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African Fact-checking Awards: Who entered what?

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English entries

State of the Living Springs gasps for breath by Ajibola Amzat [Nigeria]

The claim by the governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, about the total revenue allocation to his state between November 2010 when he was first sworn-in and December 2014 may not be accurate after all.

Did Dynamos employ rookie? By Henry Mhara [Zimbabwe]

Paulo Jorge Silva might have misrepresented his coaching credentials to get a job at Dynamos, and probably to the Zimbabwean authorities, when applying for a work permit.

NigComSat-1R becoming white elephant four years after – investigation by Adedayo Oketola [Nigeria]

Four years after it was launched into the orbit, Nigeria’s communication satellite, NigComSat-1R, has yet to deepen broadband penetration as promised and can’t be seen as playing any critical role in the country’s development agenda, despite the huge taxpayers’ money sunk into it.

No Mr President, numbers tell a different story by Alphonce Shiundu [Kenya]

Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta had to wait for dinner time on a Sunday, when presumably all parents were back in the house with their children, for him to address the country, in what was sort of emotional blackmail to turn the citizens against the teachers who want his government to pay the court-awarded 50-60% pay rise. The devil in the President’s speech is in the details of the numbers that he spoke about. There were little lies and big lies. He was using statistics to tell a story that his own institution, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, contradicts.

The Many Falsehoods in President Biya’s Laptop Gift to University Students by Arison Tamfu [Cameroon]

The Cameroonian government recently announced it will distribute laptops free of charge to all university students in the country this academic year 2016/2017.

  • Falsehood #1 – There Are More Than 500,000 University Students in Cameroon.

  • Falsehood #2 – They’re Not Laptops, They Are Netbooks (Mini Laptops).

  • Falsehood #3 – 500,000 Chinese Laptops Cannot Cost 75 billion FCFA.

  • Falsehood #4 – They Are Not a Gift From President Biya.

Lies, public money and a redone DC-9 in Swaziland by Phathizwe Mongezi Zulu [Swaziland]

Court documents indicate that Swazi Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini concealed the full truth when he announced King Mswati III’s personal jet was a “magnificent gift” from anonymous “development partners and friends of the Kingdom of Swaziland”.

The PF’s Simbyakula and the “Strategy for Domination” by Charles Mafa & David Julian Wightman [Zambia]

Zambian justice minister Ngosa Simbyakula has broken his silence over allegations that he co-authored an inflammatory document allegedly detailing the Patriotic Front’s intended use of violence and suppression to win the 2016 general election.

French entries

Ghost institution sees divorces everywhere by Hassan Bentaleb [Morocco]

The statistic has done the rounds in numerous newspapers and websites, including the heart of the Arab world. Almost all of them stated that 5 divorces are announced per hour in Morocco, 20 in Egypt, 8 in Saudi Arabia and 7 in Iraq. The Kingdom is ranked in 6th place after Algeria and before Tunisia, which, together with Oman and the United Arab Emirates, represents the countries in which the lowest divorce rates are recorded. But can these numbers be trusted?

The Ivorian State plunders 11,000 hectares of land in Famienkro by Anderson Déidri [Côte d’Ivoire]

Côte d’Ivoire has granted around 11,000 ha of Famienkro land in the Prikro Department to Prikro Rubber Company (CHP), a subsidiary of the Belgian group SIAT (Investment company for tropical agriculture). The local population, situated 313 km from Abidjan in the south-east of Côte d’Ivoire, is contesting this decision.

Togo: Has the global political accord lapsed? by Hélène Doubidji [Togo]

"The Global Political Accord (APG) has lapsed,” declared Florent Maganawé, former minister and member of the party in power, Union pour la République (Unir) in Togo. The remarks came at a time when the question of the implementation of institutional and constitutional reforms prescribed by this agreement arise.

Degradation of road infrastructure by Isaac Koné [Côte d’Ivoire]

On 15 July 2016, the minister of economic infrastructure, Achi Patrick, found himself before the deputies for a great speech on the degradation of road infrastructure. In his speech, the guest of the parliamentarians raised the economic issues that make the maintenance of road infrastructure difficult. If the reasons given by the minister Achi Patrick are valid, it should be emphasised that he has obscured the real problems.

Shielding against GMOs in Côte d'Ivoire by Pie de Laure Nesmon [Côte d’Ivoire]

The Commission for Research on Science, Technology and the Environment (CRSTE) of the Ivorian Parliament approved the draft biosafety bill on 1 July 2016. Interpreted as a port of entry into the country for genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), the text has elicited unfavourable comments. Ouattara Manan Raphaël, who launched the outcry against GMOs, is a player in Côte d'Ivoire's cotton sector. Contacted by Politikafrique.info on 13 July 2016, he firmly argues that the biosafety bill is not "a good deal".

Is Mamadou Badio Camara subject to the declaration of assets? by Mbaye Thiandoum [Senegal]

The keeper of the seals and minister of justice stated that "the first president of the Supreme Court is not subject to the obligation to declare assets". This follows the controversy raised by the publication of a letter addressed to the head of state, in which Nafi Ngom Keita (replaced on 1 August 2016 by Seynabou Ndiaye Diakhaté) reminded Macky Sall that the president of the Supreme Court has refrained from making his declaration of assets.

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