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The Africa Report 17 - June-July 2009
South Africa - Time to deliver
The Africa Report N°17 (June-July 2009) With the election soundly won, proving he is the people’s president is the next trial for South Africa’s Jacob Zuma. Having chosen a cabinet that balances pragmatists and technocrats with radicals and loyalists, he needs to act quickly on the main issues to meet voter expectations.
Faced with a financial and development crisis that cuts African incomes for the first time in 15 years, the debate over how to steer poor countries out of the crisis is now centre stage.
In politics we map the troubled waters of the Nile, as rising tensions over the use of the scarce waters pitch Ethiopia and Sudan’s growing populations against Egypt’s historical claims to Africa’s largest river. The situation in Kenya is still simmering and politicians are still squabbling which could yet cause wounds to reopen, while military rule makes a comeback in Africa with a new spate of takeovers.
After the bursting of the stockmarket bubble, Nigerian Banks are forced to face up to bad banking practices and equate more transparency with better returns. Zimbabwe’s fledgling signs of rational economic management need substantial commitment by donors, investors and citizens alike. There’s a rice revolution in Uganda, as smallholder farmers cash in on the better prospects offered by a specially-developed new grain. Africa’s infrastructure projects are under threat as commercial lenders withdraw their support, putting pressure on development banks and donor governments to keep up the spending.
Society & Culture features notes from Nairobi’s revolutionary underground, spotlighting the new hip-hop beat to which the youth is dancing and giving readers a heads up to the city’s hotspots. From floetry to poetry, Cameroonian writer Nathalie Etoke gives us a last word that offers a moment of pure escape.
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SOUTH AFRICA 
After his overwhelming victory in the April elections, Jacob Zuma has to prove he is the people’s president. It’s time to deliver…
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KENYA 
Kikuyu’s are considered outsiders in Rift Valley Province, which is where much of the violence occurred following Kenya’s December 2007 elections. Although some healing has taken place, political squabbling threatens to reopen some wounds.
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KHAKI PARTY
The Khaki party is making a spectacular comeback in African politics after a long period in retreat – and there are those who believe that they are welcome.
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NIGERIA
After wowing the world with their recapitalization exercise, Nigerian banks slipped into bad banking practices and a stock market bubble quickly followed.
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ZIMBABWE 
Zimbabwe’s battered economy needs a jump start from donors, investors and citizens alike, if the fledgling signs of rational economic management are to fly.
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RICE REVOLUTION 
In Uganda, a specially-developed rice grain is helping smallholder farmers earn more money than they do from growing maize and is beginning to drive a cash crop revolution.
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INFRASTRUCTURE 
African governments are trying to save essential infrastructure investment, while major donor agencies prepare to back projects.
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NAIROBI NIGHTS 
Nairobi’s youth have cultivated their own underground hip hop scene, but dependence on foreign funding means it lacks lasting roots.
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| DOSSIERS |
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| Special report Ghana's economy |
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A decade of good economic growth, a credible election and prices holding up for its key commodity exports ahead of the start-up of oil and gas production – Ghana is better placed than most developing countries to withstand the rigours of the global financial crisis. Discover the sectors that mean business: energy, finance, telecoms and agriculture.
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| > PDF extract |
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| Oil & Gas |
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| When the oil price rebounds, Africa’s oil exporters will need to work hard to reinvigorate investor interest and finish the infrastructure needed to transport their energy resources. With a special focus on oil-producing countries, new reserves, new reforms and new fuels. |
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| > PDF extract |
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| Education Campain |
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This issue looks at Ghana’s growing demand for good quality secondary schooling, and the effects of massive expansion on academic standards and school infrastructure. Some parents find a solution in private primary schooling with the hope of improving their children’s chances of getting into competitive secondary schools. With a close-up of Achimota School in Accra, one of Ghana’s best-run schools.
Read the articles and join in the debate on our special Facebook page. |
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