This Week in Africa
Work with us at GLD! Here is the week in Africa:
Quote of the week
“Realizing the objectives of the New Urban Agenda will require a comprehensive effort. An effort which mobilizes millions of urbanization professionals from across the globe – engineers, architects, urban planners, and surveyors, among many others. Working alongside them, member states and stakeholders should forge the partnerships necessary to effectively meet our aspirations.” – Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
Ethiopia’s civil war
Tigrayans in Western Tigray Zone are in dire need of protection and aid. A main hospital in the region has run out of food. 500 peacekeepers from the region seek political asylum in Sudan, citing fears for their safety.
Sudan’s political developments
Anti-coup voices are being silenced to subdue the resistance in Sudan. The former ruling party is making a comeback. A Khartoum Dispatch: “Love songs and tear gas in a tense Sudan revolution.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
This is the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on West Africa. An Africa food crisis looms. Nic Cheeseman explains how (not) to persuade Africa to support Ukraine and denounce Russia. This is an interesting story of why some West Africans are rallying for Putin.
Struggle for rights and freedom
A long list of unfinished business mars South Africa’s Freedom Day. Learn more about this all-women fishing cooperative in Zimbabwe. More than 20 migrants died when a boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia. Congrats to Frank Mugisha who is a co-winner of the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award 2022 for his work on fighting for LGBTQI rights. Watch these videos from the African Parliamentarians Forum. A former ambassador warns that Rwanda is more like a detention center than a sovereign state. Learn about this tool that helps fight disinformation. Kenneth Roth, the godfather of human rights work, is stepping down from Human Rights Watch.
Why are members of Kenya's ruling family trying to reinvent themselves as friends of Mau Mau so many years later? Does ethnicity influence judicial decisions in Kenya?
Security and instability
This report discusses how to manage vigilantism in Nigeria. Pay attention to the escalation of violence in Darfur. Ope Adetayo explains the economics and trauma of banditry and kidnapping in northern Nigeria. Nicholas Westcott explains why Britain, the European Union, and Africa need one another. What’s behind the latest political killing in Kwa Zulu Natal? What are the international military options for the Sahel?
Party cadres and violence
Check out Nicole Beardsworth and Matthias Krönke’s new GLD Policy Brief “Party Cadres Threaten Peaceful Elections and Everyday Life in Urban Africa.” Drawing on a panel survey before and after Zambia’s 2021 election, the study found that party cadres contributed to a climate of fear in Zambians’ lives during the electoral period. Party cadres are groups of young people who operate in the public sphere and use violence and coercion to collect fees at markets and bus stations, and are often perpetrators of inter-party violence. The fear of party cadres is stronger in urban than in rural areas. Overall, party cadres have increased voter turnout, but the impact varied between urban and rural areas. It is likely that Patriotic Front (PF) party cadre behavior contributed to the PF losing the 2021 election. The emergence of cadres resembles political vigilantism in Ghana and elsewhere during African elections.
Africa’s rapid urbanization
Traders in Hargeisa are struggling after a fire ripped through the markets and destroyed livelihoods three weeks ago. This is an interesting history of the parcel of land on which Amazon wants to build a headquarters in Cape Town. The New Urban Agenda is needed to build climate resilience in African cities. Arabella Fraser explains how to bridge the urban adaptation finance gap. The Accra Archive Project is awesome. Learn more about the economic potential of African cities. Check out the Beyond Inhabitation Lab. This post outlines the challenge of crafting interventions that can redistribute land value more equitably. Read this: Understanding Informality. What does the term “sub-Saharan Africa” really mean in Planning?
Ben Bradlow examines the party question in South Africa, and advocates for an electoral politics outside the ANC in his review of Marcel Paret’s book Fragmented Militancy: Precarious Resistance in South Africa after Racial Inclusion. I look forward to reading the book alongside Zachary Levenson’s Delivery as Dispossession: Land Occupation and Eviction in the Postapartheid City.
The new Nairobi Expressway, above and below.
Research corner
This article examines refugee encampments and counterterrorism in Kenya. Learn more about parliamentary primaries after democratic transitions. This article examines the legacies of rebel provision of humanitarian aid in Ethiopia. Check out the article “Popular protests in the Amhara region and political reforms in Ethiopia, 2016–2018.” Michaela Collard’s article “Wealth, Power and Institutional Change in Tanzania’s Parliament” is out.
The week in development
Anthony Kamande argues that austerity is not the answer to Africa’s economic challenges. This is how roadblocks hinder the supply chain. Africa is feeling the strains of war, climate change, and the pandemic. Watch the short film “Gold Matters in Burkina Faso: The Art of Bonding in Precarious Times.” A new report finds that Bain & Company helped facilitate the corruption by Jacob Zuma. The ANC considers land donations among new policy proposals.
This is an interesting post about how a viral thread reawakens the dark side of anthropology. New cases of Ebola are found in northeastern DR Congo. Two million children are at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa. A viral database is helping Kenyans find fuel. Chinese lending to Africa hit a 16-year low when the pandemic hit. Jane Munga explains how to close Africa’s digital divide. Africa’s energy infrastructure on a map. This is very cool: The Chinese Loans to Africa Database.
How are ratings agencies impacting African economies? Can Africa leapfrog the traditional electricity model? Is community input bad? eSwatini Air? Who lends to Africa, and how? Why Rwanda?
Africa and the environment
How to prepare for the flooding and the engineering future of climate change. This is how the G7 can help Africa’s climate agenda. Rules for batteries should cover bauxite, copper, and iron. South Africa’s green transition will cost more than $64 billion by 2030. South Africa prevails over Big Oil. This is where forests disappeared last year—in one chart. After extreme floods, it is clear that extreme weather is becoming the norm in South Africa. Africa’s creatives are promoting sustainability to combat climate change.
Is South Africa really on track with its climate change targets? How is Apartheid’s legacy making climate change’s impacts worse in South Africa? Who gets the dirty profits while going for clean? The Global South is calling for climate reparations.
RIP Mwai Kibaki
Kenya’s former president Mwai Kibaki has died. Derek Peterson explains his economic nationalism. Like many African leaders, he leaves behind a mixed legacy, including a disastrous education legacy. Gathara provides his take.
Daily life
This looks like a very cool project on the role of revolutionary murals in propelling women’s activisms in Khartoum and other cities. Senegal’s football coach Aliou Cissé is taking Africa to new heights. Meet the designers kickstarting Africa’s style revolution. Sun of the Soil is now streaming on Netflix. A tribute to highlife musician Orlando Julius Ekemode. These are cool photos of a bass band that trains in Sierra Leone. Yum.
All the best,
Jeff and Phil