23 July 2022
Thabo Mbeki: On the occasion of the South African ex-president’s 80th birthday last month, the article gives an overview of Thabo Mbeki’s life and his achievements. He was a “conscientious technocrat”, without his predecessor Mandela’s charisma and he always stayed aloof. He appealed to intellectuals more than to the masses. “(A)fter his ignominious exit as ANC leader” and president came his “transition (…) to the African continental stage” and to what is “probably the most respected African elder statesman”. The continental arena is probably more in adequacy with his pan-Africanist thinking.
https://theconversation.com/south-africas-thabo-mbeki-at-80-admired-on-the-continent-more-than-at-home-187046
Sudan: The Hausa are often still considered foreigners in Sudan, though many have lived there for centuries and though nationality laws have finally been changed to no longer keep them out. Their number is estimated to lie between 3 and 10 million. In 1974 Hausa were rounded up in the capital and its twin Omdurman and forcefully moved to Darfur. In 2008, there was trouble after al-Bashir was quoted as saying they were not indigenous to Sudan – 7 died and more than 100 were wounded. The recent eruption of violence which left more than 100 dead began because the governor of Blue Nile state granted the Hausa their own emirate within the state – which the Berta of Blue Nile state strongly opposed. The new emir was kidnapped amidst “calls on social media to strip Hausa people of their citizenship and their agricultural land”. Such ethnic division and conflict are in the interest of the Sudanese junta – it serves them “to take the steam out of continuing nationwide protests” against their putsch last October.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62175714
22 July 2022
Nigeria: Around 300 gunmen on motorbikes have committed several attacks in Katsina state (north-west of the country), killing 17 including 3 policemen, looting and stealing livestock. Meanwhile, Abuja is mulling a nationwide ban on motorcycles, the preferred means of transport of jihadists and other criminals – so far, only two states have banned motorcycles. The problem is that they are popular with non-bandits also.
BBC Africa Live 22 July 2022. 6:24
BBC Africa Live 22 July 2022. 5:08
Nigeria: According to the army’s Major General Chris Musa, 67,000 ex-Boko Haram militants have so far handed themselves over, overwhelming state capacities in Borno state.
BBC Africa Live 22 July 2022. 17:16
Angola: Recently deceased Dos Santos’ habitual silences contributed a lot to his country’s culture of “opacity or lack of transparency.” According to the article, he “failed to provide a moral example and did very little to prevent those around him, including his family, from unmercifully plundering the country’s resources” – which had become possible because of the constitutional changes and the resulting weaking of the state that he introduced because he thought he needed absolute power to be able to finally win against Savimbi. And because he never opened his mouth – not even aver handing over power to João Lourenço and after his children were accused of corruption.
https://theconversation.com/angolas-dos-santos-failed-to-provide-a-moral-example-and-stop-the-plunder-of-the-state-187448
Slowbalisation or De-Globalisation? Many “indicators” of globalisation have been on a downward trend for some years. Without coming to a clear conclusion, the article reflects on whether there is a retraction from globalisation, de-globalisation or only a slowing down of globalisation.
https://theconversation.com/is-the-world-retracting-from-globalisation-setting-it-up-for-a-fifth-wave-186003
African Wildlife & Drought: As seen in the Horn of Africa in recent times (especially in semi-arid and arid parts of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya), droughts have a devastating effect on wildlife and the habitat around them. The article’s author works for the Hirola Conservation Programme – the hirola being a gazelle at risk of imminent extinction. On the basis of what is being done in his programme to cushion wildlife and communities against drought, he recommends: “- trucking in water and fuel to communities; - supplying food to wildlife and supplements to livestock; - conduct regular patrols to identify and rescue vulnerable animals; - opening wildlife water access corridors by thinning invasive thickets and mapping all natural water access points for long-term protection; - vaccinating livestock and treating wildlife to reduce the chances of disease spill over and improve animal health.” On top of this, “policymakers must invest in water resource management and maintain infrastructure.”
https://theconversation.com/saving-east-africas-wildlife-from-recurring-drought-183844
Africa’s Biodiversity: At the Africa Protected Areas Congress (Apac) in Kigali (18th to 23rd of July), the Pan-African Conservation Trust (A-Pact) has been launched to help finance conservation areas to fight biodiversity loss and restore natural systems. It is to “mobilis(e) significant public, private and philanthropic funding into protected and conserved areas” all over Africa.
BBC Africa Live 22 July 2022. 12:59
Contraception: Worldwide, 162.9 million women had unmet needs for contraception in 2019 according to a The Lancet study. 29.3% of them were Africans – 47.7 million. Read the report or download it under:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00936-9/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_feature_gbd22_lancet