Joyous Africans Take to the Rails, With China’s Help
DJIBOUTI — The 10:24 a.m. train out of Djibouti’s capital drew some of the biggest names in the Horn of Africa last month. Serenaded by a chorus of tribal singers, the crush of African leaders, European diplomats and pop icons climbed the stairs of the newly built train station and merrily jostled their way into the pristine, air-conditioned carriages making their inaugural run.
“It is indeed a historic moment, a pride for our nations and peoples,” said Hailemariam Desalegn, the prime minister of Ethiopia, shortly before the train — the first electric transnational railway in Africa — headed toward Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. “This line will change the social and economic landscape of our two countries.”
But perhaps the biggest star of the day was China, which designed the system, supplied the trains and imported hundreds of engineers for the six years it took to plan and build the 466-mile line. And the $4 billion cost? Chinese banks provided nearly all the financing.
Having constructed one of the world’s most extensive and modern rail networks at home, China is taking its prodigious resources and expertise global. Chinese-built subway cars will soon appear in Chicago and Boston, Beijing is building a $5 billion high-speed rail line in Indonesia, and the Chinese government recently christened new rail freight service between London and Beijing. Another ambitious system in the works, the 2,400-mile Pan-Asia Railway Network, would link China to Laos, Thailand and Singapore.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/worl ... 87722&_r=0
AFRICA
An innovative cure for broken water pumps in Africa
New technology uses big data to keep the taps flowing
IN THE mid-2000s Playpumps International, a charity, hit on a photogenic way of providing clean water to rural African villages: a pump powered by children playing on a merry-go-round. International donors and celebrities pledged more than $16m. But the system was more expensive than alternatives and needed so much “playing” it was effectively dependent on child labour. It became a byword for wasteful Western aid, but it is far from the only example.
At any time around a third of the water infrastructure in rural sub-Saharan Africa, from simple hand pumps to pricey solar-powered systems, is broken. Even after spending billions of dollars most international donors still cannot ensure the pumps they pay for are maintained (just 5% of rural sub-Saharan Africa has access to piped water). Many of the village committees responsible for collecting the fees that should cover repairs are dogged by nepotism and corruption. More often, though, villagers simply struggle to gather money, find a mechanic and source spare parts, says Johanna Koehler of Oxford University. Kerr Lien, a village in central Gambia, reverted to using a manual well for nine years after the inhabitants were unable to fix a fault in their solar-powered pump. There are “lots of white elephants everywhere”, says Alison Wedgwood, a founder of eWATER, a British startup that aims to solve many of these problems. Its solar-powered taps, 110 of which have been installed in Kerr Lien and six other Gambian villages, dispense water in response to electronic tags. The tags are topped up by shopkeepers using smartphones; 20 litres of water costs 0.50 dalasi (1 cent), and 85% of the payment is set aside to cover future repairs. The taps are connected to the mobile network, so they can transmit usage data to alert mechanics to problems. EWATER hopes to have 500 taps serving 50,000 people in Gambia and Tanzania by the end of 2017.
There are other benefits too. Whereas other solar-powered pumps often work for just two hours each morning and evening, eWater taps function 24-hours a day. “There is no queue, so we can have water easily without fighting,” says Fatumata Sima, who fills four 20-litre jerry cans every day for her parents and nine siblings. Since they are paying for it, the women and girls who collect the water also take more care now not to spill any, leaving fewer puddles for mosquitos to breed in. Most important, though, is fixing pumps quickly. In Kenya Ms Koehler found villagers were prepared to pay five times as much for water so long as their pumps were fixed within three days, compared with the previous average of 27. FundiFix, the company spawned by her research, also uses mobile-connected taps to alert engineers, but still relies on village committees to collect monthly payments.
Startups like these could transform rural water provision in Africa, just as they are doing with solar-powered electricity. Twelve-year-old Isatou Jallow will still wash her family’s clothes with well water every week. But there will soon be a drinking tap just outside her house. That means more time studying, instead of spending afternoons carrying water back and forth from school. It also means loftier ambitions. “I want to be a government minister,” she says.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-ea ... n/NA/email
[/b]
New technology uses big data to keep the taps flowing
IN THE mid-2000s Playpumps International, a charity, hit on a photogenic way of providing clean water to rural African villages: a pump powered by children playing on a merry-go-round. International donors and celebrities pledged more than $16m. But the system was more expensive than alternatives and needed so much “playing” it was effectively dependent on child labour. It became a byword for wasteful Western aid, but it is far from the only example.
At any time around a third of the water infrastructure in rural sub-Saharan Africa, from simple hand pumps to pricey solar-powered systems, is broken. Even after spending billions of dollars most international donors still cannot ensure the pumps they pay for are maintained (just 5% of rural sub-Saharan Africa has access to piped water). Many of the village committees responsible for collecting the fees that should cover repairs are dogged by nepotism and corruption. More often, though, villagers simply struggle to gather money, find a mechanic and source spare parts, says Johanna Koehler of Oxford University. Kerr Lien, a village in central Gambia, reverted to using a manual well for nine years after the inhabitants were unable to fix a fault in their solar-powered pump. There are “lots of white elephants everywhere”, says Alison Wedgwood, a founder of eWATER, a British startup that aims to solve many of these problems. Its solar-powered taps, 110 of which have been installed in Kerr Lien and six other Gambian villages, dispense water in response to electronic tags. The tags are topped up by shopkeepers using smartphones; 20 litres of water costs 0.50 dalasi (1 cent), and 85% of the payment is set aside to cover future repairs. The taps are connected to the mobile network, so they can transmit usage data to alert mechanics to problems. EWATER hopes to have 500 taps serving 50,000 people in Gambia and Tanzania by the end of 2017.
There are other benefits too. Whereas other solar-powered pumps often work for just two hours each morning and evening, eWater taps function 24-hours a day. “There is no queue, so we can have water easily without fighting,” says Fatumata Sima, who fills four 20-litre jerry cans every day for her parents and nine siblings. Since they are paying for it, the women and girls who collect the water also take more care now not to spill any, leaving fewer puddles for mosquitos to breed in. Most important, though, is fixing pumps quickly. In Kenya Ms Koehler found villagers were prepared to pay five times as much for water so long as their pumps were fixed within three days, compared with the previous average of 27. FundiFix, the company spawned by her research, also uses mobile-connected taps to alert engineers, but still relies on village committees to collect monthly payments.
Startups like these could transform rural water provision in Africa, just as they are doing with solar-powered electricity. Twelve-year-old Isatou Jallow will still wash her family’s clothes with well water every week. But there will soon be a drinking tap just outside her house. That means more time studying, instead of spending afternoons carrying water back and forth from school. It also means loftier ambitions. “I want to be a government minister,” she says.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-ea ... n/NA/email
[/b]
Modern African Art Is Being Gentrified
Sotheby’s held its first auction of modern and contemporary African art on Tuesday, where 83 pieces by artists from Cameroon to South Africa sold for a total of nearly $4 million. The star of the sale was the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s sculpture made from discarded aluminum bottle caps and copper wire that went for about $950,000.
This was no ordinary event. African art accounts for a very tiny portion of the international art market, and African artists have long been seen as outsiders. But the demand for their work has greatly increased over the past decade.
The sale at Sotheby’s, the granddaddy of auctioneers, most likely signals the beginning of a more serious interest from Western museums, which may finally start to consider such work worthy of inclusion in their permanent collections.
In this inexorable march to the mainstream, I am tempted to think of contemporary African art as akin to an urban neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Now that it is seen as high culture, the art and artists are gaining value, investors are jostling to get a piece of the action, and private collections are growing in Africa and around the world.
This is very good news for the African modernists who will benefit from the increased visibility. They were, some say, the postcolonial avant-garde, who set out to create new art for independent Africa during the mid-20th century. African contemporary artists have also moved beyond nationalism and are more likely to sound off about globalization and complex identities.
But the continent’s masses will be the biggest losers. They will be denied access to artworks that define the age of independence and symbolize the slow process of postcolonial recovery.
That’s because whole countries in Africa cannot boast of a single art museum of any renown. On other continents, you might expect to see at least one public art museum in any city big enough to have a sports team. But good luck trying to find a museum in Lagos, one of the world’s largest cities, that displays the work of a big-name Nigerian artist. A child there is even less likely to learn of the art in the classroom.
This no small problem, given that art is an important resource with which societies imagine their world. It is also doubly significant for Africans who have long encountered the best examples of their art in public spaces, as well as during ritual or festive events.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/opin ... ef=opinion
Sotheby’s held its first auction of modern and contemporary African art on Tuesday, where 83 pieces by artists from Cameroon to South Africa sold for a total of nearly $4 million. The star of the sale was the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s sculpture made from discarded aluminum bottle caps and copper wire that went for about $950,000.
