16 November 2022
Sierra Leone: A new law just passed in Parliament makes sure that a third of MPs and a third of members of local councils will from the next elections on be women. Presently, only 19 of 146 MPs are women.
BBC Africa Live 16 November 2022. 5:43
Egypt/Coral reefs: 40,000 cubic metres of barely treated wastewater from Egypt's Ras Shukeir oil terminal (50% owned by Egypt's state oil company) are being dumped every day into the Red Sea. This has been going on since 1985. It is now feared that this could threaten the Red Sea coral reefs – which have so far proved to be resilient to the effects of climate change (despite Red Sea temperatures rising faster than the global average). “Despite covering only 0.1% of the oceans, coral reefs are home to 30% of marine biodiversity. In the Red Sea, they are a lifeline for endangered species such as hawksbill turtles, as well as supporting fishing, marine agriculture and tourism”.
BBC Africa Live 16 November 2022. 5:08
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63603861
Woman King: The film is set in what is nowadays called Benin – but it was filmed in South Africa. Such “(c)heating one film location for another is common practice”. But even so, so the article’s author, it shows that “even when telling African stories, Hollywood reimagines the true history and geography of the continent to serve western audiences”. True, the film “presents African women as strong, healthy and independent, Africans as the inheritors of a rich cultural tradition and Africans as majestic purveyors of lost ideals”. But still, the use of Kleinmond (in Western Cape) as one of the locations for the film is problematic because, once again, the real stories of the place with its fights during times of Apartheid to the fights of the present day, are erased. Like all black life being erased from Apartheid time paintings – the state’s favoured painter JH Pierneef painting empty, detailed landscapes.
https://theconversation.com/woman-king-is-set-in-benin-but-filmed-in-south-africa-in-the-process-it-erases-real-peoples-struggles-194276
Uganda’s national symbol threatened by extinction: The crested crane figures on the Ugandan flag and the country’s coat of arms. With more and more swampland – the birds’ nesting and breeding place – being reclaimed for farming, there are only around 20,000 left in the world.
BBC Africa Live 16 November 2022. 9:15
IDPs: The article’s author argues that internally displaced people are generally worse off than refugees – they are less visible, less clearly defined and their home country often tries to hide them. Their displacement often becomes protracted and cyclical.
https://theconversation.com/why-its-important-to-understand-the-unique-plight-of-internally-displaced-people-in-africa-150891
15 November 2022
eSwatini: School-leaving exams have been postponed to December because of pro-democracy protests scheduled for today Tuesday. Protests demanding “major constitutional reforms” have been ongoing since June.
BBC Africa Live 15 November 2022. 7:41
Ghana/Urban innovation: With an estimated 45% of Accra’s population living in informal and poor areas with “extremely limited access to basic facilities such as water and sanitation”, inventive social innovation plays a big role in making these parts of the city liveable. Forget technology-based innovation from the Global North. Based on research into “residents’ collective infrastructure management in the indigenous township of La Dade-Kotopon”, the article argues that working with such innovative initiatives – bottom-up and informal – provides “a pathway to a people-centred and inclusive approach to urban planning”.
https://theconversation.com/ghanas-informal-residents-show-how-social-innovation-can-solve-urban-challenges-194092
Kenya: The north of the country (60% of its territory with 18% of its population) is characterised “by a wide expanse of wilderness, harsh climate and low levels of development”. Successive governments have not been able to get security threats under control. Neglect by (colonial and post-colonial) state institutions has worsened marginalisation. Reasons for conflict include competition for scarce resources (pasture, water), the custom of cattle rustling and also local-level political competition resulting from decentralisation. The use of force by state security institutions will hardly yield results. Informal methods need to be employed as they are perceived as legitimate and are widely accepted in local communities. Thus, dialogue, education and peace-making could be promoted.
https://theconversation.com/kenya-violence-5-key-drivers-of-the-decades-long-conflict-in-the-north-and-what-to-do-about-them-193466
Unions et al. in the age of digital labour platforms: In opposition to the “end of labour thesis” and despite “algorithmic insecurity” resulting from digitisation, worker resistance and worker organisation remain possible, even if platform workers are difficult to organise. But the article’s authors’ research “points to the proliferation of self-organised groups, which blur the boundaries between traditional unionism and informal workers’ associations or cooperatives”.
https://theconversation.com/worker-organisations-can-survive-the-digital-age-heres-how-194379
Population growth: According to the UN, over the next 30 years, 8 countries are expected to be responsible for 50% of worldwide population growth. Amongst them are 5 African countries: Congo-Kinshasa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania. High fertility there is driven by “low contraceptive use, high adolescent fertility rates and a prevalence of polygamous marriages”. The article discusses consequences of high population growth.
https://theconversation.com/as-the-8-billionth-person-is-born-heres-how-africa-will-shape-the-future-of-the-planets-population-194067
Diabetes/South Africa: More than 12% of adults in the country suffer from diabetes. The overstretched public health system is incapable of taking good care of them. First and foremost, while insulin is available free of charge at primary care clinics, health personnel does not have the time to educate diabetes patients – explain the illness and therapy to them. The article explains what is necessary and what should be done.
https://theconversation.com/over-12-of-south-african-adults-have-diabetes-education-is-critical-to-achieve-good-outcomes-194502
Mali/Côte d’Ivoire: The UN have today Tuesday been notified by Côte d’Ivoire that it would gradually – by August 2023 – withdraw its contingent from the peace-keeping force in Mali. This comes a day after the UK announced its pull-out and four months into a dispute between the two neighbours about 49 Ivorian soldiers arrested in Mali whom Bamako accuses of being mercenaries, only 3 of whom have since been released.
BBC Africa Live 15 November 2022. 13:41