Development

People often say when Africans argue for an integrated national African economy, they are self-indulgent entertaining nothing but a futile illusion. They claim that to argue that Africa must unite economically, ‘knowledge-ically’, politically, and ’society-ically’ is to day-dream and to give in to fantasy. [Pambazuka]

Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. [Pambazuka]

In Hokkaido, Japan, we have not only in Bush, Sarkozy, Brown, and Fukuda a group of discredited leaders with very low ratings at the polls in their own countries, writes Walden Bello. We have as well a G8 that is, more than ever, lacking in legitimacy. [Pambazuka]

Brian Ramadiro and Kimberley Porteus of the Nelson Mandela Institute for Rural Development and Education analyse the relationship between the university and rural development in an African setting before exploring other pedagogical possibilities to better orