05 June 2022
Nigeria: Mob violence has been on the increase of late. The latest victim, 30-year-old Ahmad Usman, was a member of a local vigilante group in Abuja. He was burnt yesterday Saturday by a 200-strong mob over a row with a Muslim cleric, possibly because of an alleged blasphemous remark. Having been found by police with severe burns, he died of his injuries in hospital shortly after. “Human rights campaigners say the frequent cases of mob violence are fuelled by deep-rooted impunity and a lack of confidence in the criminal justice system.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61691819
Lesotho/South Africa: In Hankey, a town in Eastern Cape, the South African province south of Lesotho, “more than 400 Lesotho nationals were displaced during fighting with residents” last week. As a consequence, about 100 left South Africa. The violence had started “after foreign nationals were accused of killing two local men.” Now the Lesotho government calls on Pretoria to do more to protect its citizens who are working in South Africa.
BBC Africa Latest Updates 05 June 2022. 9:06
ECOWAS/Mali/Guinea/Burkina Faso: At their meeting yesterday, ECOWAS leaders were unable to come to an agreement as to what to do with the three juntas. While expressing concern about the political and security situation in the three countries, the decision on sanctions (Mali is suffering from very harsh sanctions) against the three has thus be postponed.
BBC Africa Latest Updates 05 June 2022. 9:46
04 June 2022
Additional Water Sources: With a quarter of the world’s human beings facing shortages of water for drinking, sanitation, agriculture and economic development, unconventional resources become important to access. The article’s author identifies 8 sources and explains how they can be accessed: cloud seeding and fog collectors; desalination; reusing water; agricultural drainage water; brackish groundwater offshore; inland brackish groundwater; micro-scale capture of rainwater; moving water physically to water-scarce areas.
https://theconversation.com/where-to-find-more-water-eight-unconventional-resources-to-tap-183681
Nigeria/Crime prevention: Kidnapping and terrorism come to mind when crime in Nigeria is the topic. But in reality, Nigerians worry most about robbery, theft and break-ins. That kind of crime is influenced by the built environment and “environmental design” could make an important contribution to crime prevention. Environmental design includes surveillance, access control, territorial reinforcement, and space management. Surveillance: when people can see what others are doing, this discourages would-be offenders – what’s needed are clear sightlines, effective lighting and appropriate landscaping so nobody can hide. Access control: use physical/symbolic barriers like fencing, gates, etc. to channel or restrict the movement of people. Territorial reinforcement: properties that are well-maintained send signals that their occupants are on guard. Space management: spaces should be kept attractive, clean, well-maintained, well used, vandalism needs to be repaired quickly, burned vehicles and graffiti should be removed fast, burned out lighting replaced. Training town planners and urban designers is one of the necessary measures.
https://theconversation.com/nigerian-property-crime-could-be-reduced-if-neighbourhoods-were-better-designed-183235
Ghana/Debt: Since 2013, the country’s external debt has been greater than its domestic debt. Domestic borrowing is more expensive than borrowing abroad. The article provides the various pros and cons of domestic and foreign borrowing.
https://theconversation.com/ghanas-debt-the-pros-and-cons-of-borrowing-abroad-versus-at-home-183660
Cannabis: eSswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe have legalised marihuana production for medical and scientific purposes over the last ten years. While this should in theory open up economic opportunities for farmers, regulation frameworks generally favour corporate businesses over smallholder farmers – manufacturing licenses or permits are, for example, so expensive that smallholders could never afford them.
https://theconversation.com/cannabis-policy-changes-in-africa-are-welcome-but-small-producers-are-the-losers-179681