Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About
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Eyeing the stars: Among the farmers' fields and oxen, sits Ethiopia's space programme
Going to space makes sense in regards to agriculture, weather forecasting, telecommunications and military affairs.
Eyeing the stars: Among the farmers' fields and oxen, sits Ethiopia's space programme
25 AUG 2015 11:55AFP
Reflective one-meter telescopes are pictured at the grounds of The Entoto Observatory and Research Centre, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. (Photo/AFP).
HIGH above the crowded streets of Addis Ababa, among fields where farmers lead oxen dragging wooden ploughs, sits Ethiopia’s space programme.
Perched on the top of the 3,200-metre (10,500-foot) high Mount Entoto, two metal domes house telescopes, each a metre in diameter.
Operational for only a few months, the specialised equipment—the first in eastern Africa—has propelled Ethiopia into an elite club of African countries to have embarked on a space programme.
For Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, the programme is aimed to give it a technological boost to aid the country’s already rapid development.
“Science is part of any development cycle—without science and technology nothing can be achieved,” said Abinet Ezra, communications director for the Ethiopian Space Science Society (ESSS).
“Our main priority is to inspire the young generation to be involved in science and technology.”
ESSS, funded by Ethiopian-Saudi business tyc00n Mohammed Alamoudi, was set up in 2004 to promote astronomy.
“People said we were crazy”
It has a bold mission: “To build a society with a highly developed scientific culture that enables Ethiopia to reap the benefits accruing from space science and technology.”
But its supporters have had a tough ride to set it up.
For the past decade, a handful of enthusiasts—including Solomon Belay, director of the observatory and a professor of astrophysics—battled with the authorities to convince them that in a country that is still one of the poorest in the world, where malnutrition is still a threat, the exploration of space is not a luxury.
Ethiopia strongman Meles Zenawi, who died in 2012, considered them to be dreamers.
“People said we were crazy,” said Belay. “The attention of the government was to secure food security, not to start a space and technology programme. Our idea was contrary to that.”
The space observatory is, above all, a symbol.
The $3 million centre houses computer-controlled telescopes and a spectrograph, to measure wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.
It allows the handful of astronomy and astrophysics students at the University of Addis Ababa to train on site, rather than taking expensive trips abroad.
“Being poor is not a boundary to start this programme,” Solomon said, adding that by boosting support for science, it would help develop the country.
“Engineering and sciences are important to transform our (traditional) agriculture into industry.”
Rocket launch
The site here at Entoto, often hidden by clouds during the rainy season and close to the lights of Addis Ababa, struggles to compete with the world’s major observatories, including the far larger Southern African Large Telescope in South Africa.
But Ethiopia has plans, including to build a far more powerful observatory in the northern mountains around Lalibela, far from city lights.
With the authorities now won over that Ethiopia should invest in space science, the government hopes to launch a national space agency—and to put an Ethiopian satellite in orbit within five years, for the monitoring of farmland and to boost communications.
“We are using space applications in every day activities, for mobile phones, weather—space applications are fundamental,” said Kelali Adhana, the International Astronomical Union chief for East Africa, based in Ethiopia. “We cannot postpone it, otherwise we allow ourselves to live in poverty.”
At Ethiopia’s Institute of Technology in the northern town of Mekelle, scientists plan to test the first Ethiopian rocket to go more than 30 kilometres into sky, although that it still far from the 100 kilometre frontier, beyond which the Earth’s atmosphere gives way to space proper.
Ethiopian astronauts however, remain far off—even if in a country that lays claim to be the birthplace of humankind, with the remains of the ancient hominid Lucy in Addis Ababa, the prospect of conquering space is an attractive one.
“We are in no hurry to go to deep space,” said Belay.
Going to space makes sense in regards to agriculture, weather forecasting, telecommunications and military affairs.
newworldafro
DeeperThanRapBiggerThanHH
next 10 years I'm investing HEAVY in african agriculture markets, construction, tech and energy. gonna eat real good
As in their stock markets?
Not in Africa, but worth noting in drought prone areas................vertical farming. If they can do this in a town in Wyoming, then
The Case for Vertical Farming in Small-Town Wyoming
Black people who are afraid of white people are the enemy, says South African radical leader Malema
27 AUG 2015 13:45 BONGANI NKOSI
Malema: Said liberation heroes like Mandela had been honoured enough, and that people won't eat the memory of Robben Island or the tales of exile and struggle. (Photo/AFP).
A BLACK South African afraid to challenge white supremacy is an enemy to disempowered black people, firebrand opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema told students at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Soshanguve campus.
In a speech largely seeking to rally students against voting for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its campus affiliate, the South African Student Congress (Sasco), Malema’s cue to the point about white domination was a brief but violent clash between EFF and Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (Pasma) members. Police fired three stun grenades to separate the rivals.
“I saw EFF people fighting with Pasma people. It can’t be. The EFF and Pasma should hold hands and fight a common enemy. That common enemy is the defender of white capital,” said Malema to about two thousand students, majority of whom donned EFF T-shirts.
“People who are afraid of whites are our enemies. If you’re black and scared of white people, you’re an enemy. We want blacks that are not scared of white people. We want blacks that are going to put white people at their right place.
Zimbabwe parallels
“They must know that South Africa is our land and that South Africa belongs to all who live in it black and white, but whites must be prepared to abandon arrogance and white supremacy. We need South Africa to serve all and not a few. We have been patient for far too long.”
