The Africa Thread

[Tee Kay]

I came here hoping for good news, left unhappy. Does nothing work in Africa?

Things work but are unreliable.

Anyway, you want good news you say:

After the genocide, Rwanda looks to technology

Rwanda commemorates the genocide's 20th anniversary on Monday with solemn ceremonies to remember the more than 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, butchered over 100 days by the nation's Hutu majority. With resentment still lingering, the government is in the midst of an ambitious effort to transform itself, the economy and society.

The genocide still shadows Immaculee Mukamusoni's life. Ethnic Hutu militias killed her mother, father and siblings, and for the next two decades she had little support. Today, she and her husband work as day labourers on a farm to provide for their five children.

But, this week, she boarded a bus that she hopes will transform her world. Outfitted with 20 laptops, it is a central part of a government initiative to bring technology to impoverished rural parts of the country. In the next two weeks, Ms Mukamusoni will learn programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel, and to access websites and send email.

...

"One of the ingredients of genocide is poverty, and addressing it is an important part of the rebuilding of the country," said Mr Kagame, Rwanda's minister for youth and information and communications technology. "So what Rwanda has decided is to make IT a key component of the whole economic model."

A more digitally literate country will help create more accountability and transparency among leaders, mitigate communal tensions and prevent Rwandans from being manipulated into killing again, he said.

...

In 2005, mobile networks and access to Internet was limited. But, by 2010, fibre-optic cables criss-crossed the country. Today, roughly 65 per cent of the population uses mobile phones. Internet access, already among the fastest in the region, is poised to grow dramatically. Last year, the government signed a deal with a South Korean company to create a 4G network with the goal of giving high-speed Internet access to 95 per cent of Rwandans within three years. In rural areas, Rwandans can use free internet at special centres as well as on the buses.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/after-t...-technology-20140405-zqr6x.html#ixzz2y7bBRl9J

 

[Terxpahseyton]

France has a tendency to intervene in its former African colonies when things start going wrong.

For France. Please take care to not overlook this small detail.

Anyway, you want good news you say:

Great, more Internet scamers

 

[Terxpahseyton]

A recent study concluded that Islamic terrorist activity

Whoot?
Do I detect a reason to be all rohaar stuupid or am I just misinformed?
My impression says that those "terrorists" are simply rebels. I mean they don't just blow up civilians to terrorize (so they would actually be terrorists) the people. They are run-off-the-mill (albeit dirty Islamic) rebels, no?

This is a terrible back flash to anti-Brotherhood crowds in Egypt calling the brotherhood terrorists. Which won a secret price for worst misuse of a word since at least.... 5 years or so.

After thinking about this term terrorist a bit more I just decided to never ever use it again unless to refer to or slander people who continue to use it.
It is a dumb stupid ass word.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

No... GOOD NEWS:

China and Africa: What the U.S. doesn't understand

Sino-African trade volumes have grown accordingly. Negligible in 2000, trade hit $198.5 billion in 2012. By comparison, U.S.-Africa trade volume was $108.9 billon, and is slated to fall further behind: Research from Standard Chartered estimates that trade between China and Africa will hit $385 billion by 2015.

Dogged by criticism that Beijing is eating Africa's lunch, China's relationship with Africa is complex and too often distorted by myth. Here are five examples of how we tend to get it wrong.

"It's all about oil"

Yes, Africa's natural resources are important to Beijing. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, roughly a third of China's crude oil imports come from sub-Saharan Africa. However, Chinese investment in Africa is far more diverse than some of the rhetoric suggests.

According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in 2009 only about 29% of China's foreign direct investment (FDI) went to the extractive industries. By contrast, in the same year, mining accounted for about 60% of U.S. FDI to Africa. Meanwhile, China -- which was called out last weekend by President Obama for not building enough plants in Africa -- invested more in manufacturing, and in African jobs, than the U.S.

"The new kid in town"

While the past decade has witnessed dramatic growth in Sino-African trade, Beijing's engagement in Africa is nothing new. The modern association between China and Africa stretches back to the 1950s, when the People's Republic of China competed with Taiwan for recognition as the "real" China. As African states won independence -- and would come to populate about a quarter of the UN's membership seats -- Beijing was anxious to isolate Taipei while building development relationships.

Deborah Brautigam, a Johns Hopkins China scholar, contends that Beijing's "one-China" policy continues to shape its African investments. Aid is primarily a diplomatic tool. As a consequence, Beijing offers development aid of some sort to every country with which it maintains relations (oddly including countries, like South Africa, which has a higher per capita GDP than China). Aid is part of a historical and diplomatic narrative, not simply a stratagem for snapping up Africa's resources.

