'Tis the Season

In the spirit of the Holiday Season, my blogging will be put on hold until the New Year, only to be replaced by other activities including, but not limited to: last-minute holiday shopping and gift wrapping (I am so incredibly behind this year, it's downright shameful), cookie baking, resisting the urge to eat all of said baked cookies, entertaining, watching the parade of cheesy Christmas movies on television, etc... I look forward to joining you again in 2009!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! :) 
aleksandra

A slowdown in Sino-African relations?

If the Nigerian case is any indicator, the global economic crisis may be causing a slowdown in Sino-African trade:

The global slowdown has prompted a Nigerian cement company to postpone plans to buy $3.3bn (£2.1bn, €2.3bn) in plant building and materials from a Chinese contractor in a sign that China’s burgeoning trade with Africa may be starting to soften. Dangote Group signed a deal with Sinoma International Engineering, the Chinese construction company, in February to build a series of plants needed to fulfil its goal of overtaking France’s Lafarge to become Africa’s largest cement maker.

The deal was one of the biggest struck between an African and a Chinese company, symbolising Chinese businesses’ progress in carving a foothold in African markets long dominated by European rivals. Africa-China trade was estimated at $55bn in 2006. But Aliko Dangote, founder of the Dangote Group trading and manufacturing empire, has postponed most of the projects in part because the global crisis has clouded the outlook for the construction sector.

Rebels among us

Young, agitated Darfurians in Hamidiya Camp in West Darfur are making peace negotiations even more tangled, writes the NYTimes:

The youths are known collectively as the “shabab,” the Arabic word for young men. And they have become a vehemently pro-rebel political force in the camps for the 2.7 million people displaced by years of war between the Arab-dominated Sudanese government and rebels in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Increasingly angry and outspoken about their uncertain fate, the generation that came of age in the camps is challenging the traditional sheiks, upending the age-old authority structure of their tribal society and complicating efforts to achieve peace.

“They are much more extreme than the sheiks,” said the United Nations official who related the episode of the frightened sheik, speaking anonymously to avoid jeopardizing his own acceptance among the shabab. “And they are hotheaded.”

Affleck: not a headless heart

In Collier's Bottom Billion, Collier refers to those he calls "headless hearts" - well-meaning but misguided campaigners who oppose measures such as cutting trade barriers, attaching tough conditions on aid, or sending troops, which could actually help the poorest countries. When you think about it, many celebrity activists fall squarely into this category. While I would love to believe that Angelina Jolie or [insert activist celebrity name here] knows the first thing about development policy, I somehow doubt it. 

Alas, my faith in celebrity activists has been restored (somewhat, and perhaps momentarily) by a movie that Ben Affleck made about the crisis in Kivus for UNHCR's awareness campaign:



Wronging Rights actually had a great post on this a few days ago, and I must agree with Chris Blattman's claim that it is (nearly) worth posting in full: 

I know what you're thinking.

Or rather, I know what I was thinking: "Oh for god's sake, ANOTHER vanity project using the Congo's striking back-drop of AK-47s and sobbing rape victims to set off some celebrity's pointedly un-ironed 'I'm in a refugee camp' ensemble and newfound commitment to helping the less fortunate / more browner."

But let's run down the list of typical offenses:

  1. Shots of aforementioned celebrity kneeling caringly next to tear-stained refugee child: None.
  2. Voyeuristic footage of teary teenage girls haltingly narrating the circumstances of their violation: None. In fact, nobody cries at all.
  3. Ominous images of black men clutching semi-automatic weapons in a menacing manner: Alright one, but it accompanies text noting that there are 22 recognized armed groups operating in the region so I'm going to let it slide.
Affleck instead makes the shocking choice to show people going about their daily activities in the camps, experiencing the normal range of human emotion. This shouldn't be so striking, except when was the last time you saw footage of a Congolese man patiently bathing his child?

Remember celebrity photographer Rankin's insistence that glamour shots were needed to raise awareness of the IDPs because people "have become anaesthetised to traditional photographs of conflict victims"? Turns out portraying them as thinking, feeling human beings will do the trick just as well. (And the awesome soundtrack - "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones - doesn't hurt either.) Way to go, Affleck!

Justice in Kenya

The Kenyan government has agreed to create a tribunal to prosecute organizers of the violent ethnic clashes which occurred early this year. At least 1, 500 people were killed and an estimated 500, 000 fled their homes in the wake of the December 2007 presidential election:

Many Kenyans are skeptical that a local tribunal can be impartial and prefer the cases be handled by the ICC because some alleged perpetrators could have a role in designing their own justice system.

A successful court here would be a major step in gaining back Kenyans' shattered confidence in their justice system, says Florence Simbiri-Jaoko, chairwoman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. "There is a possibility of manipulation," she said. "It's up to us to be vigilant."

You can read the article in full here. 

Science and development

The key to economic prosperity is turning innovation into profits. A growing number of countries in the developing world are showing how this can be done. Their societies are benefitting as a result.

Leaders in Africa and other developing countries face huge challenges in meeting the basic needs of their people and competing in the global economy. Yet, unlike their predecessors, who had to make do with limited technical knowledge, they have a wealth of scientific and technological know-how at their disposal. Innovation is at the centre of economic growth. The challenge, however, is not so much to build from scratch as to use expanding technological opportunities to their advantage. This does not mean that developing countries should avoid investing in basic research and development (R&D), but rather that R&D should be guided by the need to adapt existing knowledge to local markets.
From, Nature, International Weekly Journal of Science

Non-interference no longer

It appears that China's policy of military non-interference has come to an end. China has announced today that it is to send naval ships to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia:
State media suggested the force could consist of two destroyers and a supply ship, although officials did not confirm the details of the deployment [...] China's navy, along with the rest of its military, has not often strayed far from home. But China's military spending has increased dramatically in recent years as its armed forces undergo a thorough modernisation.

This is its first active deployment beyond the Pacific, and naval analysts will be watching closely to see how the Chinese cope with the complex maintenance and re-supply problems of operating so far from home, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.

[...] The Gulf of Aden is a region of key strategic importance for China whose economy depends heavily upon a secure supply of oil and raw materials from abroad, our correspondent says.

Four or five Chinese ships pass through the busy channel every day.

Slavery in Darfur

Strong evidence has emerged of children and adults being used as slaves in Sudan's Darfur region, a study says.

Kidnapped men have been forced to work on farmland controlled by Janjaweed militias, a coalition of African charities says.Eyewitnesses also say the Sudanese army has been involved in abducting women and children to be sex slaves and domestic staff for troops in Khartoum.

But Khartoum said the report was "very naive" and called the authors ignorant. "The government does not condone abductions and it is not government policy," a government spokesman told the BBC.

"We are working hard to stop such violations. The rebel factions are mostly to blame for abductions in Darfur.

From, BBC Africa

Hit me baby one more time, Gitmo style

I cringed upon typing that title. Honestly, I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry upon reading this. It would appear that American (or Western, if you will) pop music serves the dual purpose of background music in cheesy teeny-boppy clubs, and as a torture strategy in prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay: 
The message, as released Guantánamo prisoner Ruhal Ahmed explained in an interview earlier this year, was less significant than the relentless, inescapable noise. Describing how he experienced music torture “on many occasions,” Ahmed said, “I can bear being beaten up, it's not a problem. Once you accept that you're going to go into the interrogation room and be beaten up, it's fine. You can prepare yourself mentally. But when you're being psychologically tortured, you can't.” He added, however, that “from the end of 2003 they introduced the music and it became even worse. Before that, you could try and focus on something else. It makes you feel like you are going mad. You lose the plot and it’s very scary to think that you might go crazy because of all the music, because of the loud noise, and because after a while you don’t hear the lyrics at all, all you hear is heavy banging."
Given that I've never been in such a position (whew!) I of course have little room to comment, but I'd venture to guess that the degree to which this is actually 'torture' depends greatly on the individual. If it were me, I'd be busting out the dance moves left and right. Though I suppose that would cause some problems of its own....  [HT: Boing Boing]

More Noteworthy

Indonesia is facing what some may argue is the worst shortage of all: an alcohol shortage

Observations and tips on developing mobile phones for developing countries

A wonderful animated map of immigration to the U.S. between 1820- 2007, designed by a Northwestern grad (go Wildcats!):


Immigration to the US, 1820-2007 v2 from Ian Stevenson on Vimeo.