This was no ordinary event. African art accounts for a very tiny portion of the international art market, and African artists have long been seen as outsiders. But the demand for their work has greatly increased over the past decade.
The sale at Sotheby’s, the granddaddy of auctioneers, most likely signals the beginning of a more serious interest from Western museums, which may finally start to consider such work worthy of inclusion in their permanent collections.
In this inexorable march to the mainstream, I am tempted to think of contemporary African art as akin to an urban neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Now that it is seen as high culture, the art and artists are gaining value, investors are jostling to get a piece of the action, and private collections are growing in Africa and around the world.
This is very good news for the African modernists who will benefit from the increased visibility. They were, some say, the postcolonial avant-garde, who set out to create new art for independent Africa during the mid-20th century. African contemporary artists have also moved beyond nationalism and are more likely to sound off about globalization and complex identities.
But the continent’s masses will be the biggest losers. They will be denied access to artworks that define the age of independence and symbolize the slow process of postcolonial recovery.
That’s because whole countries in Africa cannot boast of a single art museum of any renown. On other continents, you might expect to see at least one public art museum in any city big enough to have a sports team. But good luck trying to find a museum in Lagos, one of the world’s largest cities, that displays the work of a big-name Nigerian artist. A child there is even less likely to learn of the art in the classroom.
This no small problem, given that art is an important resource with which societies imagine their world. It is also doubly significant for Africans who have long encountered the best examples of their art in public spaces, as well as during ritual or festive events.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/opin ... ef=opinion
For Ethiopia’s Underemployed Youth, Life Can Center on a Leaf
Excerpt:
Most alarming, the Ethiopian authorities say, is the number of young people in this predominantly young nation now consuming khat. About half of Ethiopia’s youth are thought to chew it. Officials consider the problem an epidemic in all but name.
The country’s government, which rules the economy with a tight grip, is worried that the habit could derail its plans to transform Ethiopia into a middle-income country in less than a decade ― a national undertaking that will require an army of young, capable workers, it says.
Khat is legal and remains so mainly because it is a big source of revenue for the government. But there are mounting concerns about its widespread use.
As many as 1.2 million acres of land are thought to be devoted to khat, nearly three times more than two decades ago. And the amount of money khat generates per acre surpasses all other crops, including coffee, Ethiopia’s biggest export, said Gessesse Dessie, a researcher at the African Studies Center Leiden at Leiden University.
That payoff, and the dwindling availability of land, has pushed thousands of farmers to switch to khat, he said. The changes have come as the government has pushed farmers off land that it has given to foreign investors in recent years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/22/worl ... 87722&_r=0
Excerpt:
Most alarming, the Ethiopian authorities say, is the number of young people in this predominantly young nation now consuming khat. About half of Ethiopia’s youth are thought to chew it. Officials consider the problem an epidemic in all but name.
The country’s government, which rules the economy with a tight grip, is worried that the habit could derail its plans to transform Ethiopia into a middle-income country in less than a decade ― a national undertaking that will require an army of young, capable workers, it says.
Khat is legal and remains so mainly because it is a big source of revenue for the government. But there are mounting concerns about its widespread use.
As many as 1.2 million acres of land are thought to be devoted to khat, nearly three times more than two decades ago. And the amount of money khat generates per acre surpasses all other crops, including coffee, Ethiopia’s biggest export, said Gessesse Dessie, a researcher at the African Studies Center Leiden at Leiden University.
That payoff, and the dwindling availability of land, has pushed thousands of farmers to switch to khat, he said. The changes have come as the government has pushed farmers off land that it has given to foreign investors in recent years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/22/worl ... 87722&_r=0
Moving Africa forward with solar
Africa has huge power needs and is making big steps towards meeting growing demands with solar energy. Africa’s sunshine positions it to command a staggering 40% of the world’s solar power generating potential, compared to Asia at 25% and North America at 11%, and Europe at 2%. Growth in solar power generating capacity has increased 10 times over the last four years, and venture capital investment is also up by 10-fold.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
Africa has huge power needs and is making big steps towards meeting growing demands with solar energy. Africa’s sunshine positions it to command a staggering 40% of the world’s solar power generating potential, compared to Asia at 25% and North America at 11%, and Europe at 2%. Growth in solar power generating capacity has increased 10 times over the last four years, and venture capital investment is also up by 10-fold.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
‘Refugee Boats’ and African Capitalism
Extract:
Unable to reach a comprehensive solution, the European Union has taken to piecemeal steps, like an agreement last week to clamp down on the export of inflatable boats and marine motors to Libya — hence their disappearance from Alibaba.
The union’s boat ban is laughable, given the root causes behind the surge of south-north migration: war, unemployment, social unrest, terror, religious oppression, all worsened by Africa’s skyrocketing birthrates. Youth unemployment already stands at around 50 percent. With an average age of 18 years and a population set to double by 2050, the continent needs roughly 20 million new jobs each year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Europe, though, has a proclivity to blame the wrong things. Especially for the left, the root causes of Africa’s problems include Western exploitation, unfair trade and capitalism itself — a diversion of attention that is welcomed by corrupt African governments, many of which have figured out how to profit off their people’s endless misery.
In fact, Africa does not need less capitalism, but more.
Of course Europe has a historical debt to Africa, and it has a practical interest in helping the continent through aid and a generous migration policy. But unless the prevailing mentalities on both sides — guilt in Europe and victimhood in Africa — change, the 60-year chain of disappointments known as “development aid” will continue.
The main reason Africa is doing so poorly is that many of its leaders are unable or unwilling to provide the fundaments of a market economy: education, property rights, rule of law, reliable tax schemes, a proper banking sector.
Take Egypt. European diplomats in Cairo recently told me they feared the country was on the brink of collapse. Its population (92 million, crammed in an inhabitable space the size of the Netherlands) is growing by 2.5 million a year, while energy and water are in short supply and food prices are rising. Only 74 percent of its citizens are literate, and the country needs an extra 90,000 teachers just to keep up with the population growth.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/opin ... dline&te=1
Extract:
Unable to reach a comprehensive solution, the European Union has taken to piecemeal steps, like an agreement last week to clamp down on the export of inflatable boats and marine motors to Libya — hence their disappearance from Alibaba.
The union’s boat ban is laughable, given the root causes behind the surge of south-north migration: war, unemployment, social unrest, terror, religious oppression, all worsened by Africa’s skyrocketing birthrates. Youth unemployment already stands at around 50 percent. With an average age of 18 years and a population set to double by 2050, the continent needs roughly 20 million new jobs each year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Europe, though, has a proclivity to blame the wrong things. Especially for the left, the root causes of Africa’s problems include Western exploitation, unfair trade and capitalism itself — a diversion of attention that is welcomed by corrupt African governments, many of which have figured out how to profit off their people’s endless misery.
In fact, Africa does not need less capitalism, but more.
Of course Europe has a historical debt to Africa, and it has a practical interest in helping the continent through aid and a generous migration policy. But unless the prevailing mentalities on both sides — guilt in Europe and victimhood in Africa — change, the 60-year chain of disappointments known as “development aid” will continue.
The main reason Africa is doing so poorly is that many of its leaders are unable or unwilling to provide the fundaments of a market economy: education, property rights, rule of law, reliable tax schemes, a proper banking sector.
Take Egypt. European diplomats in Cairo recently told me they feared the country was on the brink of collapse. Its population (92 million, crammed in an inhabitable space the size of the Netherlands) is growing by 2.5 million a year, while energy and water are in short supply and food prices are rising. Only 74 percent of its citizens are literate, and the country needs an extra 90,000 teachers just to keep up with the population growth.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/opin ... dline&te=1
Loss of Fertile Land Fuels
‘Looming Crisis’ Across Africa
Climate change, soil degradation and rising wealth are shrinking the amount
of usable land in Africa. But the number of people who need it is rising fast.
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Excerpt:
Kenya has a land problem. Africa itself has a land problem. The continent seems so vast and the land so open. The awesome sense of space is an inextricable part of the beauty here — the unadulterated vistas, the endless land. But in a way, that is an illusion.
Population swells, climate change, soil degradation, erosion, poaching, global food prices and even the benefits of affluence are exerting incredible pressure on African land. They are fueling conflicts across the continent, from Nigeria in the west to Kenya in the east — including here in Laikipia, a wildlife haven and one of Kenya’s most beautiful areas.
Large groups of people are on the move, desperate for usable land. Data from NASA satellites reveals an overwhelming degradation of agricultural land throughout Africa, with one recent study showing that more than 40 million Africans are trying to survive off land whose agricultural potential is declining.
At the same time, high birthrates and lengthening life spans mean that by the end of this century, there could be as many as four billion people on the continent, about 10 times the population 40 years ago.
It is a two-headed problem, scientists and activists say, and it could be one of the gravest challenges Africa faces: The quality of farmland in many areas is getting worse, and the number of people squeezed onto that land is rising fast.
“It’s a looming crisis,” said Odenda Lumumba, head of the Kenya Land Alliance, a group that works on land reform. “We are basically reaching the end of the road.”
More than in any other region of the world, people in Africa live off the land. There are relatively few industrial or service jobs here. Seventy percent of Africa’s population makes a living through agriculture, higher than on any other continent, the World Bank says.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/worl ... d=45305309
‘Looming Crisis’ Across Africa
Climate change, soil degradation and rising wealth are shrinking the amount
of usable land in Africa. But the number of people who need it is rising fast.
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Excerpt:
Kenya has a land problem. Africa itself has a land problem. The continent seems so vast and the land so open. The awesome sense of space is an inextricable part of the beauty here — the unadulterated vistas, the endless land. But in a way, that is an illusion.
Population swells, climate change, soil degradation, erosion, poaching, global food prices and even the benefits of affluence are exerting incredible pressure on African land. They are fueling conflicts across the continent, from Nigeria in the west to Kenya in the east — including here in Laikipia, a wildlife haven and one of Kenya’s most beautiful areas.
Large groups of people are on the move, desperate for usable land. Data from NASA satellites reveals an overwhelming degradation of agricultural land throughout Africa, with one recent study showing that more than 40 million Africans are trying to survive off land whose agricultural potential is declining.
At the same time, high birthrates and lengthening life spans mean that by the end of this century, there could be as many as four billion people on the continent, about 10 times the population 40 years ago.
It is a two-headed problem, scientists and activists say, and it could be one of the gravest challenges Africa faces: The quality of farmland in many areas is getting worse, and the number of people squeezed onto that land is rising fast.
“It’s a looming crisis,” said Odenda Lumumba, head of the Kenya Land Alliance, a group that works on land reform. “We are basically reaching the end of the road.”
More than in any other region of the world, people in Africa live off the land. There are relatively few industrial or service jobs here. Seventy percent of Africa’s population makes a living through agriculture, higher than on any other continent, the World Bank says.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/worl ... d=45305309
Informal economy not enough to handle Africa’s workforce explosion
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/201 ... -216274365
Unemployment in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economy, is running at more than 14 percent and climbing; in South Africa, the second largest economy, it is over 27 percent. For youth in both places, it is far more.
This may seem bad enough, but according to International Monetary Fund calculations the sub-Saharan Africa region’s jobs travails are in danger of reaching uncharted territory in less than two decades.
That is, unless the economies can create jobs for their burgeoning, young population.
“By 2035, sub-Saharan Africa will have more working-age people than the rest of the world’s regions combined,” the IMF wrote in a blog post this week. “This growing workforce will have to be met with jobs.”
This has major implications for the region’s economy, its security and wider immigration patterns.
In the past, some of the jobs strain has been taken up by the so-called informal economy which is dominated by street vendors, household workers and off-the-radar cash jobbers.
Typically, these workers pay no tax and do not come under regulation, but they do add to a country’s wealth.
The informal sector in sub-Saharan Africa was around 38 percent of gross domestic product in 2010-14, according to the IMF.
This represented a steady decline from nearly 45 percent in 1991-99, possibly a reflection of more formal growth in some parts of Africa. But up to 90 percent of jobs outside agriculture are still in the informal sector.
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/201 ... -216274365
Unemployment in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economy, is running at more than 14 percent and climbing; in South Africa, the second largest economy, it is over 27 percent. For youth in both places, it is far more.
This may seem bad enough, but according to International Monetary Fund calculations the sub-Saharan Africa region’s jobs travails are in danger of reaching uncharted territory in less than two decades.
That is, unless the economies can create jobs for their burgeoning, young population.
“By 2035, sub-Saharan Africa will have more working-age people than the rest of the world’s regions combined,” the IMF wrote in a blog post this week. “This growing workforce will have to be met with jobs.”
This has major implications for the region’s economy, its security and wider immigration patterns.
In the past, some of the jobs strain has been taken up by the so-called informal economy which is dominated by street vendors, household workers and off-the-radar cash jobbers.
Typically, these workers pay no tax and do not come under regulation, but they do add to a country’s wealth.
The informal sector in sub-Saharan Africa was around 38 percent of gross domestic product in 2010-14, according to the IMF.
This represented a steady decline from nearly 45 percent in 1991-99, possibly a reflection of more formal growth in some parts of Africa. But up to 90 percent of jobs outside agriculture are still in the informal sector.
Africa could soon be the largest free-trade area in the world
Transport Infrastructure Driving Boost in Africa’s Cross Border Trade
Africa could soon be the largest free-trade area in the world. This is if the African Union’s Continental Free Trade Area (CTFA) stays on track to be operational by the end of this year. Once up and running, the continent-wide free trade zone could lead to a 52 percent ($35 billion) increase in intra-African trade within the next 5 years, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The UNECA’s Stephen Karingi, who heads their Regional Integration and Trade Division, says “boosting intra-African trade is the most effective way to speed up Africa’s economic transformation.” Speaking at the recent Africa Session of the Aid for Trade Global Review 2017, Karingi added that “trade contributes towards industrialization and structural transformation.”
Increasing intra-African trade – which reportedly stands at 13 percent – will require the removal of certain barriers in order to improve connectivity, including improvement of custom procedures, reduction of transit and other trade costs, and, importantly, development of reliable transport infrastructure. Here’s a look at some of the inroads that have already been made in the expansion of Africa’s rail, road, and port networks to connect the fragmented African market:
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2017 ... -216274365
Transport Infrastructure Driving Boost in Africa’s Cross Border Trade
Africa could soon be the largest free-trade area in the world. This is if the African Union’s Continental Free Trade Area (CTFA) stays on track to be operational by the end of this year. Once up and running, the continent-wide free trade zone could lead to a 52 percent ($35 billion) increase in intra-African trade within the next 5 years, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The UNECA’s Stephen Karingi, who heads their Regional Integration and Trade Division, says “boosting intra-African trade is the most effective way to speed up Africa’s economic transformation.” Speaking at the recent Africa Session of the Aid for Trade Global Review 2017, Karingi added that “trade contributes towards industrialization and structural transformation.”
Increasing intra-African trade – which reportedly stands at 13 percent – will require the removal of certain barriers in order to improve connectivity, including improvement of custom procedures, reduction of transit and other trade costs, and, importantly, development of reliable transport infrastructure. Here’s a look at some of the inroads that have already been made in the expansion of Africa’s rail, road, and port networks to connect the fragmented African market:
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/zdnl-mc/2017 ... -216274365
The gap between consumer protection and sustainability in Africa
Across the globe consumers are increasingly realising their power. In many countries this consumer consciousness, which marries consumer rights to sustainability issues, has been greatly helped by dynamic consumer protection policies.
In Africa, the rise of the middle class is fuelling a consumer economy and countries have begun to beef up their consumer protection policies. But they tend to be disconnected from sustainability issues.
South Africa, which leads the continent in terms of consumer protection regulations, showcases this limitation. The country has a good consumer protection policy regime, benefiting consumers and providing them with rights and redress possibilities. But it’s not linked to sustainability concerns.
The South African situation is not helped by the location of consumer affairs and sustainability in two separate government departments. Consumer protection policy is the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry. For its part, sustainability is primarily located in the Department of Environmental Affairs. As a result there’s a disconnect between the two.
South Africa – and other African countries suffering from this disconnection – need to develop a new framework. Our study identifies key areas countries should focus on to get to an integrated approach.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/201 ... -216274365
Across the globe consumers are increasingly realising their power. In many countries this consumer consciousness, which marries consumer rights to sustainability issues, has been greatly helped by dynamic consumer protection policies.
In Africa, the rise of the middle class is fuelling a consumer economy and countries have begun to beef up their consumer protection policies. But they tend to be disconnected from sustainability issues.
South Africa, which leads the continent in terms of consumer protection regulations, showcases this limitation. The country has a good consumer protection policy regime, benefiting consumers and providing them with rights and redress possibilities. But it’s not linked to sustainability concerns.
