in Azerbaijan — Could Africa Be Next?

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Africa, 16 March 2026 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/ – A corruption scandal has erupted within Bolt’s Azerbaijan operations — and it is not a minor compliance breach. The controversy has exposed alleged systemic bribery, selective onboarding, manipulation of bonuses, and the deliberate blocking of drivers’ accounts until payments were made through intermediaries. Even more troubling, reports indicate that elements within the local transport regulatory ecosystem were entangled in the controversy.

Following complaints from drivers and fleet owners, Bolt’s headquarters in Estonia conducted an internal audit that reportedly led to the dismissal of the country office head and other staff. In responding, the platform effectively acknowledged governance gaps that may have enabled extortion by local management. While reiterating its zero-tolerance policy, Bolt’s intervention came only after sustained pressure.

For Africa, the issue is not whether an identical scandal is unfolding. There is no public evidence of that. The deeper concern is structural vulnerability: could it happen here?

Ride-hailing platforms operate within asymmetric power systems. Drivers depend entirely on algorithms they cannot interrogate, enforcement mechanisms they do not design, and local management structures that hold enormous discretionary power. When an account is suspended, income stops instantly. If local officials were to exploit that leverage — through selective deactivation, preferential onboarding, or opaque bonus allocation — how would drivers contest it?

The Azerbaijan case raises uncomfortable parallels. Allegations included restricted access to lucrative ride categories and arbitrary enforcement. In Africa, are airport pickups, premium tiers and fleet onboarding governed strictly by transparent, auditable criteria Or could informal influence shape outcomes behind the scenes?

The regulatory dimension deepens the concern. 

What oversight mechanisms exist between ride-hailing platforms and African transport authorities? If elements of a local transport ecosystem were compromised — as suggested in Azerbaijan — would Africa’s institutional framework detect and deter it early?

Bolt’s headquarters ultimately intervened in Azerbaijan. 

But escalation to Europe is not a practical remedy for the average African driver navigating daily earnings volatility. Would whistleblowers feel protected? Is there an independent dispute resolution mechanism beyond digital ticketing systems? Are internal audits triggered proactively, or only after scandal erupts?

The rapid expansion of ride-hailing in Africa has delivered economic opportunity. Yet platform growth without transparent governance invites systemic risk. Corporate controls are only as strong as local enforcement integrity. When gaps appear at the market level, drivers bear the cost first.

The Azerbaijan scandal should not trigger alarmism across Africa. It should trigger due diligence. If Bolt has acknowledged governance weaknesses abroad, it must demonstrate robust preventative safeguards locally. 

The burden of proof now rests on transparency.

Digital mobility thrives on trust. If drivers begin to suspect that account security, onboarding access or earnings are vulnerable to discretionary manipulation, confidence in the entire system erodes. 

Africa’s ride-hailing sector cannot afford to wait for a domestic scandal before tightening oversight.

The hard questions are no longer hypothetical — they are preventive.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA)

The post Bolt Extortion Scandal: Governance Gaps Exposed in Azerbaijan — Could Africa Be Next? appeared first on African Media Agency.

AMA, Environment

African Countries Urged to Seize Economic Opportunities Through New Climate Plans

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UN Climate Chief highlights potential for millions of new jobs, secure energy, rising living standards

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 15 September 2025 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/UN News- African governments are being encouraged to present their new national climate plans as opportunities to supercharge economies and boost living standards across the continent, as deadlines approach for all countries in the Paris Agreement to submit these plans.

“Strong new national climate plans are blueprints for stronger economies, more jobs and rising living standards, across all African nations. Strong plans open the door to new industries, large-scale investment, more affordable clean energy accessible to all, and more resilient infrastructure, as climate disasters hit African nations harder each year,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.

“Africa is not just on the frontlines of climate impacts; it is also at the forefront of solutions. Right across the continent, we are already seeing massive potential and innovations which cut planet-heating pollution and build more climate-resilient economies. Strong new national climate plans are the key to converting that potential into real-economy outcomes at scale, including the millions of new jobs they create,” Stiell added.

The United Nations is calling on all countries to submit their new plans, formally called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, as soon as possible ahead of key milestones, including the UN Secretary General’s September Climate Summit and November COP30 in Brazil. September will be an important milestone, but submissions will continue in the run-up to COP30, with each plan helping to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius and protect all peoples, while also unlocking jobs, growth, and economic benefits at home.

While particular responsibility rests with the largest economies, whose choices determine the global trajectory of emissions, it is essential that every nation puts forward its most ambitious plan, both to strengthen humanity’s collective response and to drive each nation’s own prosperity and security.

