nigeria was, but some ebola stricken idiot escaped into port harcourt and so although there aren't any new cases, the government has people under surveillance. that situation might be old news now though. I feel bad for the liberians/sierra leonans/ guineans. it's been brutal over there.
Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About
- Thread starter TommyHilltrigga
- Start date
nigeria was, but some ebola stricken idiot escaped into port harcourt and so although there aren't any new cases, the government has people under surveillance. that situation might be old news now though. I feel bad for the liberians/sierra leonans/ guineans. it's been brutal over there.
Good News from Africa
By Peter A. CoclanisMonday, September 22, 2014
Filed under: World Watch, Big Ideas, Boardroom, Culture, Economic Policy, Government & Politics
The power of individuals and markets in the development process is key to the continued economic dynamism of sub-Saharan Africa.
Although much of the recent news from Africa has focused on deadly viruses, violent terrorists, and kidnapped teenage girls, there is good news that is getting less media coverage: since the late 1990s, the economy of sub-Saharan Africa, considered as a whole, has been growing at more than 5 percent a year, and most analysts believe it will grow at that rate or higher in the next few years. Although sub-Saharan Africa’s share of world exports of goods and services remains minuscule (about 2 percent), that percentage is about the same as that of India, a card-carrying BRIC with a population 25 percent greater than sub-Saharan Africa. President Obama’s much-ballyhooed three-day summit meeting with African leaders in August served as a powerful reminder of the continent’s potential for a bright future.
What accounts for these upbeat trends and assessments? Growth is not easy to explain, especially when one is dealing with fifty-odd countries, but the recent surge in sub-Saharan Africa — after the region’s dismal economic performance in the previous quarter century — is due in large part to what has been referred to as “the three Cs”: China, commodities, and communication technology. Chinese foreign direct investment (particularly in transportation infrastructure), the global boom in commodities (resources in which Africa abounds), and the communications breakthroughs occasioned by the widespread use of cell phones (even in remote areas) have been key drivers of growth, allowing many formerly isolated regions to participate vigorously and increasingly profitably in international markets.
Other factors have also played roles in the region’s economic rise. Human capital, as measured by educational attainment and health, is improving. The heavy hand of the state is receding in many areas — indeed, according to the Ibraham Index of African Governance, sub-Saharan political systems are gradually becoming more open, transparent, and democratic — and the roles of markets and private investment have risen in relative importance vis à vis state dictates and foreign aid. A growing middle class of consumers is both underpinning and reinforcing the above considerations.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s coming ‘demographic dividend’ constitutes one of its strongest economic assets going forward.
Despite these hopeful developments, the region still faces huge hurdles going forward, leading numerous analysts to advise holding the champagne. Critics point to the region’s over-dependence on commodities, its tiny manufacturing sector, its low agricultural productivity, and the fact that the proportion of the population living in poverty remains high (just under 50 percent). Moreover, despite improved governance, the state in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa still specializes in predation, functioning mainly to “extract” national wealth on behalf of a narrow groups of elites.
Whither the African economy then? It’s always difficult to make predictions — especially about the future, as Yogi Berra allegedly put it — but, as an economic historian, one thing seems pretty clear. In devising developmental strategies going forward, African policymakers would do well to remember the wisest voices from the past, one figure in particular: The Budapest-born, London-based economist Peter Bauer (1915-2002). Ironically, the qualities that make Bauer so important today — his contrarian, pro-market, libertarian views on development, based on long experience in both West Africa and Southeast Asia — left him out in the developmental wilderness throughout the 1960s and 1970s and well into the 1980s. That period was the heyday of massive top-down developmental schemes, schemes devised by dirigiste dictators, implemented by corrupt apparatchiks, and funded largely by foreign aid. By the end of that period, African development had come to a grinding halt.
Ideas associated with Bauer have been enjoying something of a revival in recent years. The overall approach to development he advocated and various policy initiatives he called for have been instrumental to sub-Saharan Africa’s decade and a half of growth. He has been praised by prominent economists ranging from William Easterly to Dambisa Moyo to Amartya Sen — and even by institutions such as the World Bank.
