GOOD GOVERNANCE AFRICA

According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the “sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean”. The blue economy has great potential to contribute to higher and faster GDP growth across Africa. The continent’s seafood, aquaculture, and fisheries industries employ 12.3 million people, at least a third of whom are women.

Africa is emerging as a theatre of competition for global powers and there are significant opportunities on offer for savvy African states to exploit – most notably in the energy arena. Explores Ronak Gopaldas.

Across Africa, local government is the main governance authority responsible for connecting with local communities. Names given to these structures differ from country to country. Among the more common are “assemblies”, “councils” and “municipalities”. However, these naming distinctions belie the generally similar systems of local government in Africa. Explores GGA's Pranish Desai

Angola's general elections take place on August 24, but there is little hope that democracy will prevail in this securitised country with a legacy of kleptocracy, thanks to the late President Jose Eduardo dos Santos who died on 8 July. Angola's electoral commission has been captured by the ruling MPLA party, and most of its oil exports go to Europe, which will have an interest in maintaining the status quo, explains GGA's Director of Research & Programmes, Dr Ross Harvey.

Rising food and fertiliser prices have sparked debate among analysts about the dependency of the African continent on food and agricultural imports and its sensitivity to external geopolitical shocks. What can be done to better prepare national and regional governments facing these issues? Click here to learn more https://gga.org/africas-farmers-must-...

South Africa's position on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, inconsistent with its constitutional commitment to human rights, shows that there is an urgent need for a national discussion on the elements of authentic foreign policy

How does China and the US's fight for digital hegemony in Africa impact the continent's democracies?

Nuclear technology has made great advances with small modular reactors, which could potentially help South Africa transition away from coal to a cleaner energy source. GGA junior researcher in the Human Security and Climate Change programme Leleti Maluleke, discusses the nuclear landscape in South Africa with Busisipho Siyobi, lead researcher in GGA's Natural Resource Governance Programme. Read our in-depth article here: https://gga.org/nuclear-power-lite-an-energy-solution-for-south-africa/

Africa's population is set to make up 40% of the world's young people in less than three generations, according to the 2017 UN regional situation analysis report. These numbers are expected to continue to grow in the next 50 years, while the populations of other continents are ageing. What does this mean for the continent?

In part two of our exclusive interview, former Botswana president Ian Khama talks about his plan to return to his country and fight for the democracy it was under his rule. He explains to GGA SADC executive director Chris Maroleng how incumbent president Mokgweetsi Masisi continues to erode the rule of law in Botswana, and allowed wildlife in the country to fall into the hands of poachers. “Two-thirds of our wildlife has been poached under his watch,” says Khama. Khama has long denied reports that he is in exile in South Africa, or that he had fled the country after threats to arrest him and security agency searches at his home. He also claims there had been an attempt to poison him in the run-up to Botswana’s 2019 general elections. This is Part 2 of a two-part series, you can listen to part two here: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lloyd86255/episodes/2022-04-14T01_55_45-07_00

Former Botswana president Ian Khama expands on plots to kill him, including three attempts to poison him, in this revealing GGA interview with GGA SADC Executive Director Chris Maroleng. Khama is also drawn out on his other allegations against his political opponents, and gives his take on the leadership style of current Botswana president, Mokgweetsi Masisi.

The factors that influence the patterns and dynamics of data in Africa are multi-layered, but some of the most important include historical forces, regional and national disparities, the relevance of data at societal and individual levels, and the inequalities resulting from the prevalence of the urban-rural resource gap and economic divide. Considering the importance of data in answering questions of education, health, conflict, commerce, governance, and development, it is critical to understand the state of data in Africa.

Despite the devastating worldwide effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, some politicians and scholars have advanced the idea that this crisis could be a transformative event in the long run. Others have refuted that notion, suggesting we will simply return to the “status quo”, whatever that means. One thing is certain: life will be more difficult for many people around the world for some time, as they confront the pandemic’s health, economic and social consequences.

The death rate from guns in Nairobi, Kenya, is 33 for every 100,000 people per year. Factoring in its population of 3.5 million, this means that on average, a gun death occurs once every nine hours, 25 minutes and 49 seconds. The high crime rate is tied to the fact that there are six illegal guns in the hands of every 100 Nairobians.

After defeating colonialism, white minority rule and post-colonial authoritarian governments, many of Africa’s liberation movements seem to have lost ground in the democratic era, challenged by the harsh realities of contemporary politics and socio-economic development dynamics. More than four decades later, the promises of social justice and prosperity appear to have vanished into thin air, as severe social, economic, environmental and political crises have deepened across the continent, prompting the emergence of a new generation of young activists and calls for political revival.

The African Union’s Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) aims to create a new living world wonder, an 8,000 km tree line across the 21 countries in the Sahel region of Africa. A project this size needs the funding to match and so far, more than $8 billion has been pledged, but conflicts, capacity, direction and ensuring capital remain huge challenges standing in the way of the GGWI.

Do the current written histories of Africa adequately include the experiences of the continent’s women? Depends where you look. And who you ask. Since the 1960s, the university-based study of African women’s history has become a dynamic, global field. Where once the economic, social and political contribution of African women was regarded as an historical terra nullius – with women either entirely absent or relegated to minor roles in textbooks and tomes - there is now an ever-increasing body of research that includes analysis on a wide variety of societies, over 50 countries and hundreds of thousands of years.

One big difficulty historians of Africa face is the need to articulate historical changes in African experience through language accessible to a wide audience. Communicating widely means using concepts which are generally understood – yet these are usually Eurocentric, and not ideas which relate specifically to African historical experiences. Specialists have debunked the tired old western myth of African history as static. However, little of this has yet filtered into the mainstream.

Football and politics have always enjoyed a fascinating relationship. During the 2018 World Cup the political subtext was especially elevated, given the geo-political significance of the event being hosted in Russia. But beyond the obvious diplomatic undercurrent, the tournament brought a number of complex political issues to the fore. Polarising debates around talent, migration, identity and patriotism surfaced as a result of specific incidents that occurred during the course of the tournament. These incidents, although microcosmic in nature, were magnified on a global stage and reflected contemporary political realities.

It is no secret that Africa is facing a climate conundrum. At the core of this trilemma is the question of how the continent can balance the energy access required for development with climate mitigation and deal with the inevitable impacts. The prevailing sentiment is that getting Africa to conform and comply with new global standards is unfair and prejudicial. Yet at the same time, Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change because it doesn't have the social and economic buffers to mitigate its effects.