The South African situation is not helped by the location of consumer affairs and sustainability in two separate government departments. Consumer protection policy is the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry. For its part, sustainability is primarily located in the Department of Environmental Affairs. As a result there’s a disconnect between the two.
South Africa – and other African countries suffering from this disconnection – need to develop a new framework. Our study identifies key areas countries should focus on to get to an integrated approach.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/201 ... -216274365
How African countries can maximise the benefits AGOA provides
Since the year 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has given eligible African countries duty and quota free access to the United States’ markets. This has created an opportunity for African businesses, big or small to meet, trade with new markets and improve the quality of their products. Over the years, it has been described as a catalyst for democracy and a criterion for African countries that want to partake in the AGOA agreement.
The 16th edition of AGOA Forum sought to explore how countries can continue to maximise the benefits AGOA provides. Richard Attias and Associates was in charge of the successful production of the AGOA Forum. This time held in Lomé, Togo’s Capital. Togolese Prime Minister Komi Klassou described the forum as an “opportunity for Sub-Saharan Africa to review the different challenges and point out the challenges of achieving accelerated and inclusive growth”.
“The key matter of the forum is how do we leverage trade for the economic good of our people and see the best way to maximise the opportunities of AGOA?,” added Togolese Minister for Trade Bernadette Legzim-Balouki.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
Since the year 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has given eligible African countries duty and quota free access to the United States’ markets. This has created an opportunity for African businesses, big or small to meet, trade with new markets and improve the quality of their products. Over the years, it has been described as a catalyst for democracy and a criterion for African countries that want to partake in the AGOA agreement.
The 16th edition of AGOA Forum sought to explore how countries can continue to maximise the benefits AGOA provides. Richard Attias and Associates was in charge of the successful production of the AGOA Forum. This time held in Lomé, Togo’s Capital. Togolese Prime Minister Komi Klassou described the forum as an “opportunity for Sub-Saharan Africa to review the different challenges and point out the challenges of achieving accelerated and inclusive growth”.
“The key matter of the forum is how do we leverage trade for the economic good of our people and see the best way to maximise the opportunities of AGOA?,” added Togolese Minister for Trade Bernadette Legzim-Balouki.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
Op-Ed: Africa is on the cusp of a wind energy revolution, it’s time to grasp it
There is no shortage of quality wind projects coming to market in Africa right now, and the will, capital and technology are in place to create a wave of wind project development across the continent.
However, amidst all the talk of renewable energy in Africa, not one utility scale wind project reached financial close in 2016. This may come as a surprise to many in the industry given how prominently renewables have factored into recent national government plans, as well as in the plans and projections of transnational organisations on the continent.
To provide some context, IRENA’s ‘Renewable Scenario for Africa’ predicts that the share of renewables in Africa will increase from 17% in 2009 to 50% in 2030, and nearly 75% by 2050. Total installed renewable capacity would grow from 28 GW in 2010 to around 800 GW by 2050, with solar photovoltaic accounting for 245 GW, and wind at 242 GW.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/ene ... -216274365
There is no shortage of quality wind projects coming to market in Africa right now, and the will, capital and technology are in place to create a wave of wind project development across the continent.
However, amidst all the talk of renewable energy in Africa, not one utility scale wind project reached financial close in 2016. This may come as a surprise to many in the industry given how prominently renewables have factored into recent national government plans, as well as in the plans and projections of transnational organisations on the continent.
To provide some context, IRENA’s ‘Renewable Scenario for Africa’ predicts that the share of renewables in Africa will increase from 17% in 2009 to 50% in 2030, and nearly 75% by 2050. Total installed renewable capacity would grow from 28 GW in 2010 to around 800 GW by 2050, with solar photovoltaic accounting for 245 GW, and wind at 242 GW.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/ene ... -216274365
Kenya Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Election
NAIROBI, Kenya — In a historic ruling and a first in Africa, Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified on Friday the re-election of a sitting president, ordering a new vote to be held within 60 days after finding that the outcome last month had been tainted by irregularities.
It was a stunning moment for Kenya, one of Africa’s most populous nations, and for democracy in general. Kenya’s disputed presidential election in 2007 set off bloodshed that left at least 1,300 people dead and 600,000 displaced around the country.
But this time, figures across the Kenyan political landscape, including the president whose victory was wiped away, appeared to accept the decision and called on supporters to do the same.
The ruling also offered a potent display of judicial independence on a continent where courts often come under intense pressure from political leaders, analysts said.
“It’s a historic moment showing the fortitude and courage of the Kenyan judiciary,” said Dickson Omondi, a country director for the National Democratic Institute, a nonpartisan organization that supports democratic institutions and practices worldwide.
He said it was the first example in Africa in which a court nullified the re-election of an incumbent.
The election on Aug. 8 was conducted peacefully and was largely praised by international observers. But David Maraga, the court’s chief justice, declared the result “invalid, null and void” after siding with the opposition, which had argued that the vote had been electronically manipulated to assure a victory for President Uhuru Kenyatta.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/worl ... d=45305309
NAIROBI, Kenya — In a historic ruling and a first in Africa, Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified on Friday the re-election of a sitting president, ordering a new vote to be held within 60 days after finding that the outcome last month had been tainted by irregularities.
It was a stunning moment for Kenya, one of Africa’s most populous nations, and for democracy in general. Kenya’s disputed presidential election in 2007 set off bloodshed that left at least 1,300 people dead and 600,000 displaced around the country.
But this time, figures across the Kenyan political landscape, including the president whose victory was wiped away, appeared to accept the decision and called on supporters to do the same.
The ruling also offered a potent display of judicial independence on a continent where courts often come under intense pressure from political leaders, analysts said.
“It’s a historic moment showing the fortitude and courage of the Kenyan judiciary,” said Dickson Omondi, a country director for the National Democratic Institute, a nonpartisan organization that supports democratic institutions and practices worldwide.
He said it was the first example in Africa in which a court nullified the re-election of an incumbent.
The election on Aug. 8 was conducted peacefully and was largely praised by international observers. But David Maraga, the court’s chief justice, declared the result “invalid, null and void” after siding with the opposition, which had argued that the vote had been electronically manipulated to assure a victory for President Uhuru Kenyatta.
More..
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/worl ... d=45305309
Op-Ed: African states don’t prioritise maritime security – here’s why they should
by CNBC Africa 17 hours ago
Piracy off the African coastline has been a headline grabbing phenomenon for more than a decade. For a few years though, Somali pirates appeared to have a quiet spell. Then, recently they had their first successful attack against a merchant vessel since 2012.
Other attacks followed, including one in April that was foiled by Chinese and Indian navies.
On the other side of the continent, attacks against ships in the Gulf of Guinea remain a concern for shipping companies, particularly off the coast of Nigeria.
The State of Maritime Piracy report reiterates that the Nigerian coastline is a dangerous area for seafarers and has been for years.
However, coastal states affected by piracy often have other priorities. Take Somalia for example. The country is battling many issues including the effects of a long drought and frequent Al-Shabaab attacks.
The situation is similar in other countries. The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies points out that national security and economic policies rarely emphasise maritime security. This is due to a lack of awareness, political will and resources.
For years maritime security has been neglected throughout Africa. Recently however, there has been renewed focus on maritime issues. This was highlighted by the African Union’s maritime strategy and the Lomé maritime summit.
These developments show that maritime matters have become more important. But this is still not enough. To develop their blue economycoastal states need to start addressing maritime security issues beyond just piracy.
It should also include factors such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Unfortunately politicians and academics have traditionally framed maritime security in Africa as a purely counter-piracy affair. The debate needs to be broadened significantly to include an appreciation of the economic potential of the seas.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/09 ... -216274365
by CNBC Africa 17 hours ago
Piracy off the African coastline has been a headline grabbing phenomenon for more than a decade. For a few years though, Somali pirates appeared to have a quiet spell. Then, recently they had their first successful attack against a merchant vessel since 2012.
Other attacks followed, including one in April that was foiled by Chinese and Indian navies.
On the other side of the continent, attacks against ships in the Gulf of Guinea remain a concern for shipping companies, particularly off the coast of Nigeria.
The State of Maritime Piracy report reiterates that the Nigerian coastline is a dangerous area for seafarers and has been for years.
However, coastal states affected by piracy often have other priorities. Take Somalia for example. The country is battling many issues including the effects of a long drought and frequent Al-Shabaab attacks.
The situation is similar in other countries. The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies points out that national security and economic policies rarely emphasise maritime security. This is due to a lack of awareness, political will and resources.
For years maritime security has been neglected throughout Africa. Recently however, there has been renewed focus on maritime issues. This was highlighted by the African Union’s maritime strategy and the Lomé maritime summit.
