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00:00Hello and welcome to Ion Africa, I'm Clarisse Fortuné and these are the stories making
00:06headlines across the continent.
00:09Few hours before going to the polls for close to 19 million voters in Ghana, they will choose
00:14the next president out of 12 candidates including the current vice president and a former head
00:19of state.
00:22Hundreds of people march in Jamena to call for the withdrawal of French troops from the
00:26country.
00:27The government has already announced that it's ending the military agreement between
00:30Chad and France.
00:34Dakar becomes African arts capital during the 15th edition of the Biennale.
00:39This year celebrates craftsmanship with a theme, hippopotamus.
00:46This Saturday, more than 18 million Ghanaian voters will be able to take part in the country's
00:51ninth general election.
00:53Twelve candidates are vying for the top jobs including Mahamudu Maoumia from the ruling
00:58NPP having served as current president Nana Akufo-Addo's vice president for eight years
01:03and John Mahama who's hoping for a comeback as president.
01:07Now he represents the opposition National Democratic Congress.
01:10Justice Baidu has been getting a feel for the atmosphere in Acapulco, Accra.
01:17Many people across the country are upbeat about tomorrow in the capital, Accra, where
01:24I am now, ballot polling election materials are being dispatched across the country.
01:31It's been a quiet day today because several people have been traveling across the country
01:36to get in time to the villages and towns where they would be voting.
01:42The country has shut down its borders with the three neighboring countries around it,
01:50Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.
01:53The official government statement said that it is to protect the integrity of the country's
01:58elections and to prevent foreigners from coming into the country to take part in the elections.
02:04There are also issues to do with the terror situation especially to the north of the country
02:10where the Burkina Faso has been under insurgency for a couple of years before now.
02:17But all in all, the country is very much ready for this very crucial election that kicks
02:23in in less than 12 hours from now.
02:27And can you please remind us what's going to happen tomorrow?
02:32So the polls would open in the morning at 7 and close at 5.
02:37More than 18 million voters are taking part in elections across over 30,000 polling stations
02:45across the country.
02:46It is expected generally to be peaceful even though the police service and the Electoral
02:52Commission working with all the institutions have identified several hotspots where they
02:58say there are potential issues of violence that could erupt.
03:04The police have assured generally all through the week that they have every situation under
03:10control and have asked all voters to step out in their numbers and cast their ballot.
03:18And just as they also explained that one of the key issues on the minds of voters is education
03:24and that an increasing number of students has forced the government to run a double
03:28track system which keeps thousands of the students at home for months.
03:32Let's see his report with Julia Guggenheim and Damian Kofi.
03:37Maybel is not in class today because of a double track system implemented in Ghana.
03:42Each school divides eight students into two groups who take turns spending two months
03:46in class and two months at home.
03:48I'm trying to do some study in order to cope with the upcoming election.
03:55You spend a lot of time at home more than the time you have to spend in school and it
04:01drags us back.
04:02Sometimes you are not even able to complete the syllabus in which we are taught.
04:07So I prefer the old time school better than the double track system.
04:12The government had to put in place the system initially announced as temporary after establishing
04:16free education for high school students in 2017.
04:19The number of students has since jumped from 800,000 to 3 million.
04:24Before the double track system came, my first born, before I would go to school, I was struck
04:29by the double track system because at that time I would pay the money before the boy
04:36would go to school.
04:37But because of that, he would stay at home for the first term and I would get the money.
04:40For the second term, I would get the money before he would go to school.
04:43So this double track is good for me.
04:47But school resources haven't grown to match the new demand.
04:50The policy is popular among voters, yet many parents dislike this shift system.
04:56Yes, the numbers are high, but have we been able to maintain the same quality?
05:03That is no.
05:04Then the difficulty was that we did not get the right number of teachers.
05:09They now have more students in their classrooms.
05:14They now have more hours to teach.
05:19They now have more workload on their hands and they hardly get holidays.
05:29The lead candidates in Ghana's presidential election this weekend have all promised to
05:32build schools and hire more teachers to address the problem.
05:37This Friday morning, thousands of Chadians took to the streets in Jamena to protest against
05:42the French military presence in their country.
05:44The government has already announced that it's ending the military agreement between
05:48Chad and France, although no official date was set for the French military to leave.
05:54Protesters want them out as soon as possible for the sake of the country's sovereignty,
05:58they said.
05:59Harold Girard has the details.