Malema told students it was nothing but propaganda that South Africa would be like neighbouring Zimbabwe if blacks repossessed land.
“They say to you you’re going to be like Zimbabwe if you take your land. You’re worse than Zimbabwe because you stay in shacks on a land that you do not even own.
“You’re poor without anything. Zimbabweans are poor but they’ve got land. They’ve got property. You’re poor [and] don’t have any property, but you think you’re better than Zimbabwe. Why? You listen to propaganda. They always want to make you feel good.
“When you complete varsity you’ll stay in Midrand, where you’re going to rent a flat. That’s what you’re graduating into. You graduate into debt. You graduate into being a slave of banks.
“Qualified civil engineers from here…can’t afford even the smallest car because we must graduate into slavery and continue being controlled by white people. It starts here. Let’s liberate the whole of South Africa.”
Malema was addressing students ahead of student representative council (SRC) elections today across TUT campuses.
“Please let’s use our brains” when voting, Malema urged students. “We must stop using emotions, saying ‘these [the ANC] are Mandela’s people, they fought for us’.
“You won’t eat history”
“We have honoured them it’s enough. We’ve looked after them, now it’s our turn to look after ourselves. You won’t eat history. You keep saying ‘they went to exile, will you eat exile? You keep saying ‘they fought and went to Robben Island’, are you going to eat Robben Island?
“’I’m doing it for Mandela’, Mandela is no more. If you’re doing it [voting ANC] you’re doing it for [Jacob] Zuma. You’re not doing it for Mandela.”
Malema also took a swipe at Sasco members for rallying behind ANC: “You’re wearing a yellow T-Shirt running all over [telling people to] vote [ANC], but your mother stays in a shack that’s leaking. Zuma’s wife has a spaza shop of R500,000.
“You’re running all over the place with a yellow T-Shirt saying ‘vote, vote’, but where you come from there’s no water, no electricity. Zuma’s cows stay in a kraal of R1million.
“This is not a fabrication, you can read [so] go and find those facts for yourself. When you vote ask yourself: is my vote going to serve better the cattle or the people. If you love cows vote for them.”
Nkandla and Marikana
The ANC has disputed that almost R250-million was spent at Zuma’s rural Nkandla homestead. The party has rejected the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on the figure as misleading.
Students should also spare a thought about the 2012 Marikana massacre when casting their vote, said Malema. “The government use violence when it deals with black people. When you vote think of those people who died in Marikana. They were shot.
“Even when those people were not fighting [but] running away, police chased them and shot them from behind,” Malema said to murmurs of “iyoh” from the throngs.
He told them of Mgcineni “Mambush” Noki, who came to be known as the man in a green blanket. “They shot him on the head with seven bullets, a defenseless man. A black man who was saying I’m asking for more money so that I can send my child to TUT.
“Zuma was the president when our people got killed in Marikana. They’ve got blood of innocent people. [Deputy President Cyril] Ramaphosa has got blood of innocent people. So when you vote think of those things,” Malema told students.
The Farlam Commission of Inquiry absolved political leaders of any wrongdoing in the Marikana massacre. It recommended an inquiry into fitness of National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega to hold office, which Zuma has announced he will constitute.
Concluded Malema: “Let us be confident that tomorrow will be better than today. But it starts with you. Stop listening to propaganda, [the so-called] good story to tell. There’s nothing good to tell about this story. I’ve said to you when we say we’re slaves they say ‘no slaves don’t vote’. They want to make you feel good, you’re a better slave.”
First published in mg.co.za.
Bongani is an education reporter at the Mail & Guardian.
27 AUG 2015 13:45 BONGANI NKOSI
Malema: Said liberation heroes like Mandela had been honoured enough, and that people won't eat the memory of Robben Island or the tales of exile and struggle. (Photo/AFP).
A BLACK South African afraid to challenge white supremacy is an enemy to disempowered black people, firebrand opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema told students at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Soshanguve campus.
In a speech largely seeking to rally students against voting for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its campus affiliate, the South African Student Congress (Sasco), Malema’s cue to the point about white domination was a brief but violent clash between EFF and Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (Pasma) members. Police fired three stun grenades to separate the rivals.
“I saw EFF people fighting with Pasma people. It can’t be. The EFF and Pasma should hold hands and fight a common enemy. That common enemy is the defender of white capital,” said Malema to about two thousand students, majority of whom donned EFF T-shirts.
“People who are afraid of whites are our enemies. If you’re black and scared of white people, you’re an enemy. We want blacks that are not scared of white people. We want blacks that are going to put white people at their right place.
Zimbabwe parallels
“They must know that South Africa is our land and that South Africa belongs to all who live in it black and white, but whites must be prepared to abandon arrogance and white supremacy. We need South Africa to serve all and not a few. We have been patient for far too long.”
Malema told students it was nothing but propaganda that South Africa would be like neighbouring Zimbabwe if blacks repossessed land.
“They say to you you’re going to be like Zimbabwe if you take your land. You’re worse than Zimbabwe because you stay in shacks on a land that you do not even own.
“You’re poor without anything. Zimbabweans are poor but they’ve got land. They’ve got property. You’re poor [and] don’t have any property, but you think you’re better than Zimbabwe. Why? You listen to propaganda. They always want to make you feel good.