These developments show that maritime matters have become more important. But this is still not enough. To develop their blue economycoastal states need to start addressing maritime security issues beyond just piracy.
It should also include factors such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Unfortunately politicians and academics have traditionally framed maritime security in Africa as a purely counter-piracy affair. The debate needs to be broadened significantly to include an appreciation of the economic potential of the seas.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/09 ... -216274365
Why “affordable housing” in Africa is rarely affordable
The housing ladder remains out of reach for many
ETHIOPIA'S flagship social-housing programme is probably the most ambitious in Africa. But for most locals the houses are still barely affordable. The poor cannot afford the down payment for even the most subsidised units. And those who can often struggle to meet repayments, opting instead to rent out the houses and move elsewhere. In this respect, though, Ethiopia is hardly alone in Africa. Take Angola, where a recent $3.5bn social-housing project on the outskirts of Luanda, the capital, offered apartments from $84,000, in a country where incomes per person are just over $4,000. Or Cameroon, where the government’s social-housing scheme is out of reach to 80% of the population, according to the World Bank. In Ethiopia the state has spent over a decade building cheap homes on an almost unprecedented scale, but supply still fails to match demand. Why?
High costs and expanding populations mostly put an end to the kind of government housing provision that was common in much of Africa during the early post-colonial years. With its state provision, Ethiopia is an outlier. The majority of countries rely instead on a subsidised private sector to deliver cheap homes. But across the continent governments and builders are hobbled by the wider construction industry. This is often underdeveloped and uncompetitive, constrained by poor infrastructure and a lack of both skilled labour and cheap materials. Cement in Africa is typically around three times the world price. Construction can be painfully slow. The largest house-building firm in Ghana claims to have finished a mere 3,500 units in the past decade.
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... lydispatch
The housing ladder remains out of reach for many
ETHIOPIA'S flagship social-housing programme is probably the most ambitious in Africa. But for most locals the houses are still barely affordable. The poor cannot afford the down payment for even the most subsidised units. And those who can often struggle to meet repayments, opting instead to rent out the houses and move elsewhere. In this respect, though, Ethiopia is hardly alone in Africa. Take Angola, where a recent $3.5bn social-housing project on the outskirts of Luanda, the capital, offered apartments from $84,000, in a country where incomes per person are just over $4,000. Or Cameroon, where the government’s social-housing scheme is out of reach to 80% of the population, according to the World Bank. In Ethiopia the state has spent over a decade building cheap homes on an almost unprecedented scale, but supply still fails to match demand. Why?
High costs and expanding populations mostly put an end to the kind of government housing provision that was common in much of Africa during the early post-colonial years. With its state provision, Ethiopia is an outlier. The majority of countries rely instead on a subsidised private sector to deliver cheap homes. But across the continent governments and builders are hobbled by the wider construction industry. This is often underdeveloped and uncompetitive, constrained by poor infrastructure and a lack of both skilled labour and cheap materials. Cement in Africa is typically around three times the world price. Construction can be painfully slow. The largest house-building firm in Ghana claims to have finished a mere 3,500 units in the past decade.
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... lydispatch
Five trends to watch in Africa’s energy and power sector
Africa’s power and energy sector is a critical driver of growth and development across the continent – so in order to ensure that the industry reaches its full potential and addresses the energy needs of citizens, it is necessary for businesses and producers to keep up to date with a rapidly changing landscape.
In this way, we have identified five key trends that will impact on the way that people live and work:
1. Coal power plants and projects are becoming more difficult to finance as there is a greater move towards investment in low-carbon technologies and green energy
2.The growing appetite for renewable energy in emerging markets
3.The rise of battery storage
4.The power of distributed generation and the rise of smaller grids
5. The long-term move towards integrated grids through increased investment in transmissions projects
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special ... -216274365
Africa’s power and energy sector is a critical driver of growth and development across the continent – so in order to ensure that the industry reaches its full potential and addresses the energy needs of citizens, it is necessary for businesses and producers to keep up to date with a rapidly changing landscape.
In this way, we have identified five key trends that will impact on the way that people live and work:
1. Coal power plants and projects are becoming more difficult to finance as there is a greater move towards investment in low-carbon technologies and green energy
2.The growing appetite for renewable energy in emerging markets
3.The rise of battery storage
4.The power of distributed generation and the rise of smaller grids
5. The long-term move towards integrated grids through increased investment in transmissions projects
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special ... -216274365
Closing the gap between the youth and agriculture in Africa
Agriculture and youth are a compatible pair, particularly in the African context: as one of the continent’s most critical industries and biggest sources of income, contributing a quarter of Africa’s total GDP and employing 70 percent of the labour force, it has the remarkable potential to empower what will be the youngest and biggest workforce in the world by 2040.
Africa has an increasingly youthful population. Already half the population is under the age of 25, and 72 percent of these young people are either unemployed or vulnerable. These astonishing statistics show no signs of diminishing either, with over 330 million young Africans set to enter the job market in the next 20 years and only a third of that number forecast to be able to find wage jobs.
What this indicates is a growing need for workable solutions for the youth to become productive and part of the economic mainstream. This is especially true for agriculture, which has the potential to create jobs across the continent and serve as a driver of growth. However, the industry is currently lagging in building this growth largely because of a lack of access to knowledge, skills, education and land.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special ... -216274365
Agriculture and youth are a compatible pair, particularly in the African context: as one of the continent’s most critical industries and biggest sources of income, contributing a quarter of Africa’s total GDP and employing 70 percent of the labour force, it has the remarkable potential to empower what will be the youngest and biggest workforce in the world by 2040.
Africa has an increasingly youthful population. Already half the population is under the age of 25, and 72 percent of these young people are either unemployed or vulnerable. These astonishing statistics show no signs of diminishing either, with over 330 million young Africans set to enter the job market in the next 20 years and only a third of that number forecast to be able to find wage jobs.
What this indicates is a growing need for workable solutions for the youth to become productive and part of the economic mainstream. This is especially true for agriculture, which has the potential to create jobs across the continent and serve as a driver of growth. However, the industry is currently lagging in building this growth largely because of a lack of access to knowledge, skills, education and land.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special ... -216274365
Op-Ed: Democratic breakthroughs in Africa – time to celebrate but worries still linger
There is much to celebrate as the world marks International Day of Democracy. The last year has seen important democratic breakthroughs in Africa. In Gambia an entrenched autocrat was forced from power. In Ghana, a sitting president lost an election for the first time.
In just the last few weeks, Kenya has also joined the club of precedent- setting nations, after the Supreme Court ruled that the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta was illegal and must be held again. Not only was this a first in Kenya, it was also the first time that the election of a sitting president had been overturned by the judiciary in Africa.
These changes reflect a broader trend in sub-Saharan Africa and much of the world. An increasing number of countries are holding multiparty elections. And an increasing proportion of these states have witnessed a transfer of power from one party or leader to another.
It’s true that more elections are now being held than at any time in human history. But recent highlights in Gambia, Ghana and Kenya mask a problematic reality, namely that the expansion of multi-party politics has often gone hand-in-hand with political and economic exclusion. Over the past five years, the level of political repression and economic inequality has increased in Africa. In turn, this has called into question the extent of the continent’s democratic gains.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/09 ... -216274365
There is much to celebrate as the world marks International Day of Democracy. The last year has seen important democratic breakthroughs in Africa. In Gambia an entrenched autocrat was forced from power. In Ghana, a sitting president lost an election for the first time.
In just the last few weeks, Kenya has also joined the club of precedent- setting nations, after the Supreme Court ruled that the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta was illegal and must be held again. Not only was this a first in Kenya, it was also the first time that the election of a sitting president had been overturned by the judiciary in Africa.
These changes reflect a broader trend in sub-Saharan Africa and much of the world. An increasing number of countries are holding multiparty elections. And an increasing proportion of these states have witnessed a transfer of power from one party or leader to another.
It’s true that more elections are now being held than at any time in human history. But recent highlights in Gambia, Ghana and Kenya mask a problematic reality, namely that the expansion of multi-party politics has often gone hand-in-hand with political and economic exclusion. Over the past five years, the level of political repression and economic inequality has increased in Africa. In turn, this has called into question the extent of the continent’s democratic gains.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/09 ... -216274365
In Africa, a Glimpse of Hope for Beating H.I.V.
