Nowadays, African countries are wooed because they are perceived as the spearheads of the world economy. The Economist, the English weekly newspaper, predicts that in the next five years, seven out of ten fastest growing economies in the world will be in Africa: Ethiopia (8.1 per cent), Mozambique (7.7 per cent), Tanzania (7.2 per cent), Congo (7.0 per cent), Ghana (7.0 per … [Read more...] about Liberating Africans from the CFA “franc” trap
Tanzania
Senegal’s Day Of Reckoning : It’s The Economy Stupid !
The Senegalese people are extremely disillusioned. In 2000, they enthusiastically went to the polls to elect Abdoulaye Wade as their president. Wade had campaigned as an agent of change, but change never came to Senegal throughout his decade in power. Now the only change he wants to make is to the constitution, so that he can retain his hold on power. Wade turned out to be … [Read more...] about Senegal’s Day Of Reckoning : It’s The Economy Stupid !
Regulating China-Africa cooperation imbalances
Oxford University China-Africa Network The Oxford University China-Africa Network (OUCAN) with the support of the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) present The Conference on "Chinese Investment and African Agency" hosted by the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford 11-12 March 2011 Regulating China-Africa cooperation … [Read more...] about Regulating China-Africa cooperation imbalances
Currency war : the stakes for Africa
A weaker exchange rate makes a country’s exports cheaper, potentially boosting a key source of growth for economies battling to find growth, as they emerge from the 2008-2009 credit crunch and economic crisis suffering from chronically deficient demand. Global imbalances are on the rise again, as is the risk of protectionism. Western countries are battling to keep their … [Read more...] about Currency war : the stakes for Africa
CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION – THE STAKES
China-Africa Civil Society Dialogue : Development Challenges in Africa and the Chinese Development Experience Beijing, P.R. China, October 18th -19th , 2010 For most of the past five decades African countries were locked out of international capital markets. As a result, they have largely been spared the twin woes of the 2008 financial turmoil and subsequent world economic … [Read more...] about CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION – THE STAKES
CHINA – AFRICA : Matching China’s activities with Africa’s needs
The Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) Regional Office for East & Horn of Africa, Nairobi, and Fahamu Kenya brought together Chinese experts on Africa and representatives of African civil society organizations, providing a platform to exchange views and perceptions, and discuss areas of concerns to both sides, based on various country and thematic case studies. I. CHINA’S … [Read more...] about CHINA – AFRICA : Matching China’s activities with Africa’s needs
Overcoming Africa’s North-South Divide
The late President Mobutu Sese Seko of former Zaire once declared that the North African countries, which pride themselves on their Arabic descent, should be excluded from the then Organization of African Unity. Mobutu's rule was, of course, deeply flawed, but he was not alone within the pan-African movement in such thinking. The antagonism between the blacks of sub-Saharan … [Read more...] about Overcoming Africa’s North-South Divide
China explosive drive into sub-Saharan Africa
Ever since the Berlin conference in 1883 in what Leopold II, the king of Belgium, had dubbed “the sharing of Africa’s cake”, Western countries tend to have assumed exclusive rights over the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Centuries of struggle for political and economic freedom to free themselves from colonial rule, remove apartheid and win their independence did not change … [Read more...] about China explosive drive into sub-Saharan Africa
West African expectations of Europe
Institute for peace support and conflict management (IFK) Africa-Workshop January 26th to 27th, 2006: Sorting Out the Mess: Wars, Conflicts and Conflict Management in West Africa To assess the expectations West Africa can look forward to from Europe, there is, first, the need to understand the root causes of the problems that have beset the populations and the … [Read more...] about West African expectations of Europe
Starving for Capital in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa's appalling poverty and living conditions have been exposed repeatedly through television and the Internet. But these agonizing pictures represent only the symptoms of an underlying - and largely unreported - malady: capital flight. Capital flight stems from myriad causes: debt servicing, the awarding to foreign firms of almost all contracts financed by … [Read more...] about Starving for Capital in Sub-Saharan Africa
NEPAD : the wrong plan ?
NEPAD, the last plan to kick-start Africa's economic development adopted by the OAU in Lusaka (Zambia) on July, 11, 2001, is articulated around investment in the key sectors of infrastructure, agriculture, health and education. The plan is to be financed by the international community and through private capital flows, mainly from the multinationals. In choosing this way of … [Read more...] about NEPAD : the wrong plan ?
Sub-Saharan Africa on the Sidelines, A false economic dawn?
After the collapse of the Mobutu regime Zaire, now renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been left stripped of resources, in spite of the mineral wealth being eyed covetously by foreign investors. Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund's figures point to a significant improvement in sub-Saharan Africa. However, imposing structural adjustment, privatisation and … [Read more...] about Sub-Saharan Africa on the Sidelines, A false economic dawn?