06:02There were at least four different locations where protestors gathered at the same time
06:07all in the capital city in Jamena.
06:10All the people we spoke to at the demonstration were very thankful to the Chadian President
06:16Mohamed Idris Déby for breaking the military agreement with France, but are now asking
06:23for a concrete timeline for troop withdrawal.
06:26A large part of the Chadian public believe cooperation with French soldiers didn't help
06:32to turn Chad in a more secure place.
06:36The country is still facing several security challenges, especially in the Lake Chad region
06:41where the insurgent group Bukhram continues to target civilians.
06:46We want French soldiers to leave in a very short time, or as soon as possible.
06:53One week, two weeks or a month maximum.
06:58If you look at the situation in the Lake Chad region, the French army can get intel, establish
07:02military logistics and even launch satellites to monitor the area and inform the President.
07:07But we don't get that help, so we cannot continue working with them.
07:11On Wednesday, Chadian authorities created a special commission to organize the end of
07:16the military agreement between both countries, but the Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
07:22says it has started a discussion with the French ambassador on renewing the non-military
07:29partnership between Chad and France.
07:34Nandria's Port Harcourt refinery has finally resumed its operation after being out of action
07:39for a few years, bringing hope for millions of small companies.
07:43After the end of fuel subsidies and several liberal reforms introduced by President Bolat
07:48Inoubo's administration, inflation has skyrocketed, and millions of small and medium companies
07:54have to close their doors.
07:56Chinwe Osundu met entrepreneurs who are trying to keep their businesses going against all odds.
08:02The hike in the price of fuel has caused these pupils from a private school to walk several
08:08kilometers to their classrooms.
08:10The school management has stopped their transportation system because many parents are still struggling
08:16to pay school fees.
08:32The more than 33 percent rise in price of fuel is a nightmare for this farmer.
08:43Yekini has to work extra hours in neighboring farms to buy fertilizer or renew his farming
08:49tools.
08:50He is pessimistic about the future sales of his cassava because he will have to calculate
08:56his price, taking into consideration inflation and the current price of fuel in Nigeria.
09:04There was a time when we used to make many sales.
09:08Things were very affordable.
09:10But now, even when we get goods for sale, we don't get any customers.
09:16And things are now very expensive.
09:21For the past five years, Tunde has been a driver for two competing shared transport
09:26applications.
09:27His turnover has plummeted since the end of fuel subsidy.
09:31Before approving or rejecting another, he now checks the journey on his smartphone.
09:37How I work now is, once a request comes in, the first thing I look after is the pickup.
09:47Once the pickup is far to me, I won't honor the rights.
09:52Against this difficult backdrop, at least 8 million of the country's 40 million businesses
09:57have closed shop between January 2023 and June 2024, according to the Nigerian Association
10:04of SME Managers.
10:08The Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art is about to wrap up.
10:12The festival is dedicated to showcasing the best of African continent's art.
10:17And this year marks the first time craftsmen were invited to participate in a prestigious event.
10:23They came together for a joint exhibition inspired by the hippopotamus Clemence Valère.
10:32In Dakar's artisan village, craftsmen are hard at work.
10:37For the last month, they have been creating pieces to showcase during the Dakar Biennale
10:41of Contemporary African Arts.
10:43The 15th edition has given them a new platform to highlight their talents.
10:48Papis Kante is a sculptor and one of the Dakar-based artisans participating in the event.
10:53In his workshop, he sculpts his latest piece, determined to showcase his craft.
11:01Sculpting has importance in Senegalese society.
11:05It's an art.
11:08Every artist wants to get better, so that in the future we will be able to exhibit all over the world.
11:17At 35 years old, the Dakar Biennale draws hundreds of artists, curators and art lovers
11:22from across the world at every edition.
11:24And this year, for the first time, local artisans were invited to participate in the prestigious festival.
11:30I hope next year we do even better, and that all the artisans will be happy.
11:36Two Senegalese curators approached five local artisans,
11:39each specialized in a different craft, with a proposal for a joint exhibition.
11:44The five were asked to reinterpret the theme of the hippo.
11:49Communities who live close to water know the hippopotamus very well.
11:53This is an animal that brings people together,
11:56and we are using it to bring these craftsmen together.
12:01The curators say showcasing the talent of local craftsmen
12:05was crucial to highlighting Senegalese artistic traditions.
12:12And this report to conclude our edition of Eye on Africa.
12:14Thank you for watching and stay tuned to France 24.