Chisanga Puta-Chekwe

President, Masomo Education Foundation.
Senior Fellow, Massey College, University of Toronto

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Dear Twitter family,

After nearly 13 years, I am closing my X account. Those who wish to continue to interact with me on social media are encouraged to set up accounts with Bluesky and look for the handle @Chekwe.

Chisanga.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

@BillKristol A great observation from a moral conservative!

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

In May 2015, Peter became City Manager, City of Toronto, following a unanimous vote in Council. 3 years later he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada on the advice of PM Justin Trudeau, effective April 4, 2018. He left in November 2021 to work as a consultant.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

The Masomo Education Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Peter Wallace as Chair of this year’s selection committee. Under Peter’s leadership, this committee will ensure a fair, transparent, and effective process.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Peter was made the Secretary of the Cabinet and head of the Ontario Public Service (OPS) in 2011 serving until 2014, when he became an OPS Visiting Fellow at the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

On this day in 1857 the United States Supreme Court decided in the Dred Scott case that African Americans could never be citizens of the United State. That being the case, Black Americans were not entitled to the rights and freedoms enshrined in the US constitution.

[David Frum @davidfrum]

Trump asking Democrats in Congress to fund his crime-spree administration because his own party cannot untie its shoelaces is a pretty good rewrite of the old joke about the man who killed his parents then asked for clemency because he was an orphan.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

@BihindaDemian @masomo_edu @JohnTory @SteveOrsini Th scholarships have been advertised.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

@LankyObserver The situation appears dire. The solution is in our hands as Zambians. That solution includes a departure from vituperative and grievance driven politics, and an embrace of long term thinking guided by a professional and non partisan public service.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Zambian born Edwin Mutuna has been recognised by Ontario's secretary of cabinet for his commitment and dedication to public service. The Ontario Public Service is recognised as one of the most efficient ion the world.
Congratulations Edwin!

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

In today's Law Society magazine, Imran Khan KC explains his evolution from young troublemaker to 'legal aid lawyer'. His own experiences with racism prepared him for the Stephen Lawrence case.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Tanzania has signed a USD2.15 billion contract with 2 Chinese companies to build a railway link between the port of Dar es Salaam and a nickel mine in Burundi. The project will be financed by the African Development Bank.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

For as long as the country has a large parasitic and generally unproductive public sector, inflation will be hard to tame. Similarly, consumption of foreign goods will continue to be greater than consumption of domestic goods and services.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Zambia’s inflation rate (at 16.7%) and trade deficit (ZMW3.3 billion) are worrisome.
Annual food inflation rose to 19.2 percent in January 2025, up from 18.6 percent in December 2024.
The increase was driven by higher prices of bread, cereals, meat, fish, eggs, and sugar.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

On the education front, the country had the best matric pass rate to date. University entrance passes are up too, although there is still work to do in the STEM subjects, as well as in accounting and economics.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Bloomberg’s Chief Emeritus and founder Matt Winkler reported last month that South Africa’s Rand was the best performer against the US Dollar in 2024. Now, a Bloomberg consensus of polled economists predict a much better growth outcome (1.7% this year) for SA in 2025.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

The Foundation is especially grateful for the large gifts received from Mr Andrew Banks and Dame Pamela Gordon-Banks, Mr T.A. Barron, Mr Bruns Grayson, Ms Ginny Day, the Vallavbhai and Savitaben Patel Foundation, the Grace St Stephen Endowment Fund, and Mr Siyanga Malumo.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Masomo Education Foundation will send at least three young people from low income families to Tier 1 Zambian universities in 2025.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

This platform provides broadband connectivity, co-location data centres, cloud, cybersecurity, compute (AI), and payment services across more than 30 markets in Africa, the Middle East, India, and Latin America.

[Chisanga Puta-Chekwe @CPutaChekwe]

Following reorganisation of Cassava’s business to create an integrated digital solutions platform, Strive Masiyiwa, has closed an equity investment round of USD90 million with participation from the US International Development Finance Corporation, Finnfund and Google.