Examples from Across Africa

  • In South Africa, the NDC process is framed around a just transition that protects workers and communities while scaling renewables to strengthen energy security. International partnerships are signalling momentum, bringing together governments, public financiers, and private investors to support South Africa’s shift from coal to clean energy – growing from USD 8.5 to 11.6 billion.
  • Nigeria is advancing a whole-of-government and society approach, linking climate action to job creation, poverty reduction, and improved energy access. Over 85 million people still lack electricity, making decentralised renewables critical. Large-scale solar is expected to generate 33,905 direct green jobs by 2030, the micro-solar sector is already employing youth as “energy officers,” the Great Green Wall has restored more than 5 million hectares, and the country’s extensive mangroves provide carbon storage and flood protection. With a population projected to surpass 400 million by 2050 and GDP already over USD 470 billion, Nigeria has unparalleled potential to be a powerful leader in Africa’s green transition. Its upcoming climate plan is being designed as a national investment strategy to generate millions of green jobs by 2035 and secure a strong share of the USD 2.2 trillion global clean energy market. The transformation is already underway: over 170 solar mini-grids are already operational, bringing reliable electricity to nearly 6 million people, while young entrepreneurs are driving innovation in recycling, clean transport, and sustainable agriculture.
  • Morocco has emerged as a regional leader in renewable energy, with the Ouarzazate solar complex among the largest in the world. It stands as a positive example of how national ambition can deliver clean power at scale.
  • Recent milestone UN climate events, including Climate Week in Ethiopia and the Adaptation Expo in Zambia, have showcased innovative and practical new climate solutions emerging right across African nations, helping them to be scaled up and replicated across the continent and globally.

Africa Leading the Way

Momentum for strong climate action by and for African nations is building following the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa last week, where leaders called for climate action to be treated as a driver of development and investment; and the Nairobi Declaration agreed by African leaders at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in September 2023, which highlighted the continent’s role as a driver of global solutions. Countries are being urged to turn political signals into concrete plans that deliver for people and economies, echoing Simon Stiell’s message that delivery is the essential driver of climate justice and economic opportunity.

Through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area, African nations can build resilient regional supply chains, export green goods and services, and foster shared prosperity across borders.

Climate finance remains central and a vital enabler of stronger climate actions by vulnerable and developing countries. Climate finance is not charity but an investment in shared prosperity, essential to convert climate ambitions into real-economy outcomes, strengthen global supply chains which all economies rely on, and ensure the vast benefits are spread much more widely across all nations in Africa and the developing world.

The COP29 UN Climate Conference in Azerbaijan last year reached a new global agreement to triple climate finance to USD 300 billion per year. This must be delivered in full, and a new Finance Roadmap expected at COP30 in Brazil this November will be key to scaling climate finance to USD 1.3 trillion annually by 2035.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN Climate Change.

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About Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

NDCs are the central mechanism under the Paris Agreement through which countries outline plans to reduce emissions and build resilience. Done well, NDCs serve as investment roadmaps that attract capital, create jobs, lower health costs, and deliver affordable, secure clean energy. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit new NDCs every five years. The third round of NDCs are due in 2025 and will detail countries’ intended climate actions through 2035.

Media enquiries: press@unfccc.int

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AMA, Business, Environment, Health, Politics

UN and Ethiopia urge Africa Climate Summit to send a clear message: COP30 must deliver for African nations

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Climate Week in Addis Ababa shows: “Africa is a colossal coiled spring of climate action possibility”

UNFCCC/Ramzy Youssef

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 5 September 2025 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/UN News- The Africa Climate Summit next week is an unmissable opportunity to send a clear global message, according to a powerful joint statement issued today by UN Climate Change and the Government of Ethiopia: “Africa is ready to supercharge climate action, but COP30 must ensure Africa is fully enabled to do so.”

The joint statement – issued at Climate Week today in Addis Ababa – comes as nations around the world prepare for the crucial COP30 global climate conference in Brazil in November.

The statement – from H.E. Dr Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, and Mr Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary – sets the stage for the Africa Climate Summit starting this coming Monday 8 September, in Addis Ababa.

“This Climate Week has shown that no continent holds greater potential than Africa for climate actions that transform lives and economies for the better. With the world’s youngest population, vast natural resources, unparalleled renewable energy potential, and extraordinary diversity and human ingenuity, Africa is a colossal coiled spring of climate action possibility,” said the statement.

“This Climate Week has shown that African innovators are putting forward pioneering solutions, to boost climate resilience and cut planet-heating emissions. However, it has also highlighted again that only a fraction of this potential has yet been realized. Global decarbonisation is charging ahead, with clean energy investments hitting $2 trillion last year alone, driving economic growth and millions of new jobs, but only a fraction of that investment is flowing to African nations.”

The two leaders pointed to recent United Nations climate COPs delivering concrete global outcomes that should materially benefit Africa and other developing nations.