“When you complete varsity you’ll stay in Midrand, where you’re going to rent a flat. That’s what you’re graduating into. You graduate into debt. You graduate into being a slave of banks.
“Qualified civil engineers from here…can’t afford even the smallest car because we must graduate into slavery and continue being controlled by white people. It starts here. Let’s liberate the whole of South Africa.”
Malema was addressing students ahead of student representative council (SRC) elections today across TUT campuses.
“Please let’s use our brains” when voting, Malema urged students. “We must stop using emotions, saying ‘these [the ANC] are Mandela’s people, they fought for us’.
“You won’t eat history”
“We have honoured them it’s enough. We’ve looked after them, now it’s our turn to look after ourselves. You won’t eat history. You keep saying ‘they went to exile, will you eat exile? You keep saying ‘they fought and went to Robben Island’, are you going to eat Robben Island?
“’I’m doing it for Mandela’, Mandela is no more. If you’re doing it [voting ANC] you’re doing it for [Jacob] Zuma. You’re not doing it for Mandela.”
Malema also took a swipe at Sasco members for rallying behind ANC: “You’re wearing a yellow T-Shirt running all over [telling people to] vote [ANC], but your mother stays in a shack that’s leaking. Zuma’s wife has a spaza shop of R500,000.
“You’re running all over the place with a yellow T-Shirt saying ‘vote, vote’, but where you come from there’s no water, no electricity. Zuma’s cows stay in a kraal of R1million.
“This is not a fabrication, you can read [so] go and find those facts for yourself. When you vote ask yourself: is my vote going to serve better the cattle or the people. If you love cows vote for them.”
Nkandla and Marikana
The ANC has disputed that almost R250-million was spent at Zuma’s rural Nkandla homestead. The party has rejected the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on the figure as misleading.
Students should also spare a thought about the 2012 Marikana massacre when casting their vote, said Malema. “The government use violence when it deals with black people. When you vote think of those people who died in Marikana. They were shot.
“Even when those people were not fighting [but] running away, police chased them and shot them from behind,” Malema said to murmurs of “iyoh” from the throngs.
He told them of Mgcineni “Mambush” Noki, who came to be known as the man in a green blanket. “They shot him on the head with seven bullets, a defenseless man. A black man who was saying I’m asking for more money so that I can send my child to TUT.
“Zuma was the president when our people got killed in Marikana. They’ve got blood of innocent people. [Deputy President Cyril] Ramaphosa has got blood of innocent people. So when you vote think of those things,” Malema told students.
The Farlam Commission of Inquiry absolved political leaders of any wrongdoing in the Marikana massacre. It recommended an inquiry into fitness of National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega to hold office, which Zuma has announced he will constitute.
Concluded Malema: “Let us be confident that tomorrow will be better than today. But it starts with you. Stop listening to propaganda, [the so-called] good story to tell. There’s nothing good to tell about this story. I’ve said to you when we say we’re slaves they say ‘no slaves don’t vote’. They want to make you feel good, you’re a better slave.”
First published in mg.co.za.
Bongani is an education reporter at the Mail & Guardian.
- Twitter: @BonganiNkosi87
Angola’s Oil-Soaked Kleptocracy Is an Empire Built on Inequality
August 26, 2015 By Josh Feng
Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos and the richest woman in Africa, owes her wealth to the oil industry. Delfina Fernandes, a woman living in abject poverty in the village of Kibanga, uses gasoline as an anesthetic to dull the sheering pain of her rotting teeth.
The startling contrast between the two women’s lives and their connection to Angola’s oil is highlighted in recent reporting by Nicholas Kristof. Kristof joins Michael Specter of The New Yorker in a surge of coverage on extreme inequality in this South African country.
Oil accounts for more than 95 percent of exports
In a three-part seriesfor The New York Times, Kristof juxtaposes visceral imagery of rural poverty with lavish hedonism in the country’s capital. For example, while GDP has increased 465 percent over the past decade, Angola’s child mortality rate remains one of the highest in the world. Luanda is the most expensive city in the world for expats to live according to an annual survey by the global consulting firm, Mercer, beating out the likes of Hong Kong and London. Specter investigates different expat experiences in the capitol city, ranging from the lavish lifestyle of Texas oilman Steve Eispinosa, to Tako Koning, a Canadian petroleum geologist who volunteers in Angolan schools and engineering societies.
Reporting by The New York Times, New Yorker, and others gives readers a glimpse at the modern challenges facing the country that helped coin the term “resource curse”
A Fragile State of Growth
Specter describes Luanda as a city in the midst of rapid transformation. Over the past decade, a sandy split off the city’s coast called Ilha de Luanda, formerly frequented only by fishermen, was converted into a luxury-hotel-lined boulevard. Luanda’s skyline is dotted with towering construction cranes and skyscrapers, symbols of breakneck post-war development fueled by booming oil extraction.
According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 45 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and more than 95 percent of exports. With so much wealth concentrated in one sector, an oil oligarchy absorbs much of the country’s growth and increases its vulnerability to global oil price shocks.
Rent in Luanda’s city center can easily exceed $10,000 a month and a bottle of Coke can cost $10, but most Angolans live on less than $2 a day. The country ranks a dismal 149thout of 187 in the Human Development Index.
