Africa - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

Colonialism shaped modern universities in Africa – how they can become truly African

COLONIALISM profoundly shaped modern universities in Africa. It implanted institutions on African soil that were largely replicas of European universities rather than organically African. For historian and political theorist Achille Mbembe, one problem of universities in Africa “is that they are ‘Westernised”. He describes them as “local institutions of a dominant academic model based on a Eurocentric epistemic canon that attributes truth only to the Western way of knowledge production”. This model, he says, “disregards other epistemic traditions”. SALEEM BADAT, Research Professor, UFS History Department, University of the Free State My research is mainly on universities, especially on issues of…

Oct

2023

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Centi-millionaires fuel luxury property enclaves in Africa’s major cities

NEWS

AFFLUENT households are starting to make up a noticeable share of renters and buyers in major African cities, in a marked shift in the continent's luxury property domain. Cape Town, with its panoramic vistas, wineries and deep-rooted history, takes the lead as the most expensive African city - at US$5,200 per square metre according to the new Henley & Partners report. Not far behind are other South African coastal jewels, Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay, each priced at US$2,200 per square metre, drawing the wealthy with their serene ocean views and luxurious amenities. For Marrakech in Morocco, renowned for its vibrant…

Oct

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The legal battle for climate justice in Africa is on the rise

NEWS

MORE Africans are turning to the courts, demanding climate justice, and holding governments and corporations accountable. The latest UNEP report reveals a considerable rise in global climate litigation, from 884 cases in 24 jurisdictions in 2017 to over 2000 cases in 65 jurisdictions in 2022. According to Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, the rate of growth is rapid, with assessments showing “there is seemingly a new case every week,” he explains. While the majority of lawsuits - 1522 cases, representing about 70% of all lawsuits - hailing from the US, the proportion outside the US has climbed from 26%…

Sep

2023

By The African Mirror

Queer film in Africa is rising – even in countries with the harshest anti-LGBTIQ+ laws

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

A recent book, Queer Bodies in African Films, studies the growing LGBTIQ+ output from filmmakers around the continent, from Morocco to South Africa. In the process, it analyses what queerness is and means within the context of African countries. Its author, Gibson Ncube, is a lecturer and scholar who focuses his research on queerness in African cultural production – from literature to films. We asked him four questions. GIBSON NCUBE, Lecturer, Stellenbosch University Is there a growing queer representation in films from African countries? Yes, the last decade has seen a proliferation of these films. Nigeria’s Nollywood has produced a…

Sep

2023

By The African Mirror

How well you do at school depends on how much your teachers know: insights from 14 French-speaking countries in Africa

EDUCATION

COUNTRIES in sub-Saharan Africa have made remarkable progress towards reaching universal school enrolment in the past 25 years. Across the region, 8 in 10 children of primary school age are now enrolled in school, and in countries such as Benin and Madagascar, this figure stands at almost 10 in 10 children. JAN BIETENBECK, Associate Professor of Economics, Lund University However, it is becoming increasingly clear that many children in the region are learning very little in school. This “learning crisis” means that it will be difficult to reach the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of quality education for all by…

Sep

2023

By RODRIGO CAMPOS

Food insecurity in Africa should be overcome in 5 years -AfDB head

NEWS

PROGRAMS supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in over 30 African countries have helped produce some $12 billion worth of food, and the bank’s $25 billion objective is "well on track," AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said on Friday. "As far as I'm concerned, we shouldn't be talking about food security in Africa more than five years from now. There's no reason for it," he told Reuters. "We have the technology and the financing to do it at scale." Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, one of the world's top grain exporters, sent tremors through global grain markets, threatening food…

Jun

2023

By PHIL STEWART and IDREES ALI

US asks what’s next for Wagner Group in Middle East, Africa, after mutiny attempt

NEWS

THE United States is examining how the Wagner Group's short-lived mutiny against Russia's military establishment might affect the mercenaries' operations in the Middle East and Africa, officials said. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin startled the world by leading an armed revolt on Saturday that brought his fighters from the Ukrainian border to within 200 kilometres (125 miles) of Moscow before he abruptly called off the uprising. U.S. policymakers view the mercenary force through the prism of a rivalry with Russia for influence in Africa and the Middle East and accuse it of gross human rights violations. The U.S. military has clashed directly…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Wagner Group mercenaries in Africa: why there hasn’t been any effective opposition to drive them out

NEWS

IT is easy to understand what African rulers see in the mercenary group Wagner. Its fighters can be deployed quickly. It brings sophisticated arms with it and can apply force speedily and ruthlessly. Alternative sources of military muscle have flaws: United Nations missions lack robust mandates; African Union (AU) forces lack the arms and motivation; European Union interveners bear the legacy of colonial repression. The US has little interest in Africa beyond supporting fights against Salafi terrorists. JOHN F. CLARK, Professor Politics and International Relations, Florida International University The Wagner Group was set up by Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2014 as…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

The new scramble for Africa: What it means for Africa’s human rights record

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MXOLISI NCUBE THE Russia-Ukraine war has widened the rift between the entrenched West and the emerging East and - as collateral damage - Africa’s already sordid human rights record will regress further. According to Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data, eight African states rank among the world’s 15 countries with the worst human rights and rule of law records as of 2022. Of course, such ratings are sometimes controversial, subjective and drafted with certain agendas in mind, but even that is on its own a strong indicator of how ordinary Africans are set to continue bearing the…

Mar

2023

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

How Africa can achieve water security, sustainable sanitation

NEWS

'AFRICA'S Rising Investment Tide', a report released by the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa released on Wednesday (March 22), shows there are pathways by which Africa can close its water and sanitation gaps by 2030. The panel, consisting of seven African presidents and international leaders, seeks to develop actionable avenues to close in on the continent's water investment gaps. In the inaugural report, the panel demonstrates pathways African countries can implement to secure an additional $30 billion to drive water security and sustainable sanitation by 2030. Africa requires US$50 billion annually - the equivalent of US$40 per…