A couple of years ago, European researchers began studying more than a thousand couples, gay and straight, in which one member had been infected with H.I.V. and the other hadn’t. These couples weren’t using condoms. But the infected partner was taking antiretrovirals successfully; the virus was suppressed, undetectable in the blood. The researchers published their results in July 2016 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Can you guess how many times, over the course of more than a year, an infected partner gave an uninfected partner H.I.V.?
A. 928
B. 0
C. 503
D. 17
The answer is B. Zero. And in that fact lies hope.
How do you stop AIDS? Not just treating H.I.V., but ending the epidemic. Even when there’s no vaccine and no cure.
Part of the answer can be witnessed in a white trailer on the grounds of a polyclinic in Hatcliffe, a dusty town in the northern part of greater Harare, Zimbabwe. Even before the trailer opens each day, the benches outside are full of people waiting for a checkup or a fresh supply of medicine for H.I.V. or the diseases that pounce on weakened immune systems.
Hatcliffe’s clinic, like all public clinics in Harare, charges $5 for visits that don’t involve either H.I.V. or tuberculosis. That may seem like a bargain to Americans. But Zimbabwe is in an economic crisis, making millions of people struggle just to buy their staples of cornmeal, sugar and cooking oil.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/opin ... ctionfront
A couple of years ago, European researchers began studying more than a thousand couples, gay and straight, in which one member had been infected with H.I.V. and the other hadn’t. These couples weren’t using condoms. But the infected partner was taking antiretrovirals successfully; the virus was suppressed, undetectable in the blood. The researchers published their results in July 2016 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Can you guess how many times, over the course of more than a year, an infected partner gave an uninfected partner H.I.V.?
A. 928
B. 0
C. 503
D. 17
The answer is B. Zero. And in that fact lies hope.
How do you stop AIDS? Not just treating H.I.V., but ending the epidemic. Even when there’s no vaccine and no cure.
Part of the answer can be witnessed in a white trailer on the grounds of a polyclinic in Hatcliffe, a dusty town in the northern part of greater Harare, Zimbabwe. Even before the trailer opens each day, the benches outside are full of people waiting for a checkup or a fresh supply of medicine for H.I.V. or the diseases that pounce on weakened immune systems.
Hatcliffe’s clinic, like all public clinics in Harare, charges $5 for visits that don’t involve either H.I.V. or tuberculosis. That may seem like a bargain to Americans. But Zimbabwe is in an economic crisis, making millions of people struggle just to buy their staples of cornmeal, sugar and cooking oil.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/opin ... ctionfront
AfricaCom 2017 – Celebrating 20 years of Africa’s telecoms and technology journey
AfricaCom, Africa’s largest technology, telecoms and media event celebrates its 20th anniversary in November this year, and promises delegates and exhibitors three days of thought-provoking content and cutting-edge technology and a glimpse into what the future holds in terms of digital and its impact on life as we know it.
Claim your FREE visitor pass here.
Taking place from 7-9 November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), South Africa, organiser KNect365 has introduced a host of innovations of its own to celebrate this auspicious occasion – a brand-new and happening Technology Arena that will provide a glimpse of the potential the future holds for forward-thinkers – whether it is in the Fintech space, or E-Health, education, energy, agri-tech or more.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
AfricaCom, Africa’s largest technology, telecoms and media event celebrates its 20th anniversary in November this year, and promises delegates and exhibitors three days of thought-provoking content and cutting-edge technology and a glimpse into what the future holds in terms of digital and its impact on life as we know it.
Claim your FREE visitor pass here.
Taking place from 7-9 November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), South Africa, organiser KNect365 has introduced a host of innovations of its own to celebrate this auspicious occasion – a brand-new and happening Technology Arena that will provide a glimpse of the potential the future holds for forward-thinkers – whether it is in the Fintech space, or E-Health, education, energy, agri-tech or more.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
The power and politics of knowledge: what African universities need to do
The idea that knowledge is infused with power and politics may sound abstract, so let me offer an example from my own life to illustrate. I was invited to a dinner proceeding a conference in an African capital city. I had expected to meet all the other speakers. But it turned out to be only for the chosen few. I could not help wondering how we’d been selected. White faces outnumbered black ones, men outnumbered women – at a conference to discuss African universities’ future role.
It was an interesting example of the power and politics of knowledge. These are factors I believe should be addressed to ensure African universities and higher education can play a more powerful role in transforming our world and empowering women.
The UN says its 2030 Agenda, which is made up of 17 sustainable development goals, is aimed at “transforming our world”. Quality education and lifelong learning, along with gender equality and empowerment of women, feature in many of the goals.
Universities and higher education, however, receive little attention in this document. So it may seem odd to focus on higher education in relation to Agenda 2030 and women. But I’ve chosen this perspective because higher education institutions in general and universities in particular are important for achieving Agenda 2030’s goals.
Universities have two main objectives: to educate students and to produce knowledge. They play a major role in procuring the human and intellectual resources needed for fulfilling the various goals of Agenda 2030.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/politic ... -216274365
The idea that knowledge is infused with power and politics may sound abstract, so let me offer an example from my own life to illustrate. I was invited to a dinner proceeding a conference in an African capital city. I had expected to meet all the other speakers. But it turned out to be only for the chosen few. I could not help wondering how we’d been selected. White faces outnumbered black ones, men outnumbered women – at a conference to discuss African universities’ future role.
It was an interesting example of the power and politics of knowledge. These are factors I believe should be addressed to ensure African universities and higher education can play a more powerful role in transforming our world and empowering women.
The UN says its 2030 Agenda, which is made up of 17 sustainable development goals, is aimed at “transforming our world”. Quality education and lifelong learning, along with gender equality and empowerment of women, feature in many of the goals.
Universities and higher education, however, receive little attention in this document. So it may seem odd to focus on higher education in relation to Agenda 2030 and women. But I’ve chosen this perspective because higher education institutions in general and universities in particular are important for achieving Agenda 2030’s goals.
Universities have two main objectives: to educate students and to produce knowledge. They play a major role in procuring the human and intellectual resources needed for fulfilling the various goals of Agenda 2030.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/politic ... -216274365
As Cancer Tears Through
Africa, Drug Makers
Draw Up a Battle Plan
In a deal similar to the one that turned the tide against
AIDS, manufacturers and charities will make chemotherapy
drugs available in six poor countries at steep discounts.
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. OCT. 7, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya — In a remarkable initiative modeled on the campaign against AIDS in Africa, two major pharmaceutical companies, working with the American Cancer Society, will steeply discount the prices of cancer medicines in Africa.
Under the new agreement, the companies — Pfizer, based in New York, and Cipla, based in Mumbai — have promised to charge rock-bottom prices for 16 common chemotherapy drugs. The deal, initially offered to a half-dozen countries, is expected to bring lifesaving treatment to tens of thousands who would otherwise die.
Pfizer said its prices would be just above its own manufacturing costs. Cipla said it would sell some pills for 50 cents and some infusions for $10, a fraction of what they cost in wealthy countries.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/heal ... d=45305309
Africa, Drug Makers
Draw Up a Battle Plan
In a deal similar to the one that turned the tide against
AIDS, manufacturers and charities will make chemotherapy
drugs available in six poor countries at steep discounts.
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. OCT. 7, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya — In a remarkable initiative modeled on the campaign against AIDS in Africa, two major pharmaceutical companies, working with the American Cancer Society, will steeply discount the prices of cancer medicines in Africa.
Under the new agreement, the companies — Pfizer, based in New York, and Cipla, based in Mumbai — have promised to charge rock-bottom prices for 16 common chemotherapy drugs. The deal, initially offered to a half-dozen countries, is expected to bring lifesaving treatment to tens of thousands who would otherwise die.
Pfizer said its prices would be just above its own manufacturing costs. Cipla said it would sell some pills for 50 cents and some infusions for $10, a fraction of what they cost in wealthy countries.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/heal ... d=45305309
Op-Ed: Why African families are larger than those of other continents
In Africa women have 4.5 children on average, while in Asia the figure is 2.1 children, in Latin America 2.0, in North America 1.9 and in Europe 1.6. On average across the world women had 2.5 children in 2017.
The high fertility rate is driving rapid population growth in Africa. Under the United Nations’ “medium scenario”, Africa’s population will be four times bigger than it currently is by the end of the century.
Fertility has actually been declining in African countries over recent decades. Forty years ago, women had 6.5 children on average. But the transition is slower than in Asia and Latin America 30 to 40 years ago. Northern Africa and Southern Africa are exceptions: fertility has fallen rapidly and is now relatively low.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special ... -216274365
In Africa women have 4.5 children on average, while in Asia the figure is 2.1 children, in Latin America 2.0, in North America 1.9 and in Europe 1.6. On average across the world women had 2.5 children in 2017.
