07 October 2022
Boko Haram: A 28-page Institute for Security Studies (ISS) report analysing the terrorist group’s “access to resources” and explaining “the economic drivers that reinforce Boko Haram’s resilience, including the key actors involved in these activities”, written by Malik Samuel. Free download on:
https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/war-40.pdf
Ghana: With the inflation rate close to 40%, the central bank has increased its interest rate which will, of course, increase the cost of borrowing money from banks.
BBC Africa Live 07 October 2022. 10:44
Burundi/Belgium: With 96% of Burundian asylum cases accepted in 2021, 8 times more Burundian asylum seekers have arrived in May through July 2022 than the previous three months. Burundians do not need visa to go to Serbia and from there, “they enter European territory via Romania”.
BBC Africa Live 07 October 2022. 11:59
“Woman King”: The film about the “Agoodjies, the women warriors of the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey in today’s Benin”, released in September, has raised controversy. E.g., American descendants of slavery (ADOS) called for a boycott of the film “because it glorifies an African kingdom that brutalised their ancestors.” In the article’s author’s view, the film, while worth watching, no doubt misrepresents and distorts Dahomey history.
https://theconversation.com/woman-king-is-worth-watching-but-be-aware-that-its-take-on-history-is-problematic-191865
Lesotho: Parliament was meant to pass “key political reforms needed to bring stability to the country” before its dissolution ahead of elections, but has failed to do so. So the elections “will be held on the basis of the old constitutional framework” which “is to blame for recurrent political instability in the country.” The article looks into the reasons of this failure, the main one being successive prime ministers not wanting to let go the unfettered powers they enjoy under the present system. The new parliament resulting from the elections will have to start the reform process all over again – with a “careful design of the process and (of) how various stakeholders participate in the process” being of essential importance for bringing the reforms to a good end.
https://theconversation.com/lesotho-bungles-political-reforms-risking-fresh-bout-of-instability-after-2022-poll-191778
Ethiopia: The peace talks between the central government and Tigray “rebels” to be held in South Africa have been postponed – officially for “logistical reasons”.
BBC Africa Live 07 October 2022. 18:43
South Africa/Royal Women: Of the seven kingdoms officially recognized in the country, the Zulu kingdom is the richest, “the Zulu king (being) the largest landowner in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. He is the sole trustee of nearly 30% of KwaZulu-Natal’s land” and he and his family get more than 4m USD in tax money every year. In studying traditional Zulu authority, attention to the kings “has obscured the agency exerted by royal Zulu women in state-building”. The article sets out to correct this and briefly tells about some of them, among them Queen Mother Nandi, Shaka’s mother. In the end, the article’s two authors’ conclusion is that “much more historical research is needed on women’s access to power.”
https://theconversation.com/zulu-monarchy-how-royal-women-have-asserted-their-agency-and-power-throughout-history-190602
Suicide/Africa: The World Health Organisation is launching a campaign to raise awareness about suicide – with 11 suicides for 100,000 inhabitants, Africa is above world average of 9/100,000 – with mental health problems accounting for a significant proportion of the suicide and suicide attempts, the continent cruelly lacking in psychiatrists. According to https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country, Lesotho is the country with the highest suicide rate world-wide.
BBC Africa Live 07 October 2022. 13:50
https://www.afro.who.int/news/reversing-suicide-mental-health-crisis-africa
06 October 2022
“The fearful have no scars”
BBC Africa Live 06 October 2022. 6:31. Our proverb of the day. A Shona proverb from Zimbabwe sent by Joel Harayi in Ontario, Canada.
Burkina Faso: The leader of last Friday’s coup d’état, Ibrahim Traoré, yesterday Wednesday assumed the country’s presidency and was also appointed Supreme Head of the Armed Forces.
BBC Africa Live 06 October 2022. 7:15