Collier, infrastructure and the Chinese in Africa... a formula for success?

While (re)reading through Collier's Bottom Billion last night, a thought occurred to me: maybe the Chinese have it ('it' being part of the solution to Africa's development woes) right. Bear with me as I wade through my thoughts....

Collier places much emphasis on the importance of transport infrastructure - particularly among landlocked states - as one of  the key engines for economic growth. Landlocked states are in a dubious position as without their own access to ports, for instance, they are reliant on those of their coastal neighbors. Yet, if your coastal neighbor is Sudan, or Nigeria, or Angola, chances are your goods aren't going to get very far - not only because of the rather, let's say, questionable political realities there, but also because their infrastructure is also, well, questionable. 

Infrastructure development has become 'so last season' among many development agencies, who are instead focused on more fashionable objectives like HIV/AIDS research, education, women's rights, etc. While of course important (very important in most cases) and worth pursuing, exclusive emphasis on objectives such as these has blinded some donors to the need for infrastructure development. Not the Chinese.  A report put out by the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Stellenbosch tracks the Chinese interests in Africa's construction and infrastructure projects. The Chinese are rebuilding a stretch of road connecting landlocked Ethiopian farms to ports in Kenya, and have generally taken to building roads, bridges, tunnels - you name it - left and right. 

Of course questions abound over the percentage of local vs. imported labor, labor conditions, and the ultimate (or ulterior?) motives behind China's enthusiasm for construction in Africa (I have a few guesses). Placing those aside for a moment, I must admit that (re)reading Collier's arguments left me wondering whether Chinese investment in the form of construction may just be the ticket. Do the Chinese have it right after all? 

Who gets American foreign aid

A list of 2008's top U.S. aid recipients, from Sunday's Parade (of all places...). 
COUNTRYAIDPURPOSE
1. Israel$2.4 billionVirtually all of this money is used to buy weapons (up to 75% made in the U.S.). Beginning in 2009, the U.S. plans to give $30 billion over 10 years.
2. Egypt$1.7 billion$1.3 billion to buy weapons; $103 million for education; $74 million for health care; $45 million to promote civic participation and human rights.
3. Pakistan$798 million$330 million for security efforts, including military-equipment upgrades and border security; $20 million for infrastructure.
4. Jordan$688 million$326 million to fight terrorism and promote regional stability through equipment upgrades and training; $163 million cash payment to the Jordanian government.
5. Kenya$586 million$501 million to fight HIV/AIDS through drug treatment and abstinence education and to combat malaria; $15 million for agricultural development; $5.4 million for programs that promote government accountability.
6. South Africa$574 million$557 million to fight TB and HIV/AIDS; $3 million for education.

A giant stumbles

From today's Economist: 
[China] is a statistical haze, but the trade figures for last month—with exports 2% lower than in November 2007 and imports 18% down—were shocking. Power generation, generally a reliable number, fell by 7%. Even though the World Bank and other forecasters still expect China’s GDP to grow by 7.5% in 2009, that is below the 8% level regarded, almost superstitiously, as essential if huge social dislocation is to be avoided. Just this month a senior party researcher gave warning of what he called, in party-speak, “a reactive situation of mass-scale social turmoil”. Indeed, demonstrations and protests, always common in China, are proliferating, as laid-off factory-workers join dispossessed farmers, environmental campaigners and victims of police harassment in taking to the streets.
Indeed, an increasing number of Chinese citizens appear to be taking to the streets, as businesses and factories continue to shut down. It will be curious to discover how Chinese officials will continue to deal with the downturn. Perhaps even more curious to see if China's economic woes will translate to increased migration to African states - attractive markets for many unable to secure livelihoods in the Motherland.

Entrepreneurship and development

In last Tuesday's NYTimes, Kristol touted the importance of the private sector as a tool for development:
I’m also a believer in aid, particularly health and education interventions. But I also believe that business can raise living standards on a scale that aid never can, and that we need to focus more on building manufacturing in poor countries [...] It’s something that I probably haven’t written enough about, and I’ll try to pursue the issue some more in the next year.
Interestingly, just two weeks ago the OECD and Eurostat published the first set of comparable data on measures of entrepreneurial activity such as entry and exit rates, and the rate of formation of high-growth companies. So far the data covers 15 European countries, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand. What I would love to see is a similar study conducted among African states. 