Sub-Saharan political systems are gradually becoming more open, transparent, and democratic.
What is so important about Bauer and his ideas? Simply put, long before most other development economists, Bauer, along with a few like-minded heretics — such as Hla Myint, Harry Johnson, and Basil Yamey — believed in the power of individuals and markets in the development process. In so doing, Bauer called for the rollback of government economic interventionism and criticized both protectionism and the excessive (and frequently distortive) role of foreign aid. He championed FDI, international trade (especially in commodities), and macroeconomic prudence, and insisted on the importance of institutions and of protecting and promoting property rights. Many of his contemporaries minimized the importance of such considerations (when not pooh-poohing them altogether) or looked the other way. Yet it is largely actions based upon Bauerian theories that in recent years have helped sub-Saharan Africa at long last to begin to prosper.
Other “contrarian” ideas advocated by Bauer years ago have the potential to keep Africa blooming in the years ahead. His positive regard for population growth in Africa — viewed at the time as anathema by others in the development community — has turned out to be far-sighted, for sub-Saharan Africa’s coming “demographic dividend” constitutes one of its strongest economic assets going forward. And Bauer’s belief in the power of entrepreneurship, the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises, and, even more presciently, the creative possibilities of the informal sectors of African economies — considerations that are only now coming to be fully appreciated — zeroed in on matters that have proven integral to the economic dynamism experienced south of the Sahara.
None of this is to suggest that Africa is home free, or that a year hence we won’t still be talking mainly about deadly viruses, terrorism, and kidnapped teenage girls. But with regard to the economic future of sub-Saharan Africa: If the optimistic view proves correct, it will likely be due in large part to the continued implementation of once discredited ideas associated with a long defunct libertarian economist named Peter Thomas Bauer — Lord Peter Thomas Bauer, I should say — for he was awarded a life peerage under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982.
Peter A. Coclanis teaches history and directs the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
FURTHER READING: Coclanis also writes, "Are There Hidden Virtues to Bowling Alone?" Jennifer Brea contributes “Africans to Bono: 'For God's sake please stop!'” Nicholas Eberstadt and Laura M. Kelley note “An Unintended Catastrophe,” and Timothy P. Carney asks “Who's really stalling the reform for African food aid?”
Image by Diana Ingram / Bergman Group
http://www.american.com/archive/2014/september/good-news-from-africa
How the aid and development industry helped cause Africa’s Ebola outbreak
BY GABE SPITZER ON 19 SEPTEMBER 2014 1
Medical anthropologist James Pfeiffer discussing health concerns with members of the community in Gondola District, central Mozambique.
Yeah, that’s a provocative headline. No, we’re not talking about some movie thriller like Constant Gardner, in which an evil drug company does some deadly experimentation on hapless Africans.
We’re talking about reality with a medical anthropologist, James Pfeiffer, about one of the root causes of the massive outbreak of Ebola now ravaging West Africa. It is the aid and development community – the same folks now responding to the rescue.
As the cartoon character Pogo put it: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
According to Pfeiffer, who is a professor of global health and anthropology at the University of Washington, the popular narrative of the Ebola outbreak often points to weak governance, poverty and poor health systems as one of the primary reasons why this infectious disease has exploded in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. That’s absolutely true, he says.
But what is usually not mentioned in the narrative, Pfeiffer adds, is how Western agencies devoted to reducing global poverty like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank imposed policies on these countries (sometimes referred to as structural adjustment) that for decades has discouraged many African nations from investing in public infrastructure – such as basic health care systems.
What is also neglected is that the Western humanitarian community, the NGOs (non-governmental organizations), that are now trying to help – in many cases, courageously – fight this devastation also helped contribute to the weakening of in-country health care services. How? You’ll need to give a listen to Pfeiffer to find out.
