Africa Week round up.

Ebola is still in much of the headlines this week, and the situation in Liberia is still very much depressing. The quarantines have only served to increase the fear among the local residents. Still, South Africa moved to ban entry of persons from the three most affected countries; Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This comes even as WHO warns that blanket ban of flights from affected countries may in fact worsen the situation, rather than curb it. Even as the affected West African Ebola patients continue to face dire straits, two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, were discharged from the Emory University medical hospital, having recovered from the disease after taking on experimental drugs.

Still, within the same week, two Ghanaians, Robert Lamptey and Badu Boahen, founders of a mobile based firm, Saya, were lucky as their firm was acquired by a US firm, Kirusa, for an undisclosed amount. Kirusa will acquire Saya's intellectual property, technology, and workforce. Perhaps, more African start-ups will be acquired and thrive, and move the African tech scene from one of hype to one of real commercial success. 

Even then, the picture is not so rosy when it comes to poaching of elephants in Africa. According to the proceedings of the national academy of sciences, the number of elephants being poached in the continent is
at an all time high, and if nothing is done to stop the menace, then there will be no elephants in Africa in the next 100 years. The report attributes much of the blame to China, which has a huge demand for Ivory, and asks whether anti-poaching authorities should not in fact press China for a ban on Ivory.

Still, the South African cast of Generations, a long running program, showcasing the lifestyles of black middle class in South Africa, is facing some teething problems. The whole cast has gone on strike over pay disputes, even as the producers of the program allege that the cast are among the highest paid South African actors. However, the producers say that the long running program will continue whether or not the cast goes on strike. 

Matters still South Africa, the fiery Julius Malema threw a spin in the fireworks, as he lambasted Jacob Zuma over the President's Nkandla home, which was reportedly repaired to the tune of millions of dollars. In his criticism, Mr. Malema is just as vocal when he was supporting Jacob Zuma.