AFRICITIES - The African Mirror

Jun

2020

Lagos makes it hard for people living in slums to cope with shocks like COVID-19

OLUWAFEMI OLAJIDE THE NIGERIAN government has adopted a range of strategies to manage the spread of COVID-19. However, as desirable as the strategies may seem, the urban poor are disproportionately negatively affected. Lagos city is a case in point. The Lagos state government introduced a food relief package to cushion the effects of lockdown. But the distribution of the relief package has been hampered by governance challenges. The situation, to a large extent, reflects the opposite of good governance. Good governance is about relationships and interactions between citizens and government based on the principles of equity, efficient service delivery and…

Jun

2020

By The African Mirror

Bringing de-densification home in Alexandra

AFRICITIES

ABOUT 1 600 families in the Stjwetla shack settlement in Johannesburg are standing on the verge of seismic change. This is the story of one of them. DENNIS WEBSTER The American poet GC Waldrep recently described gravity as “a debt … incurred by God”. In the Stjwetla shack settlement in Alexandra, Johannesburg, gravity is God sent. Built around a series of small rivulets that flow down the western bank of the Jukskei River in the township’s northeastern corner, it is a place where everything rolls downhill. 22 June 2020: Trash collecting in the Jukskei River is a common sight in Stjwetla. Photo:…

Jun

2020

By The African Mirror

Megaprojects in Addis Ababa raise questions about spatial justice

AFRICITIES

BIRUK TEREFE Biruk Terrefe, PhD Candidate, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford URBAN investments across the African continent are at an all-time high. Yet the nature of these investments differs starkly across cities. Many of them are driven by political considerations. For example, in Addis Ababa, a city that has made enormous strides in the past two decades, a new urban aesthetic is emerging. It targets urban elites, the Ethiopian diaspora and international tourists. Since coming to power in 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration has initiated several urban megaprojects. These include LaGare, a 36-hectare real estate project,…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Across Africa, commuters hop on two wheels

AFRICITIES

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD NEWSROOM FROM four wheels to two wheels... More Africans are taking motorcycles to work than ever before, as the two-wheeled mobility option proliferates on the continent ― and promises an electric option. Hopping onto a motorbike to go to work could soon be your regular mode of commute, as Africa ― faced with rapid urbanisation and population growth - diversifies its mobility options. Whether you call it a moto-taxi or a boda-boda (equally notorious for their deafening noise and noxious exhaust emissions) the two-wheeled options is also likely to become a lot more environmentally friendly in the…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Farmers in Zimbabwe happier than city residents

AFRICITIES

SETH ONYANGO SOMETIMES it takes just a farm - and good rains - to be happy, as the World Bank reveals Zimbabweans in rural areas are happier than their city counterparts. Zimbabweans living in rural areas have a better life than those in urban centres, a World Bank report reveals, reigniting debate on whether it is better to live in the city or in the countryside. The multilateral lender cited thriving subsistence farming in Zimbabwe’s remote areas, stating it has propped up the fortunes of those living far from cities. The report's chief finding offers striking insight into the "rural-urban…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Cities need inclusive COVID-19 responses to build back stronger. But we can’t do it alone

AFRICITIES

NINETY-FIVE of Covid-19 cases are reported in urban areas. That puts cities on the frontlines of a global public health crisis that is widening the gap between those with the comfort and safety of a home and those forced to leave their homes behind. Dire budget shortfalls and lost revenue — up to 65 percent for African cities and 15-25 percent globally — will curtail the ability of cities to deliver critical services and economic opportunity to all their residents in 2021, especially those who need it the most. Even before Covid-19 hit, my city of Freetown faced a reckoning. More than a third of residents – many rural migrants – lived in informal settlements where disease is common…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Informal waste management in Lagos is big business: policies need to support the trade

AFRICITIES

THE megacity of Lagos has an estimated population of 24 million. And it’s constantly growing, putting additional strain on a city that already has serious challenges. They include heavy traffic congestion, flooding, air pollution and solid waste generation. CHIDI NZEADIBE, Professor of Environmental Management & Sustainability., University of Nigeria CHINEDU ONYISHI, Lecturer, University of Nigeria CHRISTIAN EZEIBE PH.D, Senior Lecturer, Political Science, University of Nigeria GERALD EZIRIM, Senior Lecturer, political science, University of Nigeria PETER MBAH, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria The waste economy in Lagos is huge. It is well connected with the…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Hit the brakes on reform, say Kampala’s transport workers

AFRICITIES

LIAM TAYLOR IN NORMAL times, the Old Taxi Park is a maelstrom of minibuses, touts, hawkers and passengers at the heart of Kampala, the Ugandan capital. But today it is a barren sweep of stones and earth, boarded off to all except construction crews and their heavy-duty machines. The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has used the country's coronavirus lockdown to begin a long-awaited redevelopment of the park, including the installation of shelters, lighting and a tarmac surface. It is the most visible plank in a raft of reforms which the KCCA hopes will finally bring order to Kampala's chaotic…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

SA’s capital city needs new municipalism

AFRICITIES

MASHUPYE HERBERT MASERUMULE, Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology THE City of Tshwane, home to South Africa’s government and foreign diplomats, has been rocked by political turmoil for nearly a year. The squabbling between political parties has meant that the city council is “unable to conduct its business and cannot serve its residents”. This was according to a judge when the city’s problems ended up in the High Court. The city has been run by a coalition of minority parties cobbled together by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition to the governing African National Congress (ANC). Coalition…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Stories behind Nairobi’s street names

AFRICITIES

MELISSA WANJIRU-MWITA, Post-doctoral fellow, Université de Genève THE RECENT global events of civil and political unrest that started in the US have brought to the fore the complex dynamics of urban memorialisation. The protests have, in some places, led to renewed scrutiny of certain urban symbols such as commemorative statues – what they represent and how they are perceived and interpreted. Unlike monuments and statues, place names (toponyms) are intangible, and less imposing, but nevertheless, an indispensable part of the urban symbolic landscape. Their inscription, erasure and re-inscription is highly political. In a study of toponymy in Nairobi, Kenya, my…