And as usual for our weekly podcast, Tom Paulson and I talk about some of the news highlights this week, including the Obama Administration’s massive and very welcome quasi-military response to the Ebola outbreak, the broader Humanospheric implications of independence movements in places like Scotland, in the U.S. (including here, as theCascadia movement) and how these movements may help empower people in poor countries.
We also talk about Tom Murphy’s report on why buying TOMS shoes may hurt the poor and a new study by Seattle scientists who say the world population is not stabilizing and may reach 11 billion by the end of the millennium.
http://www.humanosphere.org/podcast...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
BY GABE SPITZER ON 19 SEPTEMBER 2014 1
Medical anthropologist James Pfeiffer discussing health concerns with members of the community in Gondola District, central Mozambique.
Yeah, that’s a provocative headline. No, we’re not talking about some movie thriller like Constant Gardner, in which an evil drug company does some deadly experimentation on hapless Africans.
We’re talking about reality with a medical anthropologist, James Pfeiffer, about one of the root causes of the massive outbreak of Ebola now ravaging West Africa. It is the aid and development community – the same folks now responding to the rescue.
As the cartoon character Pogo put it: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
According to Pfeiffer, who is a professor of global health and anthropology at the University of Washington, the popular narrative of the Ebola outbreak often points to weak governance, poverty and poor health systems as one of the primary reasons why this infectious disease has exploded in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. That’s absolutely true, he says.
But what is usually not mentioned in the narrative, Pfeiffer adds, is how Western agencies devoted to reducing global poverty like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank imposed policies on these countries (sometimes referred to as structural adjustment) that for decades has discouraged many African nations from investing in public infrastructure – such as basic health care systems.
What is also neglected is that the Western humanitarian community, the NGOs (non-governmental organizations), that are now trying to help – in many cases, courageously – fight this devastation also helped contribute to the weakening of in-country health care services. How? You’ll need to give a listen to Pfeiffer to find out.
And as usual for our weekly podcast, Tom Paulson and I talk about some of the news highlights this week, including the Obama Administration’s massive and very welcome quasi-military response to the Ebola outbreak, the broader Humanospheric implications of independence movements in places like Scotland, in the U.S. (including here, as theCascadia movement) and how these movements may help empower people in poor countries.
We also talk about Tom Murphy’s report on why buying TOMS shoes may hurt the poor and a new study by Seattle scientists who say the world population is not stabilizing and may reach 11 billion by the end of the millennium.
http://www.humanosphere.org/podcast...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
In pictures: Ethiopia’s thriving art market
Business and art are becoming increasingly entwined in the Ethiopian capital, but journalist James Jeffrey asks if this has come at a cost to creativity and true artistic experimentation.
Until recently the buying and selling of modern and contemporary art in Ethiopia was all but non-existent. The entrance to Makush Art Gallery & Restaurant in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, attests to how things have changed thanks to a burgeoning new art scene. Makush has about 70 artists on its books and a collection of more than 650 paintings from which customers can choose.
"Progress is just a miracle," says Makush owner Tesfaye Hiwet, who began visiting his homeland after the 1991 revolution that brought down the Derg, Ethiopia's communist-inspired military dictatorship. Mr Tesfaye remembers the sorry state of Ethiopia's economy following 17 years of botched socialist economic policies: "After the Derg fell, there was not even toilet paper." While living in the US, he opened a restaurant and nightclub in Washington DC, decorated with Ethiopian art sourced during his visits to Addis Ababa. After noticing the lack of galleries, he moved back 12 years ago.
He opened Makush, starting with 15 artists. It combines an art gallery and an Italian-style restaurant and tourists and foreigners represent about 65% of customers, with wealthy Ethiopian exiles and local Ethiopians comprising the rest. It seems there is more money to be made in paintings than in pasta: the gallery's revenue exceeds 6m birr ($300,000, £183,000), more than double the restaurant's takings.
Baslael Negash, a student, admires paintings at Makush by his friend Dejene Deribe. Once artists start selling paintings around the $600 mark, they sometimes choose to leave and start their own galleries, says Makush art director Nathaniel Yohannes. This creates room for new artists at Makush, where they can have a chance to merge creative endeavours with the increasing flow of cash from the growing customer base for art in Addis Ababa.
