27 November 2021
Covid/Omicron/Southern Africa: An overview of what is known so far about the new variant “Omicron” and what measures have been taken by countries world-wide to contain it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59442129
Anti-egalitarianism: Blaming an “insidious“ globalism, ultranationalists like Putin, Trump, Bolsonaro, ErdoÄŸan, Modi, Orbán and Boris Johnson “foster ethnic and religious division, fear of immigration, and panic about losing what is seen as the traditionally dominant culture of their nation”. Such attitudes make it more difficult to address the climate crisis together on a global level, to coordinate responses to Covid and they further xenophobia. Such anti-globalists try “to embed inequalities between peoples, solidify asymmetries of power between nations, and expand the privileges of international elites”. The article’s author calls this a “project of recolonisation”.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02687-8/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email
Wole Soyinka: The Nobel prize laureate has published a novel, “Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth”, his first novel in 48 years. Critics find it too difficult. The article’s author attempts to explain. Satire, he believes, is in Soyinka’s view, the only way to address the post-colony some 60 years into independence.
https://theconversation.com/making-sense-of-wole-soyinkas-difficult-and-brilliant-new-novel-172634
Tanzania: The article follows Walter Bgoya, managing director of independent Tanzanian publishing house Mkuki na Nyota through three decades of the many problems that beset (not only) the Tanzanian publishing industry. Walter Bgoya did manage to come out successful and his head high.
https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-an-independent-tanzanian-publisher-who-held-out-against-the-tide-168105
Ethiopia: News outlets and social media have been warned that information about military matters needs approval by the government before it is allowed to be published. In the meantime, state media have shown the Prime minister in military uniform in a rural setting. Sounding defiant, he said amongst other things that some territory had been retaken.
BBC Africa Latest Updates 26 November 2021. 13:29 26 Nov
26 November 2021
Covid & the poor: The article’s authors present their research on the effects of Covid measures on the poor in five countries: Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. Al five have large informal sectors and low social protection coverage, in all five, the agriculture sector did not suffer from the pandemic, while services suffered a lot. Covid effects varied widely. In Ghana for example, “(p)ausing the large national school feeding programme dwarfed the positive impact of other policy measures”. Except for stating that in future, more needs to be done to cushion shocks like the pandemic, the article does not tell much about the study’s results – maybe looking at the study itself would help (https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2021-148-mitigating-role-tax-benefit-rescue-packages-poverty-inequality-Africa-COVID-19.pdf)
https://theconversation.com/efforts-to-protect-the-poor-during-covid-how-five-african-countries-fared-171131
South Africa: Thula Simpson has just published “History of South Africa from 1902 to the Present”, 600 pages about the country’s history that puts black people at the centre – since 1902 only, forgoing older periods, thousand-year-old trade routes, the Bokoni, “a pre-colonial mixed farming society” and others. The article gives a short overview.
https://theconversation.com/new-book-on-south-africas-history-puts-black-people-at-the-centre-for-a-change-171830
South(ern) Africa: France, Kenya, Britain and some others have suspended or restricted flights from South Africa and neighbouring countries because of a new coronavirus variant, B.1.1.529. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, is sure that “imposing restrictions such as banning flights is unlikely to reduce the spread of the new variant” – abiding by public health measures such as wearing masks would work better.
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 11:43
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 11:13
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 10:33
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 9:50
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 4:39
Libya: A hearing before a Libyan court concerning the rejection of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s candidacy for the presidential elections of December was interrupted when militiamen stormed the court and forced judges and court employees out at gunpoint.
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 10:32
Sudan/West Darfur: Inter-communal fighting – herders vs. farmers – has left 43 or more dead, thousands displaced and at least 40 villages burnt and looted.
BBC Africa Live 26 November 2021. 6:32
Zimbabwe: On the basis of a good harvest and higher global commodity prices, the government is expecting more than 7% growth in 2022. According to the budget, it will double government expenditure, with increased spending on social services, 14% going to health.
BBC Africa Live 25 November 2021. 17:36 25 Nov
Covid & violence against women: A study commissioned by UN Women found that violence against women has become a “shadow pandemic”. “One in two women report that they or someone they know have experienced violence since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.” In Kenya, instead of one in two, it was 80% of women.
BBC Africa Live 25 November 2021. 16:37 25 Nov
Gambia: The 17-volume report, result of the hearings at the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) has been handed over to President Barrow. The findings have not been made public. The head of the commission in charge of the report thinks that those responsible need to be prosecuted. “To forgive and forget with impunity the violations and abuses... would not only undermine reconciliation but would also constitute a massive and egregious cover-up of the crimes committed”.
BBC Africa Live 25 November 2021. 16:22 25 Nov