This Week in Africa

December 20, 2024

Quote of the week

“Our island is being hit by the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934. Many of us have lost everything.” Mayotte (an island off the coast of Mozambique) prefect François-Xavier Bieuville

Ghana’s new president

John Mahama is the new president of Ghana. Afolabi Adekaiyaoja argues that Ghana’s situation represents the challenges of democratization across the continent. Alex Thurston explains what we have learned from transitions in Ghana and Senegal. Ernest Harsch explains the high price of power in Ghana. Chris Ogunmodede argues that Ghanaians will not miss the Akuffo-Addo era. John J. Chin explains why Ghana’s election is so important.

Mahama is busy at work setting up his government, and has already identified an anti-corruption team. He is rethinking tax policy and wants to resume Chinese-backed infrastructure deals. Ghana’s top court paved the way for Mahama to sign the anti-LGBTQ bill—if he chooses to. The Court dismissed the legal challenges.

Africa in 2025

Nine of the 20 fastest growing economies of the world in 2025 will be in Africa. Many countries will face an enormous debt burden. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies offers these security trends in ten graphics.

Sudan’s civil war

Sudan remains a conflict to watch in 2025. This is a helpful mapping of the regional actors involved in its civil war. What was old is new again in the humanitarian crisis. Submit to this special issue on Sudan. Could partition be in Sudan’s future?

Make sure to explore the Sudan Revolution Archive.

Migration and displacement

Kenya and Ethiopia could show the way on migration governance. Check out this report on forced displacement in Ethiopia and Uganda. The Mixed Migration Center conducted this interesting study on the gendered impacts of climate change on pastoralist migration in northern Senegal (helpful summary thread here).

Yotam Gidron analyzes freedom of movement and the economic lives of settlement refugees in Uganda. This is how to promote inclusive migration reform in Algeria. And make sure to check out this review forum on migration about the World Development Report 2023.

Why can’t Africans travel around Africa?

Struggle for rights and freedom

An influential ex-defense minister is jailed for corruption in Guinea. Idayat Hassan outlines the role of regional actors in combatting democratic backsliding. This is a helpful explainer on Mozambique’s post-election political crisis. Liberia’s House of Representatives caught fire this week. Sa’eed Husaini discusses Nigeria and South Africa—Africa’s sibling rivalry.

This piece outlines the year in democracy. Mo Ibrahim Foundation provides this summary of elections this year. And the intellectual history of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Security and instability

Senegal cuts its military ties with France. ECOWAS hopes Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali rethink their exit of the regional organization. Pay attention to Benin, which has become a key space in the struggle against violent extremism. Nigeria needs to play a peacemaking role in the region. Somaliland’s peaceful transfer of power withstands neighborhood strains. Tshisekedi and Kagame meet to discuss eastern DR Congo peace deal. And learn more about the Turkey-backed Somalia-Ethiopia deal.

Africa’s rapid urbanization

This article dissects Harare’s urban infrastructure challenge. Learn more about the 24-hour risk city in Nairobi. Morocco’s highspeed railway contributes to its solid economic growth. This article examines legal culture in unplanned coastal settlements in Mozambique.

Research corner

Check out Jonah Rexer’s article “Corruption as Local Advantage: Evidence from the Indigenization of Nigerian Oil.” This is an interesting article about the role of black women in the fight against Apartheid. Africa’s Christian Zionist frontiers is examined in this study. Learn more about local peacebuilding efforts in northern Ghana. Robert Mattes, Matthias Krönke, and Shaheen Mozaffar published “African legislatures: Unrepresentative Power Elites?”

Anne K. Bang discusses her new book Zanzibari Muslim Moderns: Islamic Paths to Progress in the Interwar Period on this podcast. This looks good: Hannah Dawson’s Making a Life: Young Men on Johannesburg’s Urban Margins.

Read it: Michael Albertus and Kathleen Klaus’s review essay “Land and Politics.”

Public health

Measles is killing thousands of children in the DR Congo. This is how the malaria vaccine can save lives. Cholera is ripping through Sekondi-Takoradi.

The week in development

This is a really helpful graphic of the major infrastructural projects taking place across the continent. Ghana lowers cocoa forecast based on weather concerns. This report offers priorities that the US government should consider to strengthen economic relationships with Africa. Neoliberalism has wielded “corruption” to privatize life in Africa. William Moseley makes the case for a new agricultural revolution in Africa. Kenya is in talks to lease farmland to UAE’s Al Dahra. Rita Aksenfeld argues that colonialism continues to taint the air in Uganda. West African bloc pins hopes on ambitious superhighway from Ivory Coast to Nigeria.

It is time for a radical rethinking for a turbulent world.

Critical minerals

DR Congo accuses Apple of using conflict minerals. Carnegie’s Africa Program examines Africa’s natural resources in the global energy transition. Benjamin Bradlow and Alexandros Kentikelenis provides these insights into technology transfer and green industrial transformation. Theophilus Acheampong outlines these cooperative pathways for Europe and Africa on critical minerals.

Africa and the environment

Cyclone Chido has displaced 2.7 million people in southern Africa. Warmer oceans fueled the cyclone. Kudakwashe Manjonjo explains how COP29 failed Africa. Shell leaves behind environmental devastation in Nigeria. Armed conflicts contribute to the decline of the gorilla population in DR Congo’s parks. Cape Flats farmers fight to preserve a South African breadbasket eyed by developers. In Lesotho, UN chief Guterres urges rich nations to meet new commitments on climate finance.

Political Parties in Africa Project

The Political Parties in Africa Project (PPA), supported by the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa (IDCPPA), invites paper proposals for the 6th annual conference on April 4 and 11, 2025. The conference will take place virtually. To submit a proposal for the conference, please follow this link to a Google Form to complete the requested information, including contact details and an abstract, by January 15, 2025.

Daily life

Mukoma wa Ngugi, domestic abuse, and the lessons for African literature. Ghana’s kente cloth is recognized as UNESCO cultural heritage. Learn more about African football’s #MeToo moment. Chris Brown sells out South Africa. Kigali is Africa’s most exciting food city. Patrick Quarm and phantoms in familiar terrains. Will São Tomé and Principe become the Galapagos Islands of Africa?

Kisumu!!!

All the best,

Jeff and Phil