Establishing a fair price for paintings is always treacherous territory in the art world, but it has particular relevance in an immature market. Paintings sold at Makush typically have a price cap, which Mr Tesfaye believes makes business sense by striking a balance between affordability and profitability. But this can be a source of frustration, especially for artists who have exhibited in Europe. "In Sweden I managed to sell a painting for 45,000 birr," says 35-year-old Zekiros Tekelehaimanot, who has sold paintings at Makush since 2004.
Not all of Addis Ababa's artists want to get involved with Makush as they argue its unabashed commercial focus means sacrificing artistic merit. "If you want to sell there the art has to be a particular type," says Leikun Nahusenay, a graduate of the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Ababa, who chooses to work from his own studio. "I never felt it was the right place for my art."
Artist Tamrat Gezahegn, a friend of Mr Leikun and another graduate of the Alle School, also has reservations about Makush. He notes how paintings there are limited to scenes - such as monks and churches, the Merkato market, women leant over coffee pots - favoured by tourists and foreigners. There is little room for paintings from a more alternative art scene producing artworks like his that deconstruct stereotypical images of "authentic" Ethiopia.
Mr Leikun took me to the recently opened Guramayle Art Center. Here he discussed a painting - priced at $1,350 - by another artist, Kibrom Gebremedhin, leaving me to ponder the incongruity between such fees and the $150 monthly wages of Ethiopian teachers. Whatever the discrepancies, the demand for art in Ethiopia, and willingness to pay for it are increasing.
At Gebre Kristos Desta Center, an Addis Ababa modern art museum, paintings are found that differ from the typical fare sought by tourists and foreigners. "Many artists are increasingly enticed to market-driven productions," says Elizabeth Giorgis, an art historian and director of the centre, who worries about runaway prices at art auctions. "Such fees lead the artist to produce what the buyer wants, which kills creativity and experimentation."
This painting depicting a famine scene is by Gebre Kristos Desta, one of Ethiopia's most respected modern artists. He died in 1981 and is credited with introducing modernism to Ethiopia. Although the recent emergence of a market for art in Ethiopia is generally viewed as encouraging, there are those who want to see further progress in the form of more curators, dealers and promoters amid increased artistic deliberation. "It is imperative to reveal its setbacks as these obstructions will eventually weaken the genuine growth of modern and contemporary art in our country," Ms Elizabeth says.
Business and art are becoming increasingly entwined in the Ethiopian capital, but journalist James Jeffrey asks if this has come at a cost to creativity and true artistic experimentation.
Until recently the buying and selling of modern and contemporary art in Ethiopia was all but non-existent. The entrance to Makush Art Gallery & Restaurant in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, attests to how things have changed thanks to a burgeoning new art scene. Makush has about 70 artists on its books and a collection of more than 650 paintings from which customers can choose.
"Progress is just a miracle," says Makush owner Tesfaye Hiwet, who began visiting his homeland after the 1991 revolution that brought down the Derg, Ethiopia's communist-inspired military dictatorship. Mr Tesfaye remembers the sorry state of Ethiopia's economy following 17 years of botched socialist economic policies: "After the Derg fell, there was not even toilet paper." While living in the US, he opened a restaurant and nightclub in Washington DC, decorated with Ethiopian art sourced during his visits to Addis Ababa. After noticing the lack of galleries, he moved back 12 years ago.
He opened Makush, starting with 15 artists. It combines an art gallery and an Italian-style restaurant and tourists and foreigners represent about 65% of customers, with wealthy Ethiopian exiles and local Ethiopians comprising the rest. It seems there is more money to be made in paintings than in pasta: the gallery's revenue exceeds 6m birr ($300,000, £183,000), more than double the restaurant's takings.