"Africa for sale? Sold, to Beijing."

One might have the impression of Beijing as evil mastermind: marshaling state resources for the colonization of Africa. From reading some reports, one might think that's already happened. There are two points to make.

First, the scope of Beijing's investments in Africa are often grossly embellished. Good numbers simply aren't available. Beijing does not release aid figures, and China Exim Bank and China Development bank, the main lenders, publish no data. Most estimates are exaggerations, resulting from double counting and over-broad definitions that count all state-sponsored economic activity as "aid." According to Brautigam, the AidData estimate that Chinese aid to Africa is around $75 billion -- widely reported -- is rubbish.

While China's African aid data may be exaggerated, Brautigam writes that in 2010 the U.S. disbursed more in official finance to Africa than China. Furthermore, according to U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) data for 2007-2011, American FDI to the continent was bigger than Beijing's.

Second, Chinese aid and investment actors are organizationally stove-piped. Often the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Rather than acting in a unitary fashion, China in Africa is made up of many little actors. And those actors don't coordinate aid-investment policy. In other words, China doesn't build a hospital to win a mining concession.

This is not to say that Chinese dealings in Africa should be generalized as benign -- only that it's hard to generalize at all. The spectrum of Sino-African interactions is broad. It ranges from a Chinese commitment to build dozens of malaria clinics across the continent, to Chinese managers opening fire on protesting miners in Zambia. In Africa, China has many faces.

"Patron of pariah states"

One of those faces: patron of authoritarian regimes. Beijing has a reputation for supporting tyrants much of the West wouldn't touch. For its part, Beijing invokes a "non-interference" policy to excuse itself from domestic entanglements. Non-interference is a fiction -- while one may claim neutrality, investment always props up, insulates, and enriches the elites.

Yet the West should be careful of invoking a double standard. As documented by the Human Rights Watch, Ethiopia -- an autocratic, one-party state -- has not only been supported by Western aid, but used that aid as a tool of oppression: by withholding it from dissenters and non-party members.

Even where Western donors, like the World Bank or IMF, make loans conditional on good governance, Western trade and investment actors are more freewheeling. Unless official sanctions prevent them from doing so, American and European commercial banks extend loans where they see an opportunity for profit. Such loans do not hinge on good behavior.

"Those poor, helpless Africans"

Africans are not passive victims. Often they are savvy brokers and, in their dealings with Beijing, secure good deals. When they can, they shrewdly play outsiders against one another. For example, there is abundant international competition in resource-rich Angola, whose president famously warned his Chinese counterpart, "You are not our only friends."

Occasionally, perhaps, African states get the short end of the stick -- yet more often it seems they are simply overwhelmed by the volume of new business. As the Economist recently reported, rules in African countries may exist to protect workers and the environment, but institutions are often too weak to enforce them. Undoubtedly, some Chinese entrepreneurs take advantage, and occasionally that results in violent flare-ups, as it did last year over illegal mining in Ghana.

Yet despite concerns that Beijing antagonizes locals, there is no data to suggest xenophobia in Africa is on the rise. Reports that Chinese firms don't hire African workers appear to be unfounded. And while extensive polls are not regularly conducted, a 2007 Pew Center Research survey found that in a range of African countries -- Ivory Coast, Mali, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ethiopia -- between 67% and 92% of respondents held a favorable view of Beijing.

Africa: Prepped for Takeoff

This one isn't a myth. By many estimates, including a recent study by the World Bank, Africa is primed for impressive economic growth. After decades of poor health, epidemic underdevelopment, and political instability, the continent may finally be positioned to join the global economy. This would be cause for celebration. And regardless of the U.S.'s role in Africa's rise, we can surmise this: Beijing is committed to be more than a spectator.

USA #177 in goodwill... China #3 Africa is in good hands when those hands aren't robbing it!

 

[bugwar]

Whoot?
Do I detect a reason to be all rohaar stuupid or am I just misinformed?
My impression says that those "terrorists" are simply rebels. I mean they don't just blow up civilians to terrorize (so they would actually be terrorists) the people. They are run-off-the-mill (albeit dirty Islamic) rebels, no?

This is a terrible back flash to anti-Brotherhood crowds in Egypt calling the brotherhood terrorists. Which won a secret price for worst misuse of a word since at least.... 5 years or so.

After thinking about this term terrorist a bit more I just decided to never ever use it again unless to refer to or slander people who continue to use it.
It is a dumb stupid ass word.

