Contrary to the government’s promises of prosperity, Kenya’s mega-railway is heading down the wrong track of development.
Demolition of uninhabited shacks in Bloekombos, Kraaifontein, Cape Town, August 6, 2020. The land, which was to be developed as a community facility for neighbouring communities, has been illegally occupied by people who have been demarcating plots and building informal settlements.
Rodger Bosch/AFP
Despite millions of free homes built since 1994, spatial inequality in South Africa remains high. A study evaluating a programme to boost rentals in well-located areas found mixed results, however.
The DRC has extraordinary potential for socioeconomic advancement.
EPA/Dai Kurokawa
Political agreements between major political actors aren’t enough to ensure stability in the DRC. Structural changes are needed as is a new approach towards governance.
The middle class concept in Africa has remained vague and limited to number crunching. The minimum threshold for entering it in monetary terms was critically vulnerable to a setback into poverty.
Ancient fermentation techniques are an example of African chemistry in action.
James Akena/Reuters
Knowledge is power. If you own it, you can control those without it. Since so much knowledge about Africa doesn’t sit on the continent, it’s apparent that Africa lacks power in this regard.
A street trader looks out from his store in Cape Town, South Africa. Defining people who earn US$2 a day as middle class doesn’t make sense.
EPA/Nic Bothma
Some economists have touted the rising middle class as a panacea for Africa’s challenges. But a more realistic diagnosis of what makes up a middle class is needed.