04 April 2022
South Sudan: After revived tensions and clashes, President Salva Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar have agreed on the formation of a unified armed forces command – a central point of the 2018 peace agreement. Kiir’s faction will have 60%, Machar’s faction and other opposition groups 40% of key positions in the army, police and security forces. The deal was brokered by Khartoum.
BBC Africa Live 04 April 2022. 5:31
City governance: How do you effectively govern rapidly growing cities? According to the article’s author, there are three aspects of city institutions that are decisive: allocation of responsibility, capacity, and legitimacy.
https://theconversation.com/getting-the-right-institutions-in-place-to-run-africas-cities-efficiently-116084
Lagos: The former capital remains Nigeria’s and even West Africa’s economic powerhouse, by far bigger than any other city in sight. Yet since 1991, when Abuja became the country’s capital, political decisions are taken elsewhere – and Lagos may be ruled by a different party from that in power nationally. Also, informal governance institutions have often more influence on everyday life than the formal institutions. “For the average Lagosian, these conditions result in a lived experience which delivers poorly on infrastructure and quality of life.” With taxation poorly managed, basic services like primary healthcare and public education are chronically under-resourced. So the question is: What works? Which structures – and most of all which local structures supporting and delivering physical and social infrastructure for communities – manage to successfully navigate the complex governance frameworks of Lagos? The article only formulates the question, setting out the course for future research.
https://theconversation.com/the-challenges-of-governing-lagos-the-city-that-keeps-growing-175753
Urban food security: An “urban food system encompasses production, processing and packaging, distribution, retail, consumption and wastes”. Producing enough food (availability) is not enough – in most cities of the Global South, there is enough food yet it is unaffordable for many. And besides availability and accessibility (affordability), what needs to be looked after is utilisation (including food storage and refrigeration), stability and sustainability (political, environmental) and agency (of consumers).
https://theconversation.com/food-security-in-african-cities-needs-a-fresh-approach-our-book-sets-out-the-issues-161373
Kenya: The 27km four-lane dual carriageway from near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the east to the western edge of Nairobi is nearing completion. The Chinese-financed toll road will improve the traffic situation, but only for the rich who can afford it. The congestion of other roads is unlikely to improve. The government had better invest in public transport, as “most commuters in Nairobi rely on walking or public transport.”
https://theconversation.com/nairobis-new-expressway-may-ease-traffic-woes-but-mostly-for-the-wealthy-170164
Kenya: In a highly symbolic public act, former first lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta (also the current president’s mother), shaved the long grey-haired dreadlocks of Muthoni Kirima, a Mau Mau freedom fighter. Mau Mau fighters had vowed not to cut their hair for as long as the British colonialists ruled the land. Muthoni Kirima – now aged over 90 – never cut hers, despite Kenyan independence, apparently not believing in the country’s freedom. She is quoted as stating: “This signifies that I am contented that our country has had freedom, at last, generations are now free, what we fought for in the forest during clamour for freedom has finally been achieved”. But many ask why now would be the right moment to cut her six-foot long hair. Could it have to do with Raila Odinga (supported by president Kenyatta for the upcoming presidential elections) having difficulties to get support in the Mt Kenya region - where Muthoni Kirima hails from?
BBC Africa Live 04 April 2022. 10:45
03 April 2022
Algeria/US: Sufiyan Barhoumi was captured in Pakistan in 2002 with a top al-Qaeda member. Accused of “taking part in a plan to bomb the US” he was detained at Guantanamo. Now, after almost 20 years, this is no longer considered necessary, says the US Department of Defense. He has been sent back home to Algeria – but only after Algeria had promised “that he would be treated humanely”. 37 detainees remain in Guantanamo, 18 of them are eligible for transfer back home.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60970825