Photo : Dmitri Lovetsky | AP
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Dmitri Lovetsky | AP
IN BRIEF
By Apoorva Sudhakar and Anu Maria Joseph
South Africa: SANDF announces military drills with China and Russia
On 19 January, South Africa’s military announced that it will hold joint military drills with China and Russia next month. South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said that the 10 days drill aims to share operational skills and knowledge. This will be the second similar military drill, while the first was in November 2019. The SANDF said: “This years’ exercise will see over 350 SANDF personnel from various arms of services and divisions participating.” (“South Africa to hold military drills with Russia, China,” BBC, 19 January 2023)
Sierra Leone: President signs Gender Equality Act into law
On 19 January, Sierra Leone passed the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Act that ensures 30 per cent of the workforce in public and private jobs are women. President Julius Maada Bio signed the bill into a law and said: "For so long we haven't been fair to you." Under this law, women will be entitled to at least 14 weeks of maternity leave instead of the previous 12 weeks, and equal pay, training and treatment. Any employer found violating the law could attract a fine amounting to USD 2,500 and a breach of the credit fairness rules by financial institutions could attract prison sentences of at least three years. (“Sierra Leone passes landmark law on women's rights,” BBC, 20 January 2023)