The high fertility rate is driving rapid population growth in Africa. Under the United Nations’ “medium scenario”, Africa’s population will be four times bigger than it currently is by the end of the century.
Fertility has actually been declining in African countries over recent decades. Forty years ago, women had 6.5 children on average. But the transition is slower than in Asia and Latin America 30 to 40 years ago. Northern Africa and Southern Africa are exceptions: fertility has fallen rapidly and is now relatively low.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/special ... -216274365
AfricaCom 2017 illuminates in an uncertain age of digital disruption and transformation
AfricaCom 2017 packs a punch with global speaker line-up
In less than a month anyone who’s anyone in African telecoms and technology will be in Cape Town at AfricaCom 2017 from 7-9 November. The continent’s single largest and most influential technology, media and telecoms (TMT) event, promises opportunities to witness future tech trends, network with the industry elite, and learn from a line-up of global thought leaders providing inspiring content.
Delegates will be able to hear Herman Singh, Group Chief Digital Officer of MTN, share his thoughts on how Africa can capitalise on the potential of disruptive technology, or the fourth wave of the mobile industry, as he puts it. M-commerce, he believes, will be far more “disruptive” than PC-based e-commerce ever was.
“The combination of identity, location and ‘transactability’ is far more disruptive than e-commerce ever was on PCs. You don’t carry a PC into a shop; your phone, you do,” he says.
Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom, will describe how innovative mobile network operators can bridge the digital divide and connect the next billion. (Safricom is the pioneer of Mpesa, the world’s most developed mobile payment system).
If you’re looking to discover what support mobile operators need, mobile companies Millicom, Safaricom and Orange will offer expert guidance on how the mobile network operator role is evolving in response to a rapidly shifting digital landscape.
More..
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
*****
Elections in Africa: democratic rituals matter even though the outlook is bleak
The multi-party systems established in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia in the early 1990s have endured despite electoral violence. But democratic hopes have been dashed or perverted throughout the rest of the region. The governments built on the ruins of the civil wars in Angola, Burundi, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda have all relied on armed political groups to stay in power.
More..
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/10 ... -216274365
AfricaCom 2017 packs a punch with global speaker line-up
In less than a month anyone who’s anyone in African telecoms and technology will be in Cape Town at AfricaCom 2017 from 7-9 November. The continent’s single largest and most influential technology, media and telecoms (TMT) event, promises opportunities to witness future tech trends, network with the industry elite, and learn from a line-up of global thought leaders providing inspiring content.
Delegates will be able to hear Herman Singh, Group Chief Digital Officer of MTN, share his thoughts on how Africa can capitalise on the potential of disruptive technology, or the fourth wave of the mobile industry, as he puts it. M-commerce, he believes, will be far more “disruptive” than PC-based e-commerce ever was.
“The combination of identity, location and ‘transactability’ is far more disruptive than e-commerce ever was on PCs. You don’t carry a PC into a shop; your phone, you do,” he says.
Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom, will describe how innovative mobile network operators can bridge the digital divide and connect the next billion. (Safricom is the pioneer of Mpesa, the world’s most developed mobile payment system).
If you’re looking to discover what support mobile operators need, mobile companies Millicom, Safaricom and Orange will offer expert guidance on how the mobile network operator role is evolving in response to a rapidly shifting digital landscape.
More..
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/sponsored/20 ... -216274365
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Elections in Africa: democratic rituals matter even though the outlook is bleak
The multi-party systems established in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia in the early 1990s have endured despite electoral violence. But democratic hopes have been dashed or perverted throughout the rest of the region. The governments built on the ruins of the civil wars in Angola, Burundi, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda have all relied on armed political groups to stay in power.
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https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/10 ... -216274365
Africa Set To Top 1 Billion Mobile Internet Connections In Five Years: Study
Africa’s mobile internet connections are set to double in the next five years, a study showed on Monday, thanks to affordable smartphones and the roll-out of high-speed networks.
A report by research and consulting firm Ovum in London estimates that mobile broadband connections will rise from 419 million at the end of this year to 1.07 billion by the end of 2022.
“Data connectivity is growing strongly in Africa, and there are also good prospects on the continent in areas such as digital media, mobile financial services, and the Internet of Things,” said Matthew Reed, Practice Leader Middle East and Africa at Ovum.
“But as Africa’s TMT market becomes more convergent and complex, service providers are under increasing pressure to make the transition from being providers of communications services, and to become providers of digital services.”
Mobile phone operators such as MTN Group, Orange and Bharti Airtel are investing heavily in high-speed networks to meet demand from users who are increasingly using phones for everything from paying their bills to streaming videos and surfing the internet.
Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Hugh Lawson
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How Digital Technology Can Help Reinvent Basic Education In Africa
African countries have worked hard to improve children’s access to basic education, but there’s still significant work to be done. Today, 32,6 million children of primary-school age and 25,7 million adolescents are not going to school in sub-Saharan Africa. The quality of education also remains a significant issue, but there’s a possibility the technology could be part of the solution. The digital revolution currently under way in the region has led to a boom in trials using information and communication technology (ICT) in education – both in and out of the classroom.
A study carried out by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Orange and Unesco shows that ICT in education in general, and mobile learning in particular, offers a number of possible benefits. These include access to low-cost teaching resources, added value compared to traditional teaching and a complementary solution for teacher training.
This means that there’s a huge potential to reach those excluded from education systems. The quality of knowledge and skills that are taught can also be improved.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/11 ... -216274365
Africa’s mobile internet connections are set to double in the next five years, a study showed on Monday, thanks to affordable smartphones and the roll-out of high-speed networks.
A report by research and consulting firm Ovum in London estimates that mobile broadband connections will rise from 419 million at the end of this year to 1.07 billion by the end of 2022.
“Data connectivity is growing strongly in Africa, and there are also good prospects on the continent in areas such as digital media, mobile financial services, and the Internet of Things,” said Matthew Reed, Practice Leader Middle East and Africa at Ovum.
“But as Africa’s TMT market becomes more convergent and complex, service providers are under increasing pressure to make the transition from being providers of communications services, and to become providers of digital services.”
Mobile phone operators such as MTN Group, Orange and Bharti Airtel are investing heavily in high-speed networks to meet demand from users who are increasingly using phones for everything from paying their bills to streaming videos and surfing the internet.
Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Hugh Lawson
******
How Digital Technology Can Help Reinvent Basic Education In Africa
African countries have worked hard to improve children’s access to basic education, but there’s still significant work to be done. Today, 32,6 million children of primary-school age and 25,7 million adolescents are not going to school in sub-Saharan Africa. The quality of education also remains a significant issue, but there’s a possibility the technology could be part of the solution. The digital revolution currently under way in the region has led to a boom in trials using information and communication technology (ICT) in education – both in and out of the classroom.
A study carried out by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Orange and Unesco shows that ICT in education in general, and mobile learning in particular, offers a number of possible benefits. These include access to low-cost teaching resources, added value compared to traditional teaching and a complementary solution for teacher training.
This means that there’s a huge potential to reach those excluded from education systems. The quality of knowledge and skills that are taught can also be improved.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/11 ... -216274365
Mobile phones and development
How the taxman slows the spread of technology in Africa
Excerpt:
Overall, technology will probably make Africans wealthier, healthier and better educated by dramatically lowering the costs of development. Take power as an example. Getting electricity to the two-thirds of Africans without it in the old way—by building generating stations and an electricity grid—would cost some $63bn a year (compared with just $8bn being spent now) and still take until 2030. But the falling costs of solar cells and batteries, and innovative business models, mean that millions of Africans are now able to bypass the grid and get electricity from rooftop installations for a few dollars a week.
Unfortunately, instead of seizing such opportunities, many African governments are energetically discouraging the spread of technology. Many ban genetically modified crops, refusing even to accept them as food aid when their people are starving. Almost all invest far too little in science and research, and have byzantine visa systems that discourage skilled immigration. And they tax mobile phone and internet companies at punitive rates. In 2015 mobile-phone operators in 12 African countries paid taxes and other fees equivalent to 35% of their turnover, says the GSMA, an industry lobby. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has one of the lowest rates of phone penetration in the world, taxes on mobile operators made up 17% of government revenues.
African taxmen pick on phone companies because they make lots of money and keep excellent records in a continent where both these things are rare. There is no doubt that governments need the cash. Tax to GDP ratios in Africa are still very low—on average below 17%, compared with 35% in OECD countries—and public debt is rising rapidly. It is now above 50% of GDP in almost half of the region’s countries, and the cost of servicing it is onerous. Some people dismiss phone companies’ complaints about tax as mere whingeing. They point out that such firms have grown rapidly despite high taxes.