Wow. That post you used was back in Feb.
You been on vacation all this time?

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Oh, well, hm, there it is in any case.
I wasn't very active if that is what you mean. Just found this thread and decided to look through it - without minding any date.

Even where Western donors, like the World Bank or IMF, make loans conditional on good governance

Like flooding your market with cheap Western products and destroying your domestic economy. Good governance baby

 

[SouthernKing]

I came here hoping for good news, left unhappy. Does nothing work in Africa?

I think the whole "Africa is a hellhole" thing gets exacerbated because Amercan media has so little interaction with Africa, and when it does, it's always the absolute worst of things (like the current Ebola outbreak, or the conflicts in Mali or the CAR) that gets shown. Places like Namibia or Botswana or Tanzania are relatively well-off compared to the rest, but that doesn't get reported on.

 

[bugwar]

From the article:

The majority of southern Africans are living in an "unrelenting struggle against sanitation and water poverty," according to a new report that accuses governments in the region of failing to prioritise their plight.
In From promise to reality, the international NGO WaterAid says southern African leaders have fallen behind on their promises to boost public spending on basic services, with the poorest and most vulnerable people hardest hit.
"There is a lot of economic growth in the region... but this is bypassing much of the population," said John Garrett, senior policy analyst at WaterAid, contrasting the optimism over southern Africa's economic prospects with the region's lagging progress on clean water and sanitation targets.
An estimated 174 million people in southern Africa - almost two thirds of the total population - lack access to basic latrines, while more than 100 million go without clean drinking water.
...
Garrett said sanitation and hygiene have been particularly neglected, with some governments casting these as private issues best left for households and families to address. Where money is available, it often appears to be directed primarily to urban centres at the expense of rural areas.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/global-d...a-leaders-failing-prioritise-water-sanitation

 

[bugwar]

From the article:

"This is one of the most challenging Ebola outbreaks we have ever faced," Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news briefing.
The most severe cases of the illness have had a 90 percent fatality rate, and there is no vaccine, cure or specific treatment.
New figures released by the WHO on Tuesday indicate there have been 157 suspected cases in Guinea, 101 of them fatal. Sixty-seven of the cases were confirmed in WHO laboratories.
...
Also, the WHO is concerned that the deadly virus is spreading from the epicenter in the forests of southern Guinea.
"We have not had an Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa before," Fukuda said.
The virus is triggering panic among the region’s population: last week, an angry crowd in the south of Guinea attacked international aid workers, blaming them for bringing the fever to Africa.
...
"We fully expect to be engaged in this outbreak for another two, three, four months," Fukuda told AFP.
Other countries across West Africa have been bracing against the epidemic, with Senegal closing its border with Guinea. The situation is especially worrying for the country, which depends on the tourist heavily industry, with 1 million visitors in 2011.
...
"Obviously there is a risk that other countries might be affected, therefore we absolutely need to remain vigilant," said Stephane Hugonnet, a WHO medical officer who recently returned from Guinea.

Source: http://rt.com/news/ebola-who-challenging-disease-369/

 

[Kyriakos]

^Surely the French help (war) in their ex-colonies has zero connection to the ebola outbreak Keeping clean is #1 regardless of being shot at or facing machette reprisals for being supposedly an enemy faction of those shot at.

 

[bugwar]

From the article:

International aid organisations launched a series of emergency measures across west Africa on Thursday in a bid to contain one of the worst ever outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus, which is threatening every country in the region.
The tropical bug is thought to have killed more than 110 people in Guinea and Liberia since January, with suspected cases reported in Mali and Sierra Leone and aid workers warning that vital hygiene products could run out.
...
Action Against Hunger, a global aid group, warned of a looming shortage of sanitation stocks and said it had begun distributing chlorine and soap to families and schools in Guinea and setting up hand-washing facilities.
"We are checking the availability of chlorine in the country, because we could be running out in the coming hours. So we are going to have to get it from other countries," Lucia Prieto, the charity's Guinea country director, said in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unveils-emergency-moves-against-ebola-onslaught-guinea-100840104.html

 

[bugwar]

From the article:

As many as 135 civilians have been killed since Wednesday in north east Nigeria, a senior official from the region has revealed.
According to Borno state senator Ahmed Zannah, the killings were carried out in at least three separate attacks in the state.
The attackers are suspected to be from the Islamist Boko Haram movement, BBC reported Sunday.
Senator Zannah said the attackers first target was a teacher training college in Dikwa town.
They killed five people there and abducted several women.
The attackers burned down the college library before escaping, Zannah said.
The militants then attacked two villages near the border with Cameroon killing a further 130 people.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-in-Nigerian-attacks/articleshow/33690537.cms



Boko Haram Background-
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram - which has caused havoc in Africa's most populous country through a wave of bombings - is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors".
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501

 

[Kyriakos]

^More massacre, as usual. It is very likely that (without having to be the core of it) western forces there do their part to always increase this mayhem and death.

