SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Aug

28

2024

By MARTIN MAGIDI and TAVENGWA GWEKWERERE

Soccer betting is on the rise among young Zimbabweans – our study found it can serve a positive purpose

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

BETTING on soccer games is a popular pastime in many African countries. A 2024 report by GeoPoll found that 76.16% of respondents from Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria had gambled or placed bets and that soccer was by far the most popular sport to bet on. Young men (aged 16 to 34) make up the bulk of soccer bettors in those countries. Much has been written about the negative aspects of sports betting, including the risk of gambling addiction and becoming involved in money laundering. But, as we show in recent research from Zimbabwe, there are perhaps…

Aug

27

2024

By NAMHLA LANDANI and ARTHUR KHOMOTSO MAHUMA

Maize prices in Kenya and Malawi have soared, but Tanzania’s haven’t: economists explain why

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR more than a year maize prices in Kenya and Malawi have been much higher compared with other countries in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region. Several factors explain this. In Malawi, high fertiliser prices which resulted in lower fertiliser usage affected maize supply. This was compounded by adverse weather and trade bans, leading to lower-than-usual production. In Kenya, high maize prices have been driven up by excessive margins. Sellers are charging prices that are more than the import parity price – the maize price from surplus-producing countries, plus transport costs for importing into Kenya. This is particularly concerning…

Aug

23

2024

By ANNA WEEKES

Drought is devastating southern Africa’s crops: why it’s happening and what can be learned

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTHERN Africa’s worst drought in years has destroyed crops of the staple food, maize, across the region. Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia have all been affected by the drought. Crop failures in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe – the largest maize producers in southern Africa – have destabilised food security in the whole region. The situation is escalating: the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has now announced that 68 million people need urgent food aid. The drought is driven by El Niño, an unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that shifts…

Aug

22

2024

By The African Mirror

Sierra Leone’s women farmers use a custom called bora to access land – but it’s making them more vulnerable

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

BORA – a type of thank you gift – is a Sierra Leonean custom of respect that is often used in relation to land. For instance, informal farmers pay bora to landowners to be able to farm on their land. But bora has changed over the years and is having a negative impact on women, who are responsible for much of the West African country’s farming. In Sierra Leone, land ownership – and therefore use of land for farming – vests in men. Women’s access to land for sustainable livelihoods is the subject of a PhD by land rights scholar…

Aug

20

2024

By OBI ANYADIKE

From ecocide to resource-stripping: War’s collateral damage on the planet

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Obi Anyadike THE death and destruction that conflicts cause are visible and immediate tragedies, but often overlooked are the long-term environmental consequences of that violence – insidious, poisonous legacies. Even before a shot is fired, standing armies are climate-hostile. Voraciously energy-hungry and wasteful, military establishments are believed to account for 5.5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The globe-spanning US Armed Forces, with their fleets of ships, tanks, and high-performance aircraft, are the world’s largest institutional users of petrol. As a result, their carbon footprint is greater than most countries,…

Aug

17

2024

By Jovial Rantao

Sudan’s catastrophe: farmers could offer quick post-war recovery, if peace is found

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

MORE than a year of conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has weakened the country’s fragile economy. This is in addition to triggering a humanitarian crisis, loss of lives, property destruction and income disruptions. Even before the current conflict, Sudan ranked among the poorest countries in the world. The proportion of those without access to basic necessities such as education, healthcare and proper living conditions was estimated at 52.3% of the population. The economy heavily depends on agriculture. The sector’s productivity has been low because of traditional pastoral systems and limited mechanisation. The armed conflict has damaged infrastructure and disrupted agricultural services…

Aug

14

2024

By GETNET MEWA

Ethiopia’s deadly landslides are caused by both nature and man – a geophysicist explains

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

AS many as 300 people were killed in landslides triggered by higher than normal rainfall in south-western Ethiopia in July 2024. More than 15,000 were also forced to leave their homes. Another less deadly landslide that occurred two weeks later killed a dozen. Getnet Mewa, a geophysicist who studies landslides and associated landmass movements, explains where and how landslides occur in Ethiopia. Where do landslides occur in Ethiopia? Ethiopia is situated in a region dissected by the East African Rift System, which is one of the Earth’s geologically active rift systems. A rift valley is a lowland region that forms…

Aug

06

2024

By SAMUEL OJO OLORUNTOBA and ZAINAB MONISOLA OLAITAN

African communities have a lot of knowledge to share: researchers offer alternatives to Eurocentric ways of doing things

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE dominance of Western methodology in research conducted in Africa continues to preoccupy academics. The result, they argue, has been the silencing of Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous ways of knowing are not making the contribution they could to the knowledge ecosystem. Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba and Zainab Monisola Olaitan have researched the impact of this skewed approach on various topics. They answer questions aimed at unpacking the problem and explaining what’s at stake. What is knowledge generation? Knowledge generation is the process of using different methods to collect, synthesise and analyse data to produce information which is then processed, analysed, and interpreted…

Aug

06

2024

By ANNE TJØNNDAL

Women’s boxing in Olympic storm: who is Algeria’s Imane Khelif and what are the issues she’s facing?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IMANE Khelif from Algeria is one of two women boxers at the 2024 Paris Olympics making the news – as ugly issues of gender testing and testosterone levels once again raise their heads, as they did in the case of South African runner Caster Semenya. Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting failed a questionable gender test allegedly administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2023 but were declared fit for entry by the International Olympic Committee. Both are female and identify as such, yet one of Khelif’s opponents has fuelled a public outcry that she has an unfair advantage,…

Jul

27

2024

By DELPHIN R. NTANYOMA

DRC ceasefire for humanitarian aid is a small step forward – what must happen next for peace

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE United States has negotiated a truce so humanitarian assistance can be given to more than seven million people, including children, caught in the grip of the conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The initial cessation of hostilities was for two weeks. It was extended by a further two weeks. Armed conflicts and other forms of violence have triggered wave after wave of internal refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). More recently, fighting between government troops and the M23 rebels has trapped millions in and around Goma, the main eastern city.…