Rent in Luanda can exceed $10,000 a month, but most Angolans live on less than $2 a day
In tandem with dropping oil prices, GDP growth ratesstagnated in 2009, hitting the poorest hardest. “A man working as a poorly paid security guard will have to spend $12 a day to get to his job, but he will only earn $200 to $300 a month. He is paying to go to work,” Rafael Marques de Morais, an Angolan journalist and human rights activist, tells the Daily Mail.
The striking inequality might be explained as a classic example of the resource curse – how valuable natural resources sometimes lead to more instability and poverty rather than development. Though a growing body of research suggests that the effect may not be as strong as previously believed, single commodity-powered economies do lie on shaky ground. Gustavo Costa, the Luanda correspondent for the Portuguese newspaperExpresso, told Specter in an interview, “The government has built a certain kind of society – for themselves. You can call it prosperity if you want, but it is incredibly fragile. It all could end tomorrow.”
Ensnared in a Web of Corruption
The origins of Angola’s current situation stretch back to historical conflicts. In 1975, Angola gained independence from Portugal after more than 300 years of occupation, only to launch immediately into a bloody 27-year-long civil war. Angola’s abundant natural resources fueled warring factions backed by foreign powers eager to battle out Cold War ideologies on a sub-Saharan battlefield. By using oil to fund counter-insurgency programs during the Civil War, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola learned how to exploit this resource for political leverage.
Today, the party still maintains a strategic chokehold over the country by capitalizing on the oil sector, while foreign investors pull the strings on the oil industry, perpetuating injustices that are less visible than wartime violence but still costing lives.
About 70 percent of the world’s resource-rich states are autocracies, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The steady flow of natural resource revenues maintains the patronage and security structures autocratic governments need to maintain power. Angola is a prime example, placing a dismal 161st out of 174 countries assessed by a corruption index released by Transparency International, declining from its 158th ranking in 2008 and 142nd ranking in 2006.
In fact, lack of transparency in Angola’s oil industry sparked the formation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a major multilateral organization promoting open and accountable management of natural resource monies around the world. There are currently 48 implementing countries signed on to EITI and 31 countries compliant with EITI requirements – but not Angola.
“There were no doctors or nurses…we had to use medicine made from roots”
Corruption prevents much foreign aid from reaching its intended recipients. In a short film that accompanies his reporting in the Times, Kristof explains that although the government supposedly offers free family planning services and clinics are packed with women requesting contraception, hospitals are not receiving the medicines they ordered. Kristof reports that some drugs intended as donations to those in need, like anti-malarial tablets, are being sold for profit on the black market instead. A nurse Kristof interviewed blames the shortage on falling oil prices, though the effect of such shortfalls is not evident in the capitol.
For other women, the health system is nonexistent. Delfina Fernandes has never heard of family planning and the only clinic in her region has been shut down for at least a year. “There were no doctors or nurses,” she says, “so we had to use medicine made from roots. That’s all we could do, and it didn’t work.” Fernandes has lost 10 of her 15 children.
Kristoff calls for foreign donors to be more vigilant and attentive to where their money is flowing. He criticizes not only “the West,” but also the recent influx of Chinese investors for perpetuating corrupt institutions rather than dismantling them. He recalls the power of Richard Holbrooke, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at the time, in freeing the anti-corruption journalist Rafael Marques de Morais from prison in the 1990s, and scrutinizes U.S. complacency in the current situation as the country continues to ally itself with Angola and effectively turn a blind eye to inequality.
But he also points out that responsibility goes both ways: “I’ve often criticized Western countries for not being more generous with aid. Yet it’s equally important to hold developing countries accountable.”
A New Generation, A New Hope?
Kristof and Specter’s stories have garnered more visibility for an issue often written about, but nevertheless largely ignored.
While some have heralded Kristof’s reporting as “stunning,” others are more critical. Marissa Moorman, an Africa historian, wrote a scathing review criticizing the lack of Angolan voices in his coverage. In particular, she points out that there has been a youth movement protesting President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ 32-year rule since 2011.
Specter does include the voices of some young Angolans in the country’s capital, albeit those afforded a certain level of wealth and privilege. The three young people he interviews acknowledge multiple times that their education and relative prosperity are far from typical. Antonio was educated at several of Luanda’s best international schools and is now employed by a major oil company. His friend Pedro also graduated from premier schools, while another friend, Marisa, attended college and business school in Europe. “The three, all in their thirties, agreed that although they might prefer to live abroad, there has never been a better time to be a well-educated Angolan,” writes Specter.
Yet, the young professionals are critical of a government that clamps down on opposition despite constitutional protections of freedom of speech and assembly. “He kind of owns the country,” says Pedro on President dos Santos. “People almost can’t look him in the eyes – he’s that powerful.”
Even with the threat of state repression, many young people are at the forefront of change. A short 2012 Al Jazeera documentary highlighted the role of the underground rap scene in fueling youth resistance. Luaty Beirão, an Angolan rapper also known as Ikonoklasta, was arrested at a demonstration in 2011.
“Mr. Danilo, if you are here,” he rapped, referring to one of the president’s sons, “go tell your daddy, tell him please, we do not want him here anymore. Thirty-two [years] is too much!”