Who wants to save Somalia?

Somalia's soldiers and police are deserting at an unprecedented rate.  The UN has been unable to put together a multinational military force to stabilize the country. The AU is pulling out, and any sort of U.S./EU "land invasion" to combat piracy appears highly unlikely (indeed now more than ever). So what's to become of this east African state? 

Unfortunately, I find myself agreeing with Ethan Zuckerman who writes:
My money’s on al-Shabab controlling Mogadishu within weeks, and moving to stabilize the country under Sharia law. This is likely to be less pleasant than the control the UIC imposed, but will likely have the effect of reducing piracy and, perhaps, allowing commerce to resume. In the medium term, it’s likely to threaten Ethiopia and perhaps Kenya in a serious way, and to provide safe haven for Islamic extremists. And in the long term, it’s likely to become a major security issue for the Obama administration, possibly rising to the level where it’s discussed by folks other than Africa policy wonks.
Al-Shabab is an extreme, intolerant, Al-Qaeda aligned Islamist insurgency group that has been active in Somalia since 2006. In 2008 it was classified as an official terrorist group by the U.S. State Department. In short, it's exactly the kind of 'governance' Somalia and its neighbors don't need. So.... who else wants to save Somalia? 

How to become an African dictator, A Guidebook

A rather humorous (and sadly mostly true) step-by-step "guide" for aspiring African dictators from South Africa's Mail & Guardian. Among the key pointers:
Rule 3. Make America or China happy. Make Israel and Saudi Arabia very happy. Become a Muslim, like Idi Amin. Visit Moammar Gadaffi often. He likes African leaders. We do not know why. Pray with George Bush and let him see your soul. Make your country's leading supermodel the ambassador to France and Italy. Ask her to wear a mini when presenting her papers to Nicholas Sarkozy.

Rule 6. Colonial countries expected little of Africans. Maintain this illusion. Keep your citizenry ignorant and unproductive. For their food needs, see Rule 5 above.

Rule 11. Do not send all the money you steal to Switzerland and do not give it to your wife. Buy US treasury bonds and hide them in your children's library. They will never use it. Why should they read? Daddy is rich. Do not have businesses in your wife's name. Or in your children's names. Deal in euros, Krugerrands and diamonds. 

... If all these things fail and you find yourself in State House surrounded by screaming citizens carrying homemade weaponry, make sure you have a Hummer (Raila Odinga) in your garage. They are cheap now in America. You can burst out of your palace and make your way to Somalia, where you can become a pirate who earns $50-million a year.

They've got the power

Last week, Botswana’s energy utility, Botswana Power Corporation, signed a contract with Chinese firms for the development of a 600 megawatts (MW) power station. The contract was concluded with China's construction consortium, China National Electric Equipment Corporation and Shenyang Blower Works Electro-Mechanics Import and Export Co. Ltd (the CNEEC-SBW Consortium), to build the Morupule B power station. With this investment, Botswana aims to expand its generating capacity and eventually reduce dependency on energy imports. 
From, Doing Business Blog

The pitfalls of a bonus culture

Paul Collier has an interesting comment piece in today's Guardian. In it, he argues that the culture of  high-powered incentives that led to the U.S. financial crisis is likewise behind Africa's governance crisis:

The financial crisis in the developed world and the long, slow crisis of African governance have one feature in common: what economists coyly term "high-powered incentives". The financial crisis was the consequence of management decisions in the financial sector. For decades people in these pos-itions had behaved prudently, which is why their businesses built up good reputations. Why was the behaviour of the present vintage so different? The answer is the introduction of high-powered incentives - or, more intelligibly expressed, obscenely large payments tied to some specified performance. The theory is that such incentives overcome problems of managerial shirking and niceties such as putting the workforce's interests before those of shareholders.

This simple theory provided the intellectual veneer for grotesque greed: high-powered incentives are, in reality, very damaging. And I have watched them wreak havoc in the apparently very different context of African politics. The bonuses Africa's leaders pay themselves are sizable even by the breathtaking standards of the developed world; like financial managers, the politicians have a massive incentive to achieve the performance benchmark. In the financial sector the benchmark has been quarterly measured profits; in Africa it has been winning an election.