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Silver linings
The expected slowdown in many African countries, particularly the big oil exporters, is now being seen as an opportunity to diversify revenue sources and support private investment. This was a key highlight of this year’s Foresight Africa report, from Brookings Institution.
The dwindling of commodity and energy revenue is seen as a chance to increase the focus on building infrastructure and expanding local tax bases to help develop local economies. The idea is to move beyond a dependence on revenue from exploiting natural resources.
As Brookings points out, with foreign aid budgets staying flat in most major donor countries the role of private investment is going to be increasingly important. Fostering an economic environment that engenders trust, transparency and mitigates uncertainty will encourage that investment, whether international or local.
This brings us onto the incoming administration of US president-elect Trump. A report in the New York Times this weekend provides some long-sought insight into the early thoughts of Trump’s team on Africa. It’s based on a four-page list of questions doing the rounds with State Dept and Pentagon Africa experts. One of the key themes his team has been exploring is whether some of the United States’ aid and security programs still make sense in Africa.
While these were early-stage, exploratory enquiries, long-time US-Africa watchers feel the framing of the questions indicates a significant change of tone in the way the US deals with the continent. Specifically, some believe it could spell bad news for long-term US aid projects to Africa.
But, as with a downturn in commodity and energy prices, a new administration also provides an opportunity as the US itself tries to reassess its place in the world. For example, as the New York Times reports, one of the first questions on the list is: “How does US business compete with other nations in Africa? Are we losing out to the Chinese?”
If African governments and business leaders are smart and focused they will be able to leverage this concern to their advantage, as we’ve said before about China and Africa. But African countries can only do that by ensuring the fiscal and regulatory environment is ready for the possibility in the first place.
This isn’t really about Trump or about China, it’s about getting your house in order to be able to take advantage when opportunity comes knocking. This should be the norm, not the exception.
Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Five stories from this week
Côte d’Ivoire’s past is threatening its economic future. Since he took power in 2010, the economy of Côte d’Ivoire revved back to life under the leadership of president Alassane Ouattara. But a mutiny among soldiers last week, the second in less than three years, threatens the West African nation’s lead as Africa’s fastest growing economy, writes Lynsey Chutel.
Canada appointed a former Somali refugee as immigration minister. Ahmed Hussen arrived in Canada in 1993 as a 16-year-old refugee from Mogadishu. But after a career in law and activism, Hussen became not only the first Somali to be elected to parliament in 2015, but also as of last week, Canada’s minister for immigration, refugee and citizenship.
After a $40 billion China pledge, Nigeria ordered Taiwan out of its capital. Nigeria ordered Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy, a trade mission, out of the capital Abuja. It follows a visit from China’s foreign minister, which included a promise of $40 billion investment pledge. It’s the latest spat in China and Taiwan’s diplomatic rivalry playing out in Africa, reports Lily Kuo.
A Congo swampland holds equivalent of 20 years of US greenhouse gases. Scientists have discovered 145,500 square kilometers of peatland in the Congo Basin that contains the equivalent of 20 years of US greenhouse gas emissions. Rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall could mean the drying out of the peat and the release of harmful emissions.
The cost of the internet is cheapest along Africa’s coast countries. Users in landlocked countries in Africa pay on average $232 more per month for fixed broadband access than those living along the coastlines. To offset high data costs and slow download speeds, you might as well move to a coastal country.
CHART OF THE WEEK
The real gap between Africa’s Christians and Muslims. In many communities across Africa, Muslims and Christians coexist side by side. Yet, in 18 out of 27 countries with substantial populations from both religions, Christians were twice as likely to have formal education than the Muslims. The gap can be attributed to a number of reasons including colonial education systems and the availability of resources, writes Abdi Latif Dahir.
Other Things We Liked
How Cape Verde gave us an alternate history of electronic music. Listen closely to electronic music and you’ll hear the stories of the migrants of Cape Verde, whose sounds tell an alternative history of the popular genre. Vik Sohonie, who compiled the historical tribute Synthesize Soul, recalls for OkayAfrica some of the stories of the migrants who combined the sounds of their islands, with the synthesizers they found in Europe to tell the story of the Cape Verdean diaspora.
Only religion can defuse Nigeria’s demographic time bomb. For years, Nigeria has regarded its huge population as a strength. But given the ballooning unemployment figures and an extreme infrastructure deficit, this is shaping up to be a liability. To augment the government-backed family planning campaigns, Remi Adekoya argues in Foreign Policy for a new approach: exploring Nigerians’ religious devotion and using its revered clergy to drive home the point.
Afro-Palestinians forget a unique identity in Israel. A small community of Afro-Palestinians, the descendants of Muslim pilgrims from Chad, Sudan, Nigeria, Senegal and elsewhere, lives in Jerusalem’s Old City, writes Isma’il Kushkush for the AP. As proud Palestinians, they fight for an independent Palestine but still suffer discrimination and racism.
Who is telling Africa’s visual stories? Of the most covered stories across Africa over the past several years, only a handful of stories were assigned to African photographers by major international publications. But as Whitney Richardson writes in the New York Times Lens blog, the establishment of photo festivals, master classes and funding grants are giving African photographers more opportunities to cultivate their creativity.
Keep an eye on
United Nations World Data Forum (Jan. 15-18). The first UN World Data Forum will be hosted by Statistics South Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. The conference is expected to explore innovative ways to apply data and statistics to measure global progress and inform evidence-based policy decisions on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Gambia’s presidential inauguration (Jan. 19). Adama Barrow, the head of the opposition who won the December elections, has said he will go ahead with the inauguration on Jan. 19. The African Union has said it will no longer recognize Yahya Jammeh as president from that date.
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, cheap coastal internet and Cape Verdean electronic music mixtapes, to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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