Links on Friday – 2
- Idland: The better critique of the Oprah critique
Another excellent post on Oprah’s Academy. The question raised by Financial Times – I have also asked on this site, and it’s one I have yet to find a good answer to, not even from Inland. One thing that I have noticed is why some sensible questions always seem to provoke off-the-point and often negative responses?
- Video Journalist Africa: Report from Jamame in Southern Somalia
Ruud Elmendorp video-blogs the flood in Southern Somalia.
- IRIN: Botswana’s displaced San finally look set to return home
Botswana’s displaced San finally look set to return home this week after winning a long-fought court battle to be allowed back to their ancestral land in the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR), in the Kalahari Desert.
See also: EthnicLoft: Botswana: Kalahari Bushmen + Diamonds = Eviction
- TEDBlog: Photographer Phil Borges on TEDTalks
Photographer Phil Borges displays his remarkable portraits, documenting the world’s disappearing cultures…
- Business in Africa: Africa Must Look East
“China is not (morally) different to the West, from an African perspective,†he says. “It’s not better or worse. They all want our resources. The real issue is how can we, as Africans, take advantage of the opportunity.â€
Nigeria: It’s just a Matter of Time…
“Five Chinese telecommunications workers have been kidnapped by unidentified armed men in southern Nigeria”, according to a BBC report. I wonder how this will impact the Sino-Nigeria business and trade arrangements which requires hundreds of Chinese technicians and expatriates. to be domiciled in Nigeria for several years. There is no doubt that the provision of private security for these people and other expats. in the Niger-Delta region has jacked-up the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
The agitations in the Niger-delta, and secessionist miltia in the eastern region, have sucessfully labelled Nigeria in the eyes of world as a time-bomb rigged to explode at any time.
As much as the Nigerian government tries to whitewash the stains of, and “airfreshens” the stench from, the rotting lumbers of our national foundation, it’s just a matter of time before things reach a tipping-point and our national foundation gives way completely. Well, unless the goons in charge realize the importance of carrying the people along.
As events indicate at the moment, the government strategies employed to nip sectarian violence and appease to those aggravated entities have not work. Rather than “staying the course of a doomed voyage”, isn’t it just simple commonsense to halt, take a breather, and reevaluate available options?
Related articles:
Nigeriafirst.org: Nigeria-China relations in Perspective: 1999 – 2006
Blogosphere…
Some Happenings in my Neck of the Woods:
What is America agenda in Somalia? Peace? Fight terrorism? Strategic relevance?
“Washington backed the warlords in their losing battle against the Islamists. And it tacitly approved Ethiopia’s military intervention to support the TFG. It has even been passing aerial surveillance reports to Addis Ababa, according to US news reports. Preoccupied with the spectre of Islamic terrorism, the White House is thus party to an attempt by a repressive regime in Ethiopia to replace a popular de facto government in Somalia with a widely reviled official one. It is a dangerous gamble.”
Check Ethan Zuckerman’s …My heart’s in Accra for some insight.
Is Uganda Africa’s Newest Investment Darling?
“In the African context, if we are talking about recent economic growth amidst large hurdles, it is difficult to disregard Uganda. This is a country that has endured some major trials and has slowly over time edged it’s way back into a period of sustained economic growth. Does this make Uganda a role model for other developing economies wishing to grow foreign direct investment?”
More on China-Africa Trade
As the Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing prepares for a mega tour of Africa come January 2007 in continuation of the Sino-Africa trade summit that held in Beijing last November, it is interesting to read a Chinese academic present his view on this trade relationship. The African Executive has a re-print of an article in Beijing Review written by He Wenping, the Director, Division of African Studies of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Excerpts:
“China and Africa have always been equal strategic partners that trust and support each other… China respects African countries’ right to choose the path of development independently… African countries, for their part, support the one-China policy and are opposed to Western countries’ interference in China’s internal affairs in the name of “human rights… Economically, China and Africa are mutually complementary partners that benefit each other.â€
I wonder what the writer means by “equal strategic partners” and “mutually complementary partners”
As I read through the article, the anti-west tone became more apparent just as the ideological rant depicting China as “a great nation helping a poor continent messed up by imperialism” grew stronger. Continue reading…
Hibiscus Project
Business in Africa December 5th editorial is on Africa-China trade relations. The paper states: “The Ministerial Forum of China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) in Beijing presents a unique opportunity for African countries to turn around what has been a relationship of two unequally matched powers…while it is convenient these days for African governments to see China as an alternative source of engagement to that of its traditional development partners, they must not overlook the threats that could result in this partnership being exploitative.”
I had the opportunity to interact with some interesting bloggers during a brain-storming session on Africa-China affairs in New Delhi, India last week. The session held a day before the Global Voices summit, was the precursor to the Hibiscus Project, a multi-faceted blogging-information sharing, advocacy project on China and Africa. The attendees were randomly selected by the organizer, Akwe Amosu a Senior Analyst with a Washington-based advocacy group, and the Global Voices organization.