“But to realize these benefits, COP30 must take the next concrete steps forward: with ambitious outcomes which convert agreements into results on the ground, and scalable solutions which drive a new era of implementation… Because when all nations are empowered to take bold climate actions, this strengthens the entire global economy and lifts up all the world’s 8 billion people,” the statement concludes.

Read the full Joint Statement at this link: Joint statement by UN Climate Change and the Government of Ethiopia | UNFCCC

UNFCCC/Ramzy Youssef

During the Climate Week, Ethiopia also announced its bid to host the COP32 UN Climate Conference in 2027.

“We have the capacity, the facilities, the location, the connectivity to host the much-anticipated climate summit,” Ethiopian President H.E. Taye Atske-Selassie said.

The joint statement and announcement of Ethiopia’s bid for COP32 cap a highly productive Climate Week attended by delegates from 119 countries, and hundreds of representatives from NGOs, investors and other international organizations.

During the Climate Week, in focused workshops and “implementation labs” over 40 initiatives driving implementation were featured, so they can be replicated in other markets and scaled up. Noura Hamladji, UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary said:

“Climate Week has been about connecting the international climate process to people’s daily lives. We’ve worked together here in Addis to help translate pledges into actions. From community mini-grids to recycling innovations in Kibera, Kenya; to green bonds in Morocco and digital platforms tracking ambition across the continent: we’ve heard from innovators of climate action that is profitable, scalable, and irreversible.”

The Climate Week also advanced work on key issues being negotiated at COP30 in Brazil, across issues including climate adaptation, finance pathways, and a just transition.

Negotiators also participated in solutions-focused workshop, as part of Climate Week’s new approach this year, aiming to bring the intergovernmental process and real-economy implementation closer together. By clustering mandated meetings in the COP process together, the Climate Week also delivered cost savings and efficiencies.

Mrs Hamladji thanked the Government of Ethiopia for its leadership in hosting the Climate Week: “Ethiopia has long stood as a symbol of African independence, a founding member of the United Nations, and today the diplomatic capital of Africa — home to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa”.

“This is a country whose influence in regional diplomacy, security, and sustainable development, together with its innovative and dynamic society, made it an ideal setting for the week’s vital work”.

H.E. Dr Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopian Minister of Planning and Development said:

“By gathering here for Climate Week, a global platform for Parties and non-Party stakeholders, we reaffirm Addis Ababa’s role as a hub of the Global South, a place where ideas are exchanged, partnerships forged, and practical solutions launched. This Climate Week is not just an event. It is a bridge between negotiation and implementation. It is where ambition meets action, where commitments are translated into real solutions that reach communities, restore ecosystems, and advance sustainable development.”

Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP29 in Azerbaijan said:

“Each region has its own challenges and solutions. This high-level ministerial event convened by the COP29 Presidency within the Climate Week in Africa will serve as an important space for in-depth engagement on Africa’s core challenges, with a focus on potential solutions through maximizing the opportunities for effective actions.”

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of UN Climate Change

More information and visuals

Download visuals from the UN Climate Change Flickr Album

More information about the Climate Week is at this link

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Media enquiries: press@unfccc.int

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Lifestyle

Trump’s National Security Picks, STI Rates Drop, COP29 Latest

Maravi Post Reporter

What do President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for his national security team say about his 2nd term priorities? New data shows a slight decline in sexually transmitted infections. The latest from the UN Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan.

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Environment, Malawi, Regional

Chakwera delegates Micheal Usi to COP-29

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LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-President Lazarus Chakwera has decided to delegate his Vice-President Michael Usi, who is also UTM president, to represent him at the 29th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (CoP-29,) which will happen in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The conference is scheduled for November 11 to November 22 2024.

This comes barely eight days before UTM elective convention slated for Mzuzu on November 17.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said the Vice-President will hold numerous bilateral discussions with representatives of the United Kingdom, Scotland, Africa Climate Foundation, Green Climate Foundation and OPEC Foundation for International Development.

“The plane carrying the Vice-President will depart Kamuzu International Airport on Saturday 9th November 2024 at 16:45 hours and return on Friday 15th November 2024 at 13:35 hours through the same airport,” reads part of the statement.

Usi has not presented nomination papers for the UTM presidential pos,t and the convention committee will stop receiving nomination papers on Monday, November 11 November 2024.

Usi has only three days to present the paper. If he fails to do that,t it will be difficult for him to contest at the UTM convention.

If Usi fails to submit nomination papers by Monday, he might not be eligible to contest and chances are high that he will not attend the convention.

Will the convention proceed without the party president? Is this a move by Usi and MCP to disrupt the UTM convention? These are some of the questions people are asking.

Meanwhile Usi has left for Azerbaijan.