Nigeria recently started commercial operation of a China-assisted railway linking the southwestern cities of Lagos and Ibadan.
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In his new book, Nigeria Democracy Without Development: How To Fix It, international political economist Omano Edigheji explains why democracy has not led to development in Nigeria.
Humanitarian agencies are often thrust into the heart of contentious crises without easy or quick solutions.
The Houthis accused the WFP of giving out expired food assistance. The UN agency delivers monthly rations or money to 10.2 million people of Yemen's 26-million population. EPA-EFE/YAHYA ARHAB
When humanitarian agencies are obliged to stop operations by political decision or because of huge physical insecurity, the poorest and most vulnerable succumb first through starvation and disease.
Might the 2021 Zambian elections usher in another period of economic growth?
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Whoever wins the elections will face two key challenges: reviving the country’s democratic credentials and stimulating the economy.
Hakainde Hichilema (C), leader of the Zambia opposition party United Party for National Development.
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Frustration is growing among opposition supporters who believe the last election was stolen.
A woman sells vegetables on the street in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia in June 2021.
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To avoid a repeat of one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times, Ethiopia needs all-inclusive national dialogue.
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Eurobonds are costly for governments. But they are also attractive because investors buy them without preconditions.
History is better taught to young, impressionable minds from an early age.
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Nigeria should stop showing contempt for history as a subject, profession or topic of discussion.
“Creativity machines” are capable of independent and complex functioning, so they can invent things.
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The decision is supported by the government’s policy environment in recent years. This has aimed to increase innovation, and views technology as a way to achieve this.
A protest organised by the Congress of South African Trade Unions in South Africa. The question is: on whose behalf does the union movement advocate?
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In this moment of crisis, South Africa urgently needs decisive action. But all too often South Africans of all political stripes seem trapped in stale discourses.
Bush meat consumption is enjoying a renaissance in Ghana.
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For conservationists and the government, religion and culture could serve to discourage the overharvesting of bushmeat from the wild
Ghana’s real estate boom has focused on luxury housing.
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In the formal real estate industry, there is an emerging narrative that affordable housing deficits in African cities represent a vast untapped market
The distribution of agricultural land in South Africa remains deeply unequal.
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An agency could accelerate land reform by removing the process from political and bureaucratic control.
A worker carries a water container at a newly installed internally displaced person camp in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia.
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Africa needs to embrace a new approach that focuses on what countries in an embattled region – as a ‘community’ of regional states – can do to intervene.
Marie Coetzee and her husband Fanie Coetzee live in the poverty stricken shanty town community of Munsieville, west of Johannesburg.
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There is no substance to the view that poor people are lazy and prefer to live on handouts from the state rather than seek work.
Innovation in food systems and agricultural research is critical for African countries.
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Stronger agricultural R&D systems will enable agriculture to power Africa’s transformation.
Tanzania opposition party leader Freeman Mbowe (centre) after being released from prison in Dar es Salaam in 2020.
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Despite the relative political stability over the years, Tanzania needs a new constitution to address contemporary challenges and strengthen institutions.
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Leaders in Africa need to develop practical ways to achieve their aspirations.
African countries must include all migrant populations in their vaccination plans.
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Failure to ensure access for all to prevention and treatment, including vaccines, undermines national responses to COVID-19.
An inmate busy in the woodwork area of The Leeuwkop Correctional Facility.
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One way to break the cycles that return offenders to prison is through the way society treats ex-offenders, providing them with basic human needs such as employment.
The Bui Dam is a tangible reminder of China’s influence in Ghana.
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China’s engagement with Ghana was solidified by its willingness to undertake an expensive project Western partners had run away from.
South African Defence Force troops on patrol in Alexandra, Johannesburg, following recent violence and looting.
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The army may help create a more stable and secure environment in the short term, but this is unlikely to result in sustainable and lasting peace.
Ghanaian students attend a class in a madrasa or Muslim school.
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Although Ghana has not been affected by religious conflict, the ways youth from the Muslim minority relate to their nation is an important question.
Hope Masike performs at Gallery Delta in the documentary Art for Art’s Sake.
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Gallerist and writer Robert Huggins and his wife, the artist Helen Lieros, have passed away. But their lives are a testament to what kind of impact one African art gallery can have.
Demonstrators in Johannesburg march against environmental damage done by coal.
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There is significant potential for the community trusts to improve the financial position of communities. But it’s not happening.
Ghana’s population has expanded its data categories
Delali Adogla-Bessa
Ghana’s latest population census offers a window into the contested terrain of population statistics.