Angola’s Oil-Soaked Kleptocracy Is an Empire Built on Inequality | New Security Beat
August 26, 2015 By Josh Feng
Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos and the richest woman in Africa, owes her wealth to the oil industry. Delfina Fernandes, a woman living in abject poverty in the village of Kibanga, uses gasoline as an anesthetic to dull the sheering pain of her rotting teeth.
The startling contrast between the two women’s lives and their connection to Angola’s oil is highlighted in recent reporting by Nicholas Kristof. Kristof joins Michael Specter of The New Yorker in a surge of coverage on extreme inequality in this South African country.
Oil accounts for more than 95 percent of exports
In a three-part seriesfor The New York Times, Kristof juxtaposes visceral imagery of rural poverty with lavish hedonism in the country’s capital. For example, while GDP has increased 465 percent over the past decade, Angola’s child mortality rate remains one of the highest in the world. Luanda is the most expensive city in the world for expats to live according to an annual survey by the global consulting firm, Mercer, beating out the likes of Hong Kong and London. Specter investigates different expat experiences in the capitol city, ranging from the lavish lifestyle of Texas oilman Steve Eispinosa, to Tako Koning, a Canadian petroleum geologist who volunteers in Angolan schools and engineering societies.
Reporting by The New York Times, New Yorker, and others gives readers a glimpse at the modern challenges facing the country that helped coin the term “resource curse”
A Fragile State of Growth
Specter describes Luanda as a city in the midst of rapid transformation. Over the past decade, a sandy split off the city’s coast called Ilha de Luanda, formerly frequented only by fishermen, was converted into a luxury-hotel-lined boulevard. Luanda’s skyline is dotted with towering construction cranes and skyscrapers, symbols of breakneck post-war development fueled by booming oil extraction.
According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 45 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and more than 95 percent of exports. With so much wealth concentrated in one sector, an oil oligarchy absorbs much of the country’s growth and increases its vulnerability to global oil price shocks.
Rent in Luanda’s city center can easily exceed $10,000 a month and a bottle of Coke can cost $10, but most Angolans live on less than $2 a day. The country ranks a dismal 149thout of 187 in the Human Development Index.
Rent in Luanda can exceed $10,000 a month, but most Angolans live on less than $2 a day
In tandem with dropping oil prices, GDP growth ratesstagnated in 2009, hitting the poorest hardest. “A man working as a poorly paid security guard will have to spend $12 a day to get to his job, but he will only earn $200 to $300 a month. He is paying to go to work,” Rafael Marques de Morais, an Angolan journalist and human rights activist, tells the Daily Mail.
The striking inequality might be explained as a classic example of the resource curse – how valuable natural resources sometimes lead to more instability and poverty rather than development. Though a growing body of research suggests that the effect may not be as strong as previously believed, single commodity-powered economies do lie on shaky ground. Gustavo Costa, the Luanda correspondent for the Portuguese newspaperExpresso, told Specter in an interview, “The government has built a certain kind of society – for themselves. You can call it prosperity if you want, but it is incredibly fragile. It all could end tomorrow.”
Ensnared in a Web of Corruption
The origins of Angola’s current situation stretch back to historical conflicts. In 1975, Angola gained independence from Portugal after more than 300 years of occupation, only to launch immediately into a bloody 27-year-long civil war. Angola’s abundant natural resources fueled warring factions backed by foreign powers eager to battle out Cold War ideologies on a sub-Saharan battlefield. By using oil to fund counter-insurgency programs during the Civil War, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola learned how to exploit this resource for political leverage.
Today, the party still maintains a strategic chokehold over the country by capitalizing on the oil sector, while foreign investors pull the strings on the oil industry, perpetuating injustices that are less visible than wartime violence but still costing lives.
About 70 percent of the world’s resource-rich states are autocracies, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The steady flow of natural resource revenues maintains the patronage and security structures autocratic governments need to maintain power. Angola is a prime example, placing a dismal 161st out of 174 countries assessed by a corruption index released by Transparency International, declining from its 158th ranking in 2008 and 142nd ranking in 2006.
In fact, lack of transparency in Angola’s oil industry sparked the formation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a major multilateral organization promoting open and accountable management of natural resource monies around the world. There are currently 48 implementing countries signed on to EITI and 31 countries compliant with EITI requirements – but not Angola.
“There were no doctors or nurses…we had to use medicine made from roots”
Corruption prevents much foreign aid from reaching its intended recipients. In a short film that accompanies his reporting in the Times, Kristof explains that although the government supposedly offers free family planning services and clinics are packed with women requesting contraception, hospitals are not receiving the medicines they ordered. Kristof reports that some drugs intended as donations to those in need, like anti-malarial tablets, are being sold for profit on the black market instead. A nurse Kristof interviewed blames the shortage on falling oil prices, though the effect of such shortfalls is not evident in the capitol.
For other women, the health system is nonexistent. Delfina Fernandes has never heard of family planning and the only clinic in her region has been shut down for at least a year. “There were no doctors or nurses,” she says, “so we had to use medicine made from roots. That’s all we could do, and it didn’t work.” Fernandes has lost 10 of her 15 children.
Kristoff calls for foreign donors to be more vigilant and attentive to where their money is flowing. He criticizes not only “the West,” but also the recent influx of Chinese investors for perpetuating corrupt institutions rather than dismantling them. He recalls the power of Richard Holbrooke, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at the time, in freeing the anti-corruption journalist Rafael Marques de Morais from prison in the 1990s, and scrutinizes U.S. complacency in the current situation as the country continues to ally itself with Angola and effectively turn a blind eye to inequality.
