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Global politics has become a 24-7 entertainment TV channel—and Africa isn’t being left out. The week started with the Gambia, shutting down its internet and international phone lines in the run-up to presidential elections. It was the latest in a growing list of (mostly African) countries who’ve done this with the vague excuse of ‘security’.
Media and political analysts expected Gambia’s president Yahya Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years, to comfortably win the election (almost regardless of what the electorate decided). Instead, his challenger Adama Barrow was declared winner and Gambians celebrated in the streets.
Still, we waited. Electoral commissions haven’t exactly been the most powerful institutions in African autocracies.
But later that evening, local time, Jammeh appeared live on state TV telling Gambians he was willing to follow Allah’s will and step down. And in keeping with the current theme of politics-as-entertainment he made a phone call on-air to Barrow to congratulate him. It featured graciousness, awkward discussions about each other’s birthdays and a temporary dropped call (the video is here).
Lest we forget, while we were being stunned by Gambia, Africa’s second longest-serving president José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, announced he’ll definitely be stepping down next year, after 37 years. He even revealed a succession plan. There’s naturally more caution about dos Santos’ exit (he’s promised this before) and whether there’ll really be significant change in terms of the power brokers. But it’s a start.
We’ve updated our list of the longest-serving African leaders to see what it’d look like without dos Santos and Jammeh—and to note who moves up.
As tempting as it may be, it’s unwise to make a case that ‘Africa is changing’ based on these two very different countries. But in a strange way, Jammeh and dos Santos, may have carved out new exit routes for other long-timers who may realize it’s time to move on. That’s a good thing.
Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories from this week
Zimbabwe’s bond notes are only good for paying bribes. Zimbabwe’s bond notes were introduced this week in a bid to increase liquidity in an economy running short on cash. But many Zimbabweans are dismayed about the notes, and say they are likely to exacerbate the very problems they are meant to solve.
How Rwanda is weaning itself off secondhand clothes. In her third report in a series on the Rwanda-China relationship, Lily Kuo explains how the east African country is importing Chinese textile companies to reduce its reliance on chagua, hand-me-down clothing from the West, and to give its own manufacturing base a fillip.
Nigeria’s Buhari has had a horrible 2016. President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria is facing sharp criticism as he nears the end of his first full calendar year in office. As Yomi Kazeem notes, the same international media Buhari courted early in his tenure, has joined ordinary Nigerians in registering disapproval of a terrible economy and a lack of vision for the country’s future.
Tackling corruption is key to addressing Africa’s climate change. African countries are considered some of the most vulnerable when it comes to the impact of climate change. Yet, the funds required to sustain climate programs have not been coming through for fear that they will be misused, writes Paula Dupraz-Dobias
How Africa’s biggest retailer grew by betting on its rising middle class. In 1979, South Africa’s Shoprite only had 8 stores and was valued at 1 million rand ($1.2 million). As Lynsey Chutel explains, the company grew into a multi-billion-dollar retail by seeking out Africa’s growing middle class consumers, and in places its competitors were yet to venture.
A South African newspaper built an app to support victims of gender violence. Diepsloot is a densely populated and under-serviced township in Johannesburg. But when a group of journalists discovered the shocking prevalence of child rape and gender violence, they created an app that connected survivors with organizations that offer assistance.
CHART OF THE WEEK
Using scientific research to reverse brain drain in Africa. Africa produces a paltry 1% of the world’s research output, a far cry from its position as the second most populous continent in the world. Abdi Latif Dahir writes that, a blend of government policies and funding opportunities are fostering a new research culture aimed at reversing the continent’s brain drain.
Other Things We Liked
The fossil fuel projects the US has littered around the world. President Obama has called global warming “terrifying” and helped broker the world’s first proper agreement to tackle it. But as a joint Guardian and Columbia Journalism School report finds, the Obama administration, through the Export-Import Bank has spent billions developing projects in countries like South Africa that will push the planet even closer to climate disaster.
The Fulani challenge in the Sahel. As climate change shrinks arable land and populations swell, nomadic Fulani herdsmen have been clashing with local farmers across West Africa’s Sahel region. As their livelihood is threatened, Reuters’ Tim Cocks reports from Mali on how the Fulani have become increasingly vulnerable to infiltration by Islamic militants posing a new danger in the region.
Keep an eye on
South Africa to release GDP figures for the third quarter (Dec. 6). The Statistician General of South Africa, Dr. Pali Lehohla, will release the gross domestic product estimates for the third quarter of 2016 on Tuesday (Dec. 6) in Pretoria.
General elections in Ghana (Dec. 7). Ghana will go to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 7, the seventh multi-party election since the end of military rule in the country in 1992.
Zimbabwe’s 2017 national budget (Dec. 8). Amid worsening economic times, Zimbabwe’s finance minister Patrick Chinamasa will on Dec. 8 present the country’s 2017 national budget to parliament.
Our best wishes for a productive week ahead. Please send any news, comments, phone numbers for Angolan and Gambian moving companies, to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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