More...
https://www.economist.com/news/middle-e ... lydispatch
How the taxman slows the spread of technology in Africa
Excerpt:
Overall, technology will probably make Africans wealthier, healthier and better educated by dramatically lowering the costs of development. Take power as an example. Getting electricity to the two-thirds of Africans without it in the old way—by building generating stations and an electricity grid—would cost some $63bn a year (compared with just $8bn being spent now) and still take until 2030. But the falling costs of solar cells and batteries, and innovative business models, mean that millions of Africans are now able to bypass the grid and get electricity from rooftop installations for a few dollars a week.
Unfortunately, instead of seizing such opportunities, many African governments are energetically discouraging the spread of technology. Many ban genetically modified crops, refusing even to accept them as food aid when their people are starving. Almost all invest far too little in science and research, and have byzantine visa systems that discourage skilled immigration. And they tax mobile phone and internet companies at punitive rates. In 2015 mobile-phone operators in 12 African countries paid taxes and other fees equivalent to 35% of their turnover, says the GSMA, an industry lobby. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has one of the lowest rates of phone penetration in the world, taxes on mobile operators made up 17% of government revenues.
African taxmen pick on phone companies because they make lots of money and keep excellent records in a continent where both these things are rare. There is no doubt that governments need the cash. Tax to GDP ratios in Africa are still very low—on average below 17%, compared with 35% in OECD countries—and public debt is rising rapidly. It is now above 50% of GDP in almost half of the region’s countries, and the cost of servicing it is onerous. Some people dismiss phone companies’ complaints about tax as mere whingeing. They point out that such firms have grown rapidly despite high taxes.
More...
https://www.economist.com/news/middle-e ... lydispatch
A Wave of New Fiction From Nigeria, as Young Writers Experiment With New Genres
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim was bracing for a backlash when he published his provocative debut novel, “Season of Crimson Blossoms,” in Nigeria two years ago. The novel centered on a devout Muslim grandmother who has an affair with a young gang leader in his 20s, and in telling the story of a 55-year-old widow’s sexual awakening, Mr. Ibrahim took on issues like female sexuality, drug use, political corruption and ethnic violence — subjects considered taboo within northern Nigeria’s conservative and predominantly Muslim Hausa culture.
“We thought there would be a fatwa,” he said. “It talks about something that’s shocking and controversial for many people.”
Instead, Mr. Ibrahim has been hailed as a rising literary star. He won the Nigeria Prize for Literature, which comes with a $100,000 reward, and received the African Writers’s Residency Award from Germany’s Goethe Institute. The Nigerian publishing house Cassava Republic acquired international publication rights to the novel, and released it in South Africa, Kenya, Germany, Britain and earlier this year in the United States.
Mr. Ibrahim belongs to a new generation of young Nigerian novelists who are gaining international prominence, and his unexpected success offers the latest sign that the country’s flourishing literary scene is giving rise to some of the most groundbreaking and boundary-pushing fiction on the continent.
Nigeria has long been a vibrant literary hub, home to prominent and widely celebrated writers like the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri and, more recently, the novelists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Lola Shoneyin and Helon Habila. In the past, successful African writers often first gained renown abroad, yet weren’t widely read in their homelands. But now, many of Nigeria’s promising young authors are increasingly building an audience at home, where there is a growing appetite for fiction that addresses contemporary issues.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/book ... iters.html
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim was bracing for a backlash when he published his provocative debut novel, “Season of Crimson Blossoms,” in Nigeria two years ago. The novel centered on a devout Muslim grandmother who has an affair with a young gang leader in his 20s, and in telling the story of a 55-year-old widow’s sexual awakening, Mr. Ibrahim took on issues like female sexuality, drug use, political corruption and ethnic violence — subjects considered taboo within northern Nigeria’s conservative and predominantly Muslim Hausa culture.
“We thought there would be a fatwa,” he said. “It talks about something that’s shocking and controversial for many people.”
Instead, Mr. Ibrahim has been hailed as a rising literary star. He won the Nigeria Prize for Literature, which comes with a $100,000 reward, and received the African Writers’s Residency Award from Germany’s Goethe Institute. The Nigerian publishing house Cassava Republic acquired international publication rights to the novel, and released it in South Africa, Kenya, Germany, Britain and earlier this year in the United States.
Mr. Ibrahim belongs to a new generation of young Nigerian novelists who are gaining international prominence, and his unexpected success offers the latest sign that the country’s flourishing literary scene is giving rise to some of the most groundbreaking and boundary-pushing fiction on the continent.
Nigeria has long been a vibrant literary hub, home to prominent and widely celebrated writers like the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri and, more recently, the novelists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Lola Shoneyin and Helon Habila. In the past, successful African writers often first gained renown abroad, yet weren’t widely read in their homelands. But now, many of Nigeria’s promising young authors are increasingly building an audience at home, where there is a growing appetite for fiction that addresses contemporary issues.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/book ... iters.html
Op-Ed: How Africa can create a Continental Free Trade Area
Ours is a continent rich in resources. From the coffee beans and cotton to mineral ores and oil wells, Africa is world-renowned for its raw materials.
However, exporting raw materials alone will not allow Africa to reach its potential. Indeed, the recent slump in global commodity prices has served as a harsh reminder that our traditional reliance on raw materials needs to evolve. It is only by transforming our commodities into value added goods that Africa will reap the full benefits of our natural strengths. Transforming our resources will create larger profit margins, growth and jobs. This transformation will, however, require a big industrialisation drive across the continent to foster trade and growth.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/201 ... -216274365
Ours is a continent rich in resources. From the coffee beans and cotton to mineral ores and oil wells, Africa is world-renowned for its raw materials.
However, exporting raw materials alone will not allow Africa to reach its potential. Indeed, the recent slump in global commodity prices has served as a harsh reminder that our traditional reliance on raw materials needs to evolve. It is only by transforming our commodities into value added goods that Africa will reap the full benefits of our natural strengths. Transforming our resources will create larger profit margins, growth and jobs. This transformation will, however, require a big industrialisation drive across the continent to foster trade and growth.
More...
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/201 ... -216274365
Billions to be spent unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of Africa
Abidjan) An effort that hopes to draw billions in investment in Africa from Europe wrapped up at the Palace of Culture in Abidjan this week. In many ways, there couldn’t have been a better place for talk of a free market drive to revive the economies of Africa.
For Cote D’Ivoire, for all its economic difficulties, scarce capital and heavy taxes, has a claim to being an economic phoenix rising from the ashes of a violent civil war. Ever since the Ivorian army marched back to its barracks, in 2011, the country has seen signs of an economic revival akin to that of post-Genocide Rwanda and post-war Singapore. In fewer than seven years of peace, Cote D’Ívoire has thrown its doors open to foreign investors on its way to a growth rate of more than 8%, albeit from a very low base.
The European Union-Africa Forum, in Abidjan this week, was here to discuss an ambitious plan to help unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Africa to create jobs and wealth. The EU is pushing a plan to prise investment out of a tight European financial market – especially from the big pension funds – to plough into entrepreneurs with emphasis on women and the youth.
More..
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/west-af ... -216274365
Abidjan) An effort that hopes to draw billions in investment in Africa from Europe wrapped up at the Palace of Culture in Abidjan this week. In many ways, there couldn’t have been a better place for talk of a free market drive to revive the economies of Africa.
For Cote D’Ivoire, for all its economic difficulties, scarce capital and heavy taxes, has a claim to being an economic phoenix rising from the ashes of a violent civil war. Ever since the Ivorian army marched back to its barracks, in 2011, the country has seen signs of an economic revival akin to that of post-Genocide Rwanda and post-war Singapore. In fewer than seven years of peace, Cote D’Ívoire has thrown its doors open to foreign investors on its way to a growth rate of more than 8%, albeit from a very low base.
The European Union-Africa Forum, in Abidjan this week, was here to discuss an ambitious plan to help unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Africa to create jobs and wealth. The EU is pushing a plan to prise investment out of a tight European financial market – especially from the big pension funds – to plough into entrepreneurs with emphasis on women and the youth.
More..
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/west-af ... -216274365
Africa needs about $90bn yearly to meet infrastructure needs – AU
VIDEO
Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union says Africa needs about 90 billion dollars annually for the next 10 years to bridge its Infrastructure deficit.
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2017/ ... -216274365
VIDEO
Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union says Africa needs about 90 billion dollars annually for the next 10 years to bridge its Infrastructure deficit.
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2017/ ... -216274365