- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Africa Renewal
- Previous Issues
- Volume 27, Issue 2, 2013
Africa Renewal - Volume 27, Issue 2, 2013
Volume 27, Issue 2, 2013
The Africa Renewal magazine examines the many issues that confront the people of Africa, its leaders and its international partners: sustainable development goals, economic reform, debt, education, health, women's empowerment, conflict and civil strife, democratization, investment, trade, regional integration and many other topics. It tracks policy debates. It provides expert analysis and on-the-spot reporting to show how those policies affect people on the ground. And, it highlights the views of policy-makers, non-governmental leaders and others actively involved in efforts to transform Africa and improve its prospects in the world today. The magazine also reports on and examines the many different aspects of the United Nations’ involvement in Africa, especially within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
-
-
Africa watch
Author: Pavithra RaoEthiopia’s ambitious plan to build a $4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 kms from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries. Dubbed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, it will be Africa’s biggest dam and will depend on water from the 6,700-km Nile River, the world’s longest river.
-
-
-
Influencing policy is ‘not a numbers game’
Author: Jocelyne Sambira“If you want to be influential in the political arena, you need to influence policy,” Betty Kaari Murungi, a social justice advocate, recently told a room filled with female entrepreneurs and corporate managers in Nairobi, Kenya.
-
-
-
No place like home: Africa’s skilled labour returns
Author: Aissata HaidaraMariam Koné left Canada five years ago to start a business consulting firm in Bamako, the capital of Mali. As her client base grew steadily, earnings from her company, Koné Conseil, also increased. Business has been great, she says. Although her previous job as an industrial engineer at a consulting firm in Montreal, Canada, was stable and the pay was good, Ms Koné wanted a new challenge in her home country. Her return to Mali was risky and audacious, but it has paid off. “I used to work for others, but now I am working for myself and also hiring people,” she says. “And I have no regrets.”
-
-
-
UN chief teams up with World Bank leader to resolve conflict and fight poverty in Congo
Author: Masimba TafirenyikaAs the United Nations intervention brigade takes up positions to confront armed rebels in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, expectations are high among some Congolese that perhaps this time the troops will get the job done, help bring peace and stability to the region and set the stage for economic revival. This optimism is nevertheless tempered with caution: the country has often seen short episodes of peace quickly followed by intense fighting.
-
-
-
Intervention brigade: end game in the Congo?
Author: Lansana GberieTo the outsider at least, the immediate problem with the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—a perennial vortex of instability, massive human rights violations and wars both petty and large—is that it defies comprehension. The armed militia factions, opportunistic and often wholly predatory, are many. There are at least 10 such groups in the eastern part of the country alone, which for several years now has been the epicenter of the bloodshed and chaos.
-
-
-
Uprooting the causes of conflicts
Author: Kingsley IghoborOn 11 July 2011, when South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his 8.3 million compatriots celebrated the new country’s first independence, he was careful to remind everyone of the harsh realities on the horizon. “All the indices of human welfare put us at the bottom of all humanity,” he said, adding: “All citizens of this nation must therefore fully dedicate their energies and resources to the construction of a vibrant economy.” Not surprisingly, President Kiir’s note of caution was easily drowned in a sea of high expectations and hopes for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous nation.
-
-
-
Tapping migration wealth to fund development
Author: Jocelyne SambiraIn a small and stuffy room in midtown Manhattan, some people are filling in forms while others wait patiently in line to submit them. It is spring in New York City but the sweltering heat and the poor ventilation is reminiscent of summer. The teller shielded by a glass window barks orders through a round hole. With one hand on his suitcase, Omar tugs at his collar to loosen the red and blue striped tie around his neck. Pearls of sweat are visible on his forehead. “I am sending money to a person,” he speaks deliberately. Seemingly satisfied with his answer, the teller continues to punch her keyboard and shouts the next question, “How much?” He knows the drill. And like most migrant workers in the city, the trek to this hole in the wall is part of his routine on pay days.
-
-
-
Industrialization: Interview with Carlos Lopes, ECA executive secretary
Author: United NationsIt’s been a year since Carlos Lopes was appointed UN under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As the head of ECA, he is in charge of promoting the economic and social development of Africa and fostering regional integration. In an interview with Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, Mr. Lopes shared his thoughts on Africa’s current economic situation and his hopes for the future. The following are excerpts from the interview.
-
-
-
Industrialization: A new burst of energy
Author: Kingsley IghoborCarlos Lopes, the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), often talks about Toblerone, the famous chocolate bar manufactured in Switzerland by Kraft Foods, an $18 billion company. Cocoa for Toblerone bars is imported, probably from Africa, where 70% of the world’s cocoa is harvested. Mr. Lopes once pointed this out to Côte d’Ivoire’s president, Alassane Ouattara, and lamented the fact that only about 10% of the money from chocolates goes to cocoa producers, while the rest remains in the rich chocolate-producing countries.
-
-
-
Shea butter nourishes opportunities for African women
Author: Rebecca MoudioIn a fancy Manhattan hotel in New York, women in colorful traditional African gowns make their way to one of the conference rooms. Their outfits provide a fascinating contrast to the grey and black business suits surrounding them. The crowd is diverse, but is gathered because of one thing: shea butter that comes from an African nut and is used in cosmetics as a lotion or moisturizer.
-
-
-
Slippery justice for victims of oil spills in Nigeria
Author: Yemisi AkinbobolaIn a stunning and dramatic legal ruling that echoed from the serene court chambers in the Netherlands to the heart of rural Niger Delta in Nigeria, the District Court of The Hague dismissed all but one of the lawsuits brought against Royal Dutch Shell, an Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company, by a group of farmers seeking compensation for the environmental damage caused by the company.
-
-
-
Africa wired
Author: Jocelyne SambiraFive flashlight bulbs, an old car battery and a solar panel were the only tools 11-year-old Richard Turere used to put together a system of lights that keeps his family’s cattle safe from lions. His simple invention costs less than $10 and it’s easy to install and maintain. It also works to prevent elephants from trampling people’s crops.
-
Most Read This Month
Article
content/journals/25179829
Journal
10
5
false
en