But he also points out that responsibility goes both ways: “I’ve often criticized Western countries for not being more generous with aid. Yet it’s equally important to hold developing countries accountable.”
A New Generation, A New Hope?
Kristof and Specter’s stories have garnered more visibility for an issue often written about, but nevertheless largely ignored.
While some have heralded Kristof’s reporting as “stunning,” others are more critical. Marissa Moorman, an Africa historian, wrote a scathing review criticizing the lack of Angolan voices in his coverage. In particular, she points out that there has been a youth movement protesting President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ 32-year rule since 2011.
Specter does include the voices of some young Angolans in the country’s capital, albeit those afforded a certain level of wealth and privilege. The three young people he interviews acknowledge multiple times that their education and relative prosperity are far from typical. Antonio was educated at several of Luanda’s best international schools and is now employed by a major oil company. His friend Pedro also graduated from premier schools, while another friend, Marisa, attended college and business school in Europe. “The three, all in their thirties, agreed that although they might prefer to live abroad, there has never been a better time to be a well-educated Angolan,” writes Specter.
Yet, the young professionals are critical of a government that clamps down on opposition despite constitutional protections of freedom of speech and assembly. “He kind of owns the country,” says Pedro on President dos Santos. “People almost can’t look him in the eyes – he’s that powerful.”
Even with the threat of state repression, many young people are at the forefront of change. A short 2012 Al Jazeera documentary highlighted the role of the underground rap scene in fueling youth resistance. Luaty Beirão, an Angolan rapper also known as Ikonoklasta, was arrested at a demonstration in 2011.
“Mr. Danilo, if you are here,” he rapped, referring to one of the president’s sons, “go tell your daddy, tell him please, we do not want him here anymore. Thirty-two [years] is too much!”
Angola’s Oil-Soaked Kleptocracy Is an Empire Built on Inequality | New Security Beat
South Africa: Nzimande Wants Answers From Stellenbosch On 'Luister'
Luister is a documentary about the lives of students of colour who attend Stellenbosch University, a South African institution of higher learning. In ... ( Resource: Luister (Listen) - Documentary on Racism at South Africa's Stellenbosch University )
By Jenni Evans, News24
Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande wants answers from the University of Stellenbosch after watching the documentary #Luister (Listen), in which students tell of anti-black racism on and off campus.
"The Minister has closely studied the documentary and written a letter to the Chairperson of Council, Mr [George] Steyn, requesting the University Council to provide him with a report on how it intends to address the matter," Nzimande's office stated on Wednesday.
"These are clearly incidents reminiscent of the old apartheid South Africa and have no place in our democracy. Most disturbingly, these incidents of racism and discrimination are seemingly taking place unabated at one of the highly rated institutions of higher learning in our country."
He was shocked by the personal accounts of the black students, saying no South African should tolerate it, and urged the university to deal with it firmly.
Nzimande said the issue was not only about Afrikaans as a language of instruction, which some students said excluded them from some subjects, but also about racist attitudes among some white students and academics.
These issues were discussed in a meeting with representatives of councils and managers of some of the former Afrikaans universities on April 16, and although they said they would work on them, students' experiences showed otherwise.
He acknowledged efforts by Vice Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers to remove discrimination, which included the "Open Stellenbosch" transformation initiative, and a transformation office and committee.
In a statement responding to the documentary earlier this week, De Villiers said the university was working hard to address these issues, and had invited students to speak to him. He found some of the allegations - that the students weren't being heard - "disingenuous".
Many initiatives to bring about transformation were already under way. A plaque with apartheid head of state Hendrik Verwoerd was removed, a fund for the descendants of forced removals established, a peace march was held and a lecturer was fired for sending a racist SMS.
False impression
Top strategic appointments to "advance reconciliation" had been made and a Research Chair in Reconciliation and Transformation was being established.
It is also working to increase the number of black, coloured and Indian students from the current one third to 50% by 2018/2019. He said the negative attitudes were in no way reflective of the majority of students and staff.
He pointed out that it was inaccurate to state in the video that the university did not allow protests. He said protests must be within the rules of the university and not disrupt lectures.
De Villiers said a false impression had been created at the beginning of the video that the Elsenburg Agricultural College, where recent protests have broken out over language policy, was part of the university. The college fell under the Department of Agriculture in the Western Cape.
He said in terms of off-campus incidents, the institution was working with police on these, but encouraged students to report matters to the university and authorities.
Nzimande is holding a Higher Education Summit from October 15 to October 17, 2015, with the focus on transforming higher education.
In addition, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, [Yvonne Nkwenkwezi] Phosa has called for the university management to appear before the Committee on this matter, as part of its oversight function.
The university's head of marketing Susan van der Merwe said De Villiers welcomed the invitation from the portfolio committee and would also provide feedback to Nzimande on its transformation challenges, progress, current initiatives and future plans.
Source: News24
Luister is a documentary about the lives of students of colour who attend Stellenbosch University, a South African institution of higher learning. In ... ( Resource: Luister (Listen) - Documentary on Racism at South Africa's Stellenbosch University )
By Jenni Evans, News24
Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande wants answers from the University of Stellenbosch after watching the documentary #Luister (Listen), in which students tell of anti-black racism on and off campus.
