African governments and development agencies have embraced science, technology and innovation as levers for development over the past two decades. It is believe that science, technology and innovation boost productivity, cut transaction costs, open new business opportunities and promote social inclusion. They also help societies tackle grand challenges such as climate change and persistent poverty….
How corruption shapes support for media scrutiny in Africa “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said, referring to the belief that vigorous reporting on corruption helps citizens hold their leaders accountable and punish wrongdoers. Yet the politics of exposure is rarely so simple, especially where…
A rapid increase in demand may leave Africa no choice but to make a substantial investment in nuclear energy. First, substantial increases in energy demand will accompany Africa’s development. Rapid development requires the availability of 8.62 barrels of oil equivalent per person a year. The average in Africa currently is three barrels, the lowest of…
The United States’ hastily established third country deportation deals are chaotic and counterproductive. The second Trump administration’s foreign policy towards African countries has been characterized by transactionalism. The U.S. has trumpeted minerals-for-security deals in the Eastern DRC and positioned the end of foreign aid as a recentering of trade. Transactionalism is supposed to do away…
Partnerships That Reinforce Accountability, Transparency and Local Ownership, Argues — As the world gathers for the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the global health agenda is once again under the spotlight. And how the playing field has changed in just one year! For Africa, UNGA is an unmissable opportunity to ensure that the continent’s…
Africa does not need political unity; it needs to rally round proven ideas. When South African opposition leader Julius Malema addressed the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association the apex body of Nigerian lawyers last month, he minced no words about what he believes the continent’s fifty-four-odd countries need to do as a…
The problem with the Rubio memo is not what it says about American attitude towards Africa, it is what it says about the country’s conception of itself and its historical mission as the world’s leading democracy. It is quite possible that, in time, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s directive limiting U.S. State Department commentary…
Oxfam report warns of danger ahead as gap widens between rich and poor In 1990, just one in 10 people living in extreme poverty around the world lived in Africa. In 2024, it was seven in ten. Since 2020, the number of people living in extreme poverty on the continent has risen by over 40…
Among the whispers of African Women’s Football, one name is beginning to make a name for itself: Alex Malete. On Sunday, July 13th, at the Père Jégo Stadium in Casablanca, the Botswana coach gave his country much more than a simple comeback. At 35, he achieved his first major coaching feat by guiding the Mares…
Why is contact between law enforcement and the average citizen in Africa so frequently lethal? Kenyan teacher, activist, and social media campaigner Albert Ojwang is finally achieving in death precisely what he always wanted to do while he was alive–draw attention to the state of affairs in his country, in particular police highhandedness as an…