Africa by now is not as much a continent as a slaughterhouse, which just goes to show how humanity is moving. Askari attacking border villages is so 19th century.

 

[Tee Kay]

Every time you paint all of Africa with the same brush, God decreases your country's GDP forecast.

(Also, it's wrong)

 

[bugwar]

From the article:

The World Health Organization says the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to at least 135.

In a Thursday statement the WHO says Guinea's health ministry had reported a total of 122 deaths, while 13 deaths had been reported by Liberian health officials.

The WHO says officials are investigating more than 200 suspected or confirmed cases of the virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/content/death-toll-from-ebola-outbreak-rises-to-135/1895329.html

 

[bugwar]

From the article:

The number of cases continues to climb, as of April 16, 2014 the Ministry of Health of Guinea reported 197 probable cases, including 122 deaths.
...
Dr. Gunther and his team analyzed 20 samples from the current outbreak and discovered that this strain was different – it didn’t come from the Democratic Republic of Congo or from other areas where there have been EVD outbreaks in the past.
Researchers think that the new strain has evolved in “parallel from a recent ancestor virus,” According to the article, Emergence of Zaire Ebola Virus Disease in Guinea — Preliminary Report.
According to the study, this new strain was introduced in December of 2013 or possibly even earlier as there have been clusters of cases. The first suspected case was a two year old girl from Gueckedou prefecture who died in early December. The team also found that an infected health-care worker from Guinea may have spread the virus to Macenta, Nzerekore, and Kissidougou in February.

Source: http://www.decodedscience.com/new-ebola-virus-outbreak-west-africa-whos-danger/44820

 

[Azale]

ANC is starting to hemorrhage leftist supporters.

I like this guy's program.

 

[BSmith1068]

Fun Fact: I lived in Zimbabwe and Swaziland when I was a kid back in the mid-80’s. I’ve been waiting 20 years for Mugabe to finally kick the bucket, but he is a defiant fellow. Would love to go back someday, but kinda feel that he should be gone first. It’s been painful to watch the demise of what otherwise is a beautiful country.

Speaking of beautiful, Southern and East Africa are some of the most beautiful places in the world, and I’ve been around if you know what I mean.

Also – it makes me sad to see such broad generalizations about the continent. Sure, there are a lot of systemic issues on the continent, but there are also lots and lots of wonderful and beautiful (and downright normal) things that never quite make it up the news filter.

EDIT: Another fun fact: My Avatar is a photo of a Tawny Eagle taken in Masai Mara reserve in Kenya.

 

[classical_hero]

ANC is starting to hemorrhage leftist supporters.

I like this guy's program.

I've been saying the same things about the ANC, that they basically have done nothing to improve the lot the African population.

 

[bugwar]

Man, if it ain’t one killer disease outbreak on that continent, it’s another.
Africa must have really PO’d that horseman of the Apocolyspe (Pestilence maybe?)


From the article:

Egypt has recorded its first case of the deadly SARS-like MERS coronavirus in the capital Cairo.
Egyptian State TV said on Saturday a patient at a Cairo hospital who recently arrived from Saudi Arabia had tested positive for the virus.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus has killed at least 92 people in Saudi Arabia, where the coronavirus was first detected in humans in 2012.
The virus which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to Europe and has been reported in Malaysia.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/sars-mers-virus-spreads-countries/story?id=23491100



Oh, and an update on the Ebola:

Ebola outbreak shows no sign of slowing



From the article:

Last week, officials in Guinea expressed optimism.
The outbreak of Ebola that had spread into Liberia and beyond appeared to be waning.
The number of deaths, which had then numbered 106, had slowed.
Travel restrictions had been bolstered.
The outbreak, which had sent waves of panic across West Africa, finally seemed under control.
...
It’s eight days later.
And the number of those killed by the Ebola killed in Guinea is now 136.
Nearly 210 cases have been confirmed.
In all, across Liberia and Guinea, 142 people have been killed — and 242 infected — in an outbreak that began months ago in the forested villages of southeast Guinea and shot to the capital city.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ebola-outbreak-that-shows-no-sign-of-slowing/