Tonight in South Africa, the Dutch made once again history. They were ruthless, despicable and they chose not to play fair. It was a too vivid reenactment of a historical epoch which many of us would like to leave behind. It did not honor them or their country. Luckily they were once again on the wrong side of history.
Malaria in Africa
07 May 2010
This is the wiki note of the day on malaria. The following five African countries register the highest number of cases of malaria every year and together they make for more than half of malaria deaths in the world: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and Nigeria. In the last decade, the following [...]
Elephants are afraid of bees
06 May 2010
Lucy King, a scientist and researcher into animal behavior has recently published a paper in which she presents her findings with respect to a series of experiments she conducted in Africa. Basically, she argues that elephants are really afraid of bees. Of course, one would immediately ask: how could this help Africa or be of [...]
Business as usual in Kenya (or not!): the cemetery scam
01 May 2010
The Cemetery Scam is Kenya continues to be in the limelight both in Kenya and abroad. So what’s the real issue we’re dealing with? The city of Nairobi bought the land for a cemetery for 3.6 million dollars. As it turns out, the market value for the land in question was not higher than 10 [...]
China, Railways and East Africa
30 April 2010
I almost missed this story but I think it’s really important to look at it and analyze it carefully. A Chinese company, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC),has expressed its interest in building a railway connecting Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The project is supposed to link Dar es Salaam, Kigali and Musongati in Burundi. Historically, [...]
The UN says foolish things. Again.
28 April 2010
This is exactly how harmful stereotypes of Africa continue to surface in mainstream media. One uninformed official here, another amateur there, and what he have at the end of the day is this story of Africa the capital of rape, crime and whatever wrongdoing you have in mind. Once again, the intentions might be good but the outcome is simply disgusting.
Ugandan teachers get new incentives to work in remote areas
28 April 2010
The Ugandan government announced that those teachers working in remote areas will get a 30 percent hardship allowance starting with the next school year (which is, in fact, February 2011). Basically, the basic teacher salary is 200,000 Shillings per month (100 US dollars) and will get an additional 60,000 Shillings (20US dollars) as a special [...]
Neglected success story: malaria infection rates in Zanzibar, Tanzania, under 1%
27 April 2010
Malaria is a real problem in Africa as many of us know. Personally, since I actually got sick twice because of this frustrating mosquito-spread disease, I have been paying close attention to the policy developments on malaria prevention and treatment, at least in East Africa where I normally spend at three month every year. In [...]
China + Niger = love (by convenience)
25 April 2010
Lamenting about China in Africa will ultimately amount to nothing productive. What the leaders and the stakeholders behind the major international organizations should seriously consider is reforming institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or other UN agencies in ways that will make UN offers more attractive alternatives.
A true story of China in Africa
23 April 2010
I have recently finished my BA paper and I am now trying to convert it in a publishable academic article. I believe this essay brings significant contributions to both the field of political science and anthropology and also a more nuanced vision on Sino-African relations. My thesis is the following:China’s engagement in Africa, its extractive [...]
Africa in 30 seconds
Nigerien elections set for December 26 2010
Posted on 06 May 2010
The military junta that removed Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja from power last February has pledged to organize the much waited elections in the next nine months. A referendum on the new constitution will be held in October and the first round of election in December. If no candidate gets a simple majority, a second round of voting will occur in January 2011.
I believe it when I see it.
2010 World Economic Forum live stream
Posted on 06 May 2010
The three-day World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa officially opened yesterday in Dar es Salaam. I’m waiting to see the results of this forum before blogging about it. However, I wanted to let you know that many of the debates at the forum are actually broadcast online. You can watch it yourself. These debates are quite lively and informative. I consider I have a decent grasp on many of these issues that are on the official agenda of the forum. That being said, I’ve learned quite a lot by watching the live stream which you can access here. Enjoy!
360 degree views of all South African stadiums ahead of the World Cup
Posted on 06 May 2010
Ok, this is officially the coolest thing I’ve seen the whole week. A South African website, MyCityByNight offers 360 degree views of all the stadiums where the World Cup games will be held. This is an insider’s look into all the awesome places where “la creme de la creme” of world soccer will fight for the ultimate glory – the magnificent World Cup. Click here to get your own private 360 degree tour of the stadiums. Unfortunately, for many of us, this is as close as we will get to the games so, enjoy!
Africa, planes and accidents
Posted on 06 May 2010
Flight Africa Blog runs an interesting story on the African aviation arguing that the aging planes are gradually being discarded which is obviously good for all of us. Nevertheless, some of the statistics the blog presents are rather disconcerting:
[In Africa] the decades of corruption, mismanagement, poverty and war have coalesced into one of the most dangerous skies in the world! IATA estimates that there was one accident for every 244,000 flights in Africa in 2008! That was six times the global average of one accident for every 1.2 million flights and over eight times the IATA members’ average of one accident for every 1.9 million flights ! A whopping 111 African airlines are on the European Union blacklist; fleet modernization is still slow; most civil aviation authorities lack capacity to carry out competent oversight functions, infrastructure is still poor.
China is not Santa Claus
Posted on 01 May 2010
Randall Smith of the Daily Nation Kenya writes one of the best op-eds on China-Africa relations in the light of President Kibaki’s attempt to get a long series of projects financed by the Chinese state:
Whether it’s China, the United States or the Saudi oil sheiks, the cost of a long Christmas gift list is worth pondering when the leader of a developing country goes courting one of the world’s most powerful nations. There’s an image of America, China and other places that’s not real in many African minds.
Very simply, the streets in America and China are not paved with gold, and life is much harder than television paints it. [...] Be careful about the bill that will come due. It may be a whopper.
Video Content
Nigerian President passed away
This is the first analysis of President Umaru Yar’adua after the announcement of his untimely death. (via Africa is a country) Yar’adua will perhaps be remembered for being the first Nigerian politician to declare his wealth upon taking office. My condolences to the Nigerian people and, like Texas in Africa, I hope the transition to a new presidential administration will be a smooth one.
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