Africa Update Vol. 45
Welcome to the latest edition of Africa Update! We’ve got the female boda-boda drivers of Uganda, stalled plans for formalizing refugee settlements in Kenya, the dubious UAE company which recently purchased 1/5 of Zimbabwe’s landmass to use for carbon offsets, and more.
West Africa: Gated communities “have continued to exacerbate inequality in Lagos, as public services are narrowly concentrated and privatised, and where the community of responsibility stops at the subdivision gates.” In better news, Nigeria has also recently launched a new cash transfer program reaching over 60 million citizens. Urban renewal in Benin is increasingly displacing poorer residents of Cotonou. This is a good history of popular protest in Ghana, including the recent #OccupyBoG protests against the country’s current economic crisis.
Central Africa: In Uganda, women are increasingly getting into the motorcycle taxi business. This retrospective on Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni suggests that while he has brought stability to much of the country, he’s failed to create inclusive political structures or promote economic growth. Etienne Tshisekedi has won a second term as president of the DRC, based on genuine popularity but also concerns about electoral mismanagement, and whilst facing challenges in building the UDPS into a grassroots-led party. Here’s how soldiers trained by Rwanda are propping up the government in the CAR.
East Africa: Ethiopia has dramatically expanded secondary school enrollment, but in 2023 only 3% of students passed their secondary leaving exams. This was a poignant ode to daily life in Khartoum. Kenya continues to search for additional Chinese funding to expand the SGR railway system into Uganda. Months after Kenya announced a dramatic plan to turn its two largest refugee camps into formal towns, the plan has stalled as donors hesitated to commit to it. Just days after Somaliland and Somalia agreed to restart political dialogue, new tensions arose over Somaliland’s deal to give Ethiopia access to its Berbera port.
Southern Africa: Zimbabwe has signed 1/5 of its territory over to the UAE-based firm Blue Carbon in a highly dubious deal to use its forests for carbon credits. South Africa is now allowing both parents to split four months of parental leave instead of restricting most of it to mothers. Johannesburg’s residents are being forced into illegal “hijacked” buildings downtown as the government fails to build enough affordable housing for them. Sishuwa Sishuwa asks whether Zambia is on the verge of becoming a one-party state.
Climate + energy: Less than 1/4 of the UK’s climate aid for Africa has gone to organizations based on the continent. Burkina Faso has signed a deal with Russia for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant. Kenya’s Ogiek people are being evicted from the Mau forest so it can be used for a carbon credit scheme. As climate change picks up pace, Africa’s lack of weather stations could be making adaptation more difficult.
Art + culture: Here are five of singer Baaba Maal’s favorite cultural sites in Dakar. (Bonus: don’t miss his fantastic new album “ Ken.”) These are the artists to watch from Art X Lagos 2023. Don’t miss 22 of the best African books of 2023.
Cheers,
Rachel