"The Minister has closely studied the documentary and written a letter to the Chairperson of Council, Mr [George] Steyn, requesting the University Council to provide him with a report on how it intends to address the matter," Nzimande's office stated on Wednesday.
"These are clearly incidents reminiscent of the old apartheid South Africa and have no place in our democracy. Most disturbingly, these incidents of racism and discrimination are seemingly taking place unabated at one of the highly rated institutions of higher learning in our country."
He was shocked by the personal accounts of the black students, saying no South African should tolerate it, and urged the university to deal with it firmly.
Nzimande said the issue was not only about Afrikaans as a language of instruction, which some students said excluded them from some subjects, but also about racist attitudes among some white students and academics.
These issues were discussed in a meeting with representatives of councils and managers of some of the former Afrikaans universities on April 16, and although they said they would work on them, students' experiences showed otherwise.
He acknowledged efforts by Vice Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers to remove discrimination, which included the "Open Stellenbosch" transformation initiative, and a transformation office and committee.
In a statement responding to the documentary earlier this week, De Villiers said the university was working hard to address these issues, and had invited students to speak to him. He found some of the allegations - that the students weren't being heard - "disingenuous".
Many initiatives to bring about transformation were already under way. A plaque with apartheid head of state Hendrik Verwoerd was removed, a fund for the descendants of forced removals established, a peace march was held and a lecturer was fired for sending a racist SMS.
False impression
Top strategic appointments to "advance reconciliation" had been made and a Research Chair in Reconciliation and Transformation was being established.
It is also working to increase the number of black, coloured and Indian students from the current one third to 50% by 2018/2019. He said the negative attitudes were in no way reflective of the majority of students and staff.
He pointed out that it was inaccurate to state in the video that the university did not allow protests. He said protests must be within the rules of the university and not disrupt lectures.
De Villiers said a false impression had been created at the beginning of the video that the Elsenburg Agricultural College, where recent protests have broken out over language policy, was part of the university. The college fell under the Department of Agriculture in the Western Cape.
He said in terms of off-campus incidents, the institution was working with police on these, but encouraged students to report matters to the university and authorities.
Nzimande is holding a Higher Education Summit from October 15 to October 17, 2015, with the focus on transforming higher education.
In addition, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, [Yvonne Nkwenkwezi] Phosa has called for the university management to appear before the Committee on this matter, as part of its oversight function.
The university's head of marketing Susan van der Merwe said De Villiers welcomed the invitation from the portfolio committee and would also provide feedback to Nzimande on its transformation challenges, progress, current initiatives and future plans.
Source: News24
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Ethiopia's youth literacy rate doesn't bode well for their aspirations of development.
The D-List Vet
Being in a recommendation system.
I was born in Tanzania so i kinda hate you and the shytty Swahili Kenyans speak but I support this breh. I plan on moving back to my homeland of Tanzania is less than 4 years. The opportunity is staggering. Matter fact theres a thread here in HL where I told people to invest in Africa because im constantly shipping shyt over there and making bank. About to stack money and start going to China to buy gently used cars and flipping them. I know people making 10K a day at 21 just shipping things back to Africa.
Heres a free business idea for all of you. Construction equipment is a HUGE market in Africa right now because they're growing. If you take some heavy machinery over there you can get 1 to 2 thousand PER DAY renting them out. Lets say you have 10 Catepillar heavy machinery all rentted out for 1K a day, thats $3.65 million a year and you dont have to do shyt. Just make sure they pay and keep the equipment running good and you're gucci.
Also just jokes on the Kenyan thing. my girlfriend is kenyan and we are expecting a beautiful African daughter
drop the info so i can do this
The D-List Vet
Being in a recommendation system.
i have so much to learn and i am willing to learn can i join?
Rwanda And Ethiopia Inventing A New Africa
August 22, 2015 at 6:02 am
By Dan Ngabonziza
Rwanda and Ethiopia have suggested new development models they believe can help Africa break away from the prescribed Western models.
African leaders of the two countries and those from other states agreed that Africa should stop being bullied into “accepting policies that misrepresent us and do us harm in the end.”
Speaking at a high-level inaugural symposium organized by the ‘Meles Zenawi Foundation’ (MZF) in partnership with the African Development Bank, on August 21, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said that time has come for Africa to stop being “a place where experiments are being carried out.”
The discussion, under the theme “The African Democratic Developmental State”, was inspired by ideals from the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, who believed that Africans needed to shape their own destiny by “doing things their own way.”
He believed that: “In spite of the monstrous homogeneity in policy stance that we have allowed ourselves to be shackled with, there is some space for policy experimentation and diversity commensurate with our diverse circumstances.”
Current Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said that, “We must have a new beginning for Africa.”
The dialogue pondered on perceived contradictions between Zenawi’s philosophy of ‘developmental state’ and democracy.
“They are actually mutually reinforcing – sustainable socio-economic development gives rise to greater democracy and political rights can best be exercised and enjoyed in a climate of growing prosperity and improved quality of life,” Kagame said.
Kagame told over 200 participants attending the symposium at Serena Hotel in Kigali that, “Those who tell us the state is bad for us mean that they will fill the void and become the state and run the markets.”