Baslael Negash, a student, admires paintings at Makush by his friend Dejene Deribe. Once artists start selling paintings around the $600 mark, they sometimes choose to leave and start their own galleries, says Makush art director Nathaniel Yohannes. This creates room for new artists at Makush, where they can have a chance to merge creative endeavours with the increasing flow of cash from the growing customer base for art in Addis Ababa.
Establishing a fair price for paintings is always treacherous territory in the art world, but it has particular relevance in an immature market. Paintings sold at Makush typically have a price cap, which Mr Tesfaye believes makes business sense by striking a balance between affordability and profitability. But this can be a source of frustration, especially for artists who have exhibited in Europe. "In Sweden I managed to sell a painting for 45,000 birr," says 35-year-old Zekiros Tekelehaimanot, who has sold paintings at Makush since 2004.
Not all of Addis Ababa's artists want to get involved with Makush as they argue its unabashed commercial focus means sacrificing artistic merit. "If you want to sell there the art has to be a particular type," says Leikun Nahusenay, a graduate of the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Ababa, who chooses to work from his own studio. "I never felt it was the right place for my art."
Artist Tamrat Gezahegn, a friend of Mr Leikun and another graduate of the Alle School, also has reservations about Makush. He notes how paintings there are limited to scenes - such as monks and churches, the Merkato market, women leant over coffee pots - favoured by tourists and foreigners. There is little room for paintings from a more alternative art scene producing artworks like his that deconstruct stereotypical images of "authentic" Ethiopia.
Mr Leikun took me to the recently opened Guramayle Art Center. Here he discussed a painting - priced at $1,350 - by another artist, Kibrom Gebremedhin, leaving me to ponder the incongruity between such fees and the $150 monthly wages of Ethiopian teachers. Whatever the discrepancies, the demand for art in Ethiopia, and willingness to pay for it are increasing.
At Gebre Kristos Desta Center, an Addis Ababa modern art museum, paintings are found that differ from the typical fare sought by tourists and foreigners. "Many artists are increasingly enticed to market-driven productions," says Elizabeth Giorgis, an art historian and director of the centre, who worries about runaway prices at art auctions. "Such fees lead the artist to produce what the buyer wants, which kills creativity and experimentation."
This painting depicting a famine scene is by Gebre Kristos Desta, one of Ethiopia's most respected modern artists. He died in 1981 and is credited with introducing modernism to Ethiopia. Although the recent emergence of a market for art in Ethiopia is generally viewed as encouraging, there are those who want to see further progress in the form of more curators, dealers and promoters amid increased artistic deliberation. "It is imperative to reveal its setbacks as these obstructions will eventually weaken the genuine growth of modern and contemporary art in our country," Ms Elizabeth says.
What that guy was saying about the nigerian government is so true. quick story, a family friend invented a weapon in Nigeria a few years ago. He endeavored to sell the weapon to the military, who rejected it. China, however, heard of the weapon and the guy was able to license it to them. Now the Chinese sell that weapon to the Nigerian military
What that guy was saying about the nigerian government is so true. quick story, a family friend invented a weapon in Nigeria a few years ago. He endeavored to sell the weapon to the military, who rejected it. China, however, heard of the weapon and the guy was able to license it to them. Now the Chinese sell that weapon to the Nigerian military
TMNT4000
Superstar
What that guy was saying about the nigerian government is so true. quick story, a family friend invented a weapon in Nigeria a few years ago. He endeavored to sell the weapon to the military, who rejected it. China, however, heard of the weapon and the guy was able to license it to them. Now the Chinese sell that weapon to the Nigerian military
Damn, how often does this happen?
So what happen to the guy, how's he eaten right now from selling the weapons to China?
TMNT4000
Superstar
Nigeria records 85 per cent employment in 6 months – NBS
Published on September 23, 2014 by pmnews · 5 Comments
Dr Yemi Kale, Statistician-General and CEO National Bureau of Statistics
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded 85 per cent employment in the first half of 2014.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr Yemi Kale, in Abuja on Tuesday.
“In both the first and second quarter of 2014, over 85 per cent of employment was made up of the three cadres of managerial, professional, technical, clerical and related office workers.
The statistician-general said the managerial, professional and technical cadre recorded 1,085,071 employees, representing 34.25 per cent of the total number in the first quarter.
He said the figure increased to 1,091,096 employees, representing 34.62 per cent of the total in second quarter.
Kale said that those employed as operatives were 943,652, representing 29.78 per cent of the total employed in first quarter and 930,507, representing 29.53 per cent in second quarter.
He added that operative and clerical and related office workers made up of 679,173, representing 21.43 per cent in first quarter, a slightly lesser than 672,714 or 21.35 per cent recorded in second quarter.
“By economic activity, education (private) was the greatest employer in the formal sector, with 1, 573,082 employees; it made up 49.64 per cent of the total employed in the first quarter.
“It increased marginally by 0.43 per cent or 6,771 employees in the second quarter to reach 1,579,854 or 50.13 per cent of the total.”
He said that the manufacturing sector recorded 503,023 or 15.87 per cent of total formal employment.
According to him, the sector declined by 2.64 per cent to employ 489,273 or 15.54 per cent of the total employed in the formal sector in second quarter.
“The main driver of the overall decline in formal employment in the second quarter came from the professional, scientific and technical services.
“In these sectors, the 107,986 workers or 3.41per cent of the total were employed in the first quarter.
“But they declined by 49.35 per cent to 54,697 or 1.74 per cent of the total employed in the second quarter.
“The greatest was Administrative and Support Services, which increased by 34.85 per cent from the 16,592 employees recorded in the first quarter to 73,145 in the second.”
http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2014/09/23/nigeria-records-85-per-cent-employment-in-6-months-nbs/
Published on September 23, 2014 by pmnews · 5 Comments
Dr Yemi Kale, Statistician-General and CEO National Bureau of Statistics
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria recorded 85 per cent employment in the first half of 2014.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr Yemi Kale, in Abuja on Tuesday.
“In both the first and second quarter of 2014, over 85 per cent of employment was made up of the three cadres of managerial, professional, technical, clerical and related office workers.
The statistician-general said the managerial, professional and technical cadre recorded 1,085,071 employees, representing 34.25 per cent of the total number in the first quarter.
He said the figure increased to 1,091,096 employees, representing 34.62 per cent of the total in second quarter.
Kale said that those employed as operatives were 943,652, representing 29.78 per cent of the total employed in first quarter and 930,507, representing 29.53 per cent in second quarter.
He added that operative and clerical and related office workers made up of 679,173, representing 21.43 per cent in first quarter, a slightly lesser than 672,714 or 21.35 per cent recorded in second quarter.
“By economic activity, education (private) was the greatest employer in the formal sector, with 1, 573,082 employees; it made up 49.64 per cent of the total employed in the first quarter.
“It increased marginally by 0.43 per cent or 6,771 employees in the second quarter to reach 1,579,854 or 50.13 per cent of the total.”
He said that the manufacturing sector recorded 503,023 or 15.87 per cent of total formal employment.
According to him, the sector declined by 2.64 per cent to employ 489,273 or 15.54 per cent of the total employed in the formal sector in second quarter.
“The main driver of the overall decline in formal employment in the second quarter came from the professional, scientific and technical services.
“In these sectors, the 107,986 workers or 3.41per cent of the total were employed in the first quarter.
“But they declined by 49.35 per cent to 54,697 or 1.74 per cent of the total employed in the second quarter.
“The greatest was Administrative and Support Services, which increased by 34.85 per cent from the 16,592 employees recorded in the first quarter to 73,145 in the second.”
http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2014/09/23/nigeria-records-85-per-cent-employment-in-6-months-nbs/
What that guy was saying about the nigerian government is so true. quick story, a family friend invented a weapon in Nigeria a few years ago. He endeavored to sell the weapon to the military, who rejected it. China, however, heard of the weapon and the guy was able to license it to them. Now the Chinese sell that weapon to the Nigerian military
:thahell:I just hope the guy is caking off that too.