AfricaFocus Bulletin
Recent Commentaries by AfricaFocus Editor
(New in 2019)
December 9, 2019 Africa: Continental Unity and Industrialization?
“If it unfolds appropriately, the AfCFTA (African Continental Free
Trade Area) could facilitate the emergence of regional value chains
that allow the continent as a whole to move to a higher level of
value-added production. These would arise if its preferences
facilitate the emergence of higher value-added productive
activities in a number of countries producing components for an
increasing range of “products of the African continent” supplied to
consumers on the continent, as well as eventually also exported.
... This would of course depend not just on a tariff regime but on
programmes addressing the other barriers identified in the
development integration paradigm – inadequate infrastructure and
more effective cooperation to promote industrial development.” –
Rob Davies, former South African Minister of Trade and Industry,
2009-2019
November 25, 2019 USA/Africa: At Home in Maine
“Safiya overcame so many obstacles, I can’t find the words to
describe how much we’re proud of her. Internet trolls could not
stop her, threats could not stop her. She’s the perspective the
city needs. It’s a really big deal, a tremendous transformation for
this city.” - Mo Khalid, speaking of his sister Safiya Khalid on
her election to the Lewiston, Maine City Council on November 6,
2019
November 11, 2019 Tanzania: Human Rights Restrictions Mounting
In a joint press release in late October, Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch announced two separately
researched reports concluding that “Tanzania’s repression of the
media, human rights defenders, and opposition parties has
intensified since 2015. … Both reports found that President John
Magufuli’s government has adopted or enforced a raft of repressive
laws that stifle independent journalism and severely restrict the
activities of nongovernmental organizations and the political
opposition.”
October 28, 2019 Africa/Global: Untapped Potential for Africa Climate Actions
From off-grid solar home systems (SHS) to utility-scale solar and
wind installations, the potential for major advances in use of
renewable energy is growing rapidly on the African continent. If
this potential is materialized at a faster pace, Africa countries
could contribute significantly to mitigating the global climate
crisis. This would also reduce the ongoing damage to the
environmental health of their citizens, whether from kerosene lamps
in rural areas or massive coal pollution in South Africa.
October 9, 2019 Africa/Global: Targeting Corporate Shell Games
“Across the world, citizens who want their governments to implement
policies to reduce inequalities, address climate change and looming
ecological disaster, provide better public services and amenities,
ensure social protection, generate quality employment and so on,
are always confronted with one question: where is the money? We are
constantly told that governments cannot afford the necessary
expenditure; that running fiscal deficits will lead to financial
chaos and crisis; and that raising taxes will simply drive away
investment. But this is not just misleading; it is simply wrong.
Governments are constrained in their resources because they tolerate widespread tax evasion and avoidance. ” - Professor Jayati
Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University
More on:
politics&human rights|peace&security|health|economy|ict
AfricaFocus Archive:
by date | by place | by topic
September 18, 2019
Horn of Africa: Interview with Kassahun Checole
September 12, 2019
South Africa: Xenophobia, Deep Roots, Today´s Crisis
September 12, 2019
South Africa: Spotlight on Gender-based Violence
August 12, 2019
Africa/Global: Tax Avoidance 101
August 12, 2019
Africa/Global: #MauritiusLeaks Reveals Tax Dodges
July 29, 2019
Africa/Global: Agribusiness vs. Agroecology
July 15, 2019
Africa/Global: New Horizon for Off-Grid Solar
July 2, 2019
Kenya/Global: Big Victory for #SaveLamu/#deCOALonize
June 19, 2019
AfricaFocus Updates: Sudan, Ebola, Mozambique
May 27, 2019
Africa/Global: World Bank Ramps Up Attack on Small Farmers
May 13, 2019
Africa/Global: Cutting the Costs on Remittances
April 30, 2019
Africa/Global: Fighting Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance
April 15, 2019
Africa/Global: Ebola Resurgence Tests Global Response
April 9, 2019
South Africa: Politicians Scapegoating Immigrants
April 9, 2019
Africa: Migration within the Continent
March 22, 2019
Southern Africa/Global: Cyclone Idai and Climate Justice
March 11, 2019
Sudan: Just Fall, That is All!
February 26, 2019
USA/Africa: From Wakanda to Reparations, Part 2
February 26, 2019
USA/Africa: From Wakanda to Reparations, Part 1
February 11, 2019
Nigeria: Many Candidates, Few Alternatives
January 30, 2019
USA/Africa: Paradigms of Foreign Intervention
January 30, 2019
USA/Africa: China, Bolton, and Jimmy Carter
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