African leaders gathered in Ethiopia recently to mark 50 years of their cooperation under the “African Union” (AU), successor of the OAU (Organization of African Unity), with a renewed commitment to create a middle-income continent free from poverty and disease. 

When the OAU was founded in 1963, ten years after the start of the European Union, it was primarily a vanguard and vehicle to pursue the independence of the African states from their colonizers.  That decade saw several of them sever their ties to European lords and begin self-rule.  The OAU in addition saddled itself with working for better governance in those recently independent nations; help ensure security and economic development.  Fifty years on, after many fratricidal civil wars, millions dead from hunger and disease it would seem that while the OAU may have been successful in securing independence for its… click here to read whole article and make comments

An innovative approach to primary education in Kenya, against all expectations allows poor Africans to send their children to private schools, an option hitherto available only to the wealthy.

Dennis Abudho and his family of five children live in a one-bedroom house without electricity in Bandani, an informal settlement in Kisumu, Kenya. Abudho is active in the PTA at Bridge International Academy in Bandani, where his four oldest children (three boys and a girl) are in baby level, first, third and fifth grade. You might not expect someone like Abudho — who said he is a casual labourer, operating a bread machine at a local mill and bakery — to have four children in private school. 

Precisely by building the story along a concrete family in a specific country, Tina Rosenberg jumped the label of those who speak from a… click here to read whole article and make comments

“Kenya can become the leading economy in the East African Community if the country’s government promotes a clear policy of eliminating bureaucratic barriers in the growth of companies and in exportation.” Thus affirms Pedro Mendi, an economist from the Centre for Development of the University of Navarre who has pioneered the first poll of innovation in Kenya.

The poll consists of a study, the first of its kind, on the knowledge of innovative activities in Kenya. It was carried out on over three hundred companies from all sectors, in collaboration with Strathmore Business School and financed by the World Bank.

Although the results indicate that the percentage of companies that innovate are very similar to those in Europe, “they lack policies that favour the introduction of new products and new processes that could make Kenyan companies more… click here to read whole article and make comments

Poverty is no news to Africa: actually the poverty porn dominates media frames about the continent. What is new however, is the rising tide of innovation and creativity. From Cairo to Cape Town, Lagos to Lusaka, some are silently working for change, carving a niche and retelling a sordid narrative punctuated by wars, poverty and famine. Just as African mobile networks are transforming the way commerce operates, architects are also giving rein to their imagination. It was therefore heart-warming having a chat with Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu, a Lagos-based Nigerian writer, about his recent visit to Makoko and his impressions about the Makoko's new floating school.

Makoko, a slum in Lagos State, Nigeria, was partially demolished last year by the government - drawing public ire. However, from this apparently hapless city, springs forth an innovative green architectural solution that grants hope to the… click here to read whole article and make comments

On May 30, Nigeria's House of Representatives ratified a bill that seeks to criminalize same-sex unions and any public displays of it.  Offenders, including those who witness or lend support by attending such gatherings are liable to go to jail for up to 14 years.  In passing this bill, the lower house has now completed the full cycle of a similar bill also passed by the Senate (the upper house) in November 2011.  It has now been passed to President Goodluck Jonathan to sign it into law.

Nigerians are overwhelmingly in support of this proposed law, and many are breathing a sigh of relief.  In different fora, the Senate president David Mark revealed that there have been overt and subtle pressures from other countries, especially the U.S and Britain for Nigeria not to pass the bill.  And… click here to read whole article and make comments

The African woman is neither a mirror image of man nor a slave. She feels no need to imitate men to express her personality. Her work, her own genius, her preoccupations, her way of speaking, and her manners mask an original civilization. She has not allowed herself to be colonized by either men or male culture

Albertine Tshibilondi Ngoyi

 

When Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as Kenya’s fourth head of state on Tuesday 9^th April 2013, he made a number of eye-brow-raising pledges in his inaugural speech, two of which caught my attention. The first was the laptop policy for all Standard One students and the second was the commitment to abolish maternity fees within his first 100 days in office.  The laptop policy is controversial enough as it is and we are all waiting to see how… click here to read whole article and make comments

There is something beautiful when Africans tell their own story.  When the story tellers are children, it has a charm all of its own.  This is the ambitious and heartwarming Our Africa project put together by Soschildren.

They gave filming classes to children in different African countries, gave them cameras and editing equipment and told them to tell their stories.  From Ghana, to Congo, to Ethiopia, to Sudan, these children take you on a personal trip that as foreign tourists you would miss even if you spend months in those African countries.

From the map of Africa on the home page, chose a country, delve in, watch videos arranged in themes (people, food, culture, nature), learn more, come back another day.  There is enough to keep you coming… click here to read whole article and make comments

Zimbabwe’s president Mugabe has alerted African security forces of an imminent threat by foreigners and former colonizers to invade Africa to plunder its natural resources and wealth, especially in the light of current world-wide recession.  He sounded the alarm early this week at the opening of a conference of Africa’s secret service agencies taking place in his country under the aegis of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services.   The theme of the conference is “The Role of Security Services in Protecting Africa’s Natural Resources and Future Economic Development”.   

Robert Mugabe is a hero in the eyes of many, and a criminal in the eyes of an almost equal number, especially outside Africa.   Love him, hate him, you cannot ignore him, and you may endlessly crack your skull open in frustration wondering how he manages to still cling on to… click here to read whole article and make comments

A few weeks ago I was searching online for new humanitarian projects and initiatives dedicated to authentic development in Africa, and it dawned on me that in this difficult and dry global economic climate , many humanitarian aid projects have been inevitably defunded and donor-nations that had once pledged and promised to support sustainable development in Africa have quietly withdrawn because of their own difficulties. 

So imagine my shock and horror to discover that in this economic drought, the one well that has not run dry is SAAF -the safe abortion action fund - a multi-donor funding mechanism which was formed for the sole purpose of spreading abortion to every part of the world . So, as good development projects are allowed to dry up and die, SAAF enjoys renewed commitments from donors that keep it going and growing every… click here to read whole article and make comments

The Economist hosted a debate on the topic: How real is the rise of Africa? This short video summarises the ensuing discussion. Fascinating stuff. What do you think? Leave a comment. 

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