Ghana’s Vice-President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur attended the event, which was moderated by Former US State Department Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer.
The outgoing African Development Bank President, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, said that “nobody should be dictating the continent…no one knows how development happens.”
Kaberuka said that from 1980 the World Bank forced Africa to take up dead paradigm of eliminating governments from development process, but its time “every country has to decide what works for it.”
For Africa to achieve its aspirations, Kagame said, it “must stop taking lessons from the outside.”
“The problem is people provide the definition thinking of their own interest, not where it will be exercised.”
Ideas from the symposium will be shared with the African Union for fellow African leaders to consider as they discuss development strategies for the continent.
Great friendship
From left, Ghana Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (2nd left), President Kagame (Center) and First Lady Jeannette Kagame. Far right is Azeb Mesfin Haile, former Ethiopian First Lady and founder of the Meles Zenawi Foundation.
Meanwhile, the inaugural ceremony of the MZF triggered emotions dating way back in the 90s.
President Kagame said Rwanda was honoured that the foundation chose to launch from Rwanda.
Late Zenawi was very supportive and remained a close friend to Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) during the struggle to liberate Rwanda and after.
Candidly, Kagame continued referring to Zenawi as a ‘Comrade’ who shared great ideas how to craft a new state from scratch while facing insurmountable challenges created by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
“Comrade Meles was a friend and an inspiration to us in Rwanda, during our struggle and after,” he said.
Rwanda and Ethiopia have since forged a close bilateral cooperation even after Zenawi’s death.
Recalling her late husband’s desired leadership vision and that of President Kagame, Mrs. Azeb Mesfin, said that she is grateful of the two statesmen’s “ability to think big, critically and compassionately.”
Rwanda And Ethiopia Inventing A New Africa - KT PRESS
August 22, 2015 at 6:02 am
By Dan Ngabonziza
Rwanda and Ethiopia have suggested new development models they believe can help Africa break away from the prescribed Western models.
African leaders of the two countries and those from other states agreed that Africa should stop being bullied into “accepting policies that misrepresent us and do us harm in the end.”
Speaking at a high-level inaugural symposium organized by the ‘Meles Zenawi Foundation’ (MZF) in partnership with the African Development Bank, on August 21, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said that time has come for Africa to stop being “a place where experiments are being carried out.”
The discussion, under the theme “The African Democratic Developmental State”, was inspired by ideals from the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, who believed that Africans needed to shape their own destiny by “doing things their own way.”
He believed that: “In spite of the monstrous homogeneity in policy stance that we have allowed ourselves to be shackled with, there is some space for policy experimentation and diversity commensurate with our diverse circumstances.”
Current Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said that, “We must have a new beginning for Africa.”
The dialogue pondered on perceived contradictions between Zenawi’s philosophy of ‘developmental state’ and democracy.
“They are actually mutually reinforcing – sustainable socio-economic development gives rise to greater democracy and political rights can best be exercised and enjoyed in a climate of growing prosperity and improved quality of life,” Kagame said.
Kagame told over 200 participants attending the symposium at Serena Hotel in Kigali that, “Those who tell us the state is bad for us mean that they will fill the void and become the state and run the markets.”
Ghana’s Vice-President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur attended the event, which was moderated by Former US State Department Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer.
The outgoing African Development Bank President, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, said that “nobody should be dictating the continent…no one knows how development happens.”
Kaberuka said that from 1980 the World Bank forced Africa to take up dead paradigm of eliminating governments from development process, but its time “every country has to decide what works for it.”
For Africa to achieve its aspirations, Kagame said, it “must stop taking lessons from the outside.”
“The problem is people provide the definition thinking of their own interest, not where it will be exercised.”
Ideas from the symposium will be shared with the African Union for fellow African leaders to consider as they discuss development strategies for the continent.
Great friendship
From left, Ghana Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (2nd left), President Kagame (Center) and First Lady Jeannette Kagame. Far right is Azeb Mesfin Haile, former Ethiopian First Lady and founder of the Meles Zenawi Foundation.
Meanwhile, the inaugural ceremony of the MZF triggered emotions dating way back in the 90s.
President Kagame said Rwanda was honoured that the foundation chose to launch from Rwanda.
Late Zenawi was very supportive and remained a close friend to Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) during the struggle to liberate Rwanda and after.
Candidly, Kagame continued referring to Zenawi as a ‘Comrade’ who shared great ideas how to craft a new state from scratch while facing insurmountable challenges created by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
“Comrade Meles was a friend and an inspiration to us in Rwanda, during our struggle and after,” he said.
Rwanda and Ethiopia have since forged a close bilateral cooperation even after Zenawi’s death.
Recalling her late husband’s desired leadership vision and that of President Kagame, Mrs. Azeb Mesfin, said that she is grateful of the two statesmen’s “ability to think big, critically and compassionately.”
Rwanda And Ethiopia Inventing A New Africa - KT PRESS
Yeah, I don't buy the Ethiopia and Rwanda narrative.....both led by dictators who use military force in regards to tribalism and are partner states with the US.
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Don't buy Ethiopia rising. I mean sure, they're having accelerated economic growth but their growth rates largely speak to how poor Rwanda and Ethiopia were before the 2010's. Also a huge portion of the budget's of these governments are provided by aid. Finally, I question how much growth is driven by the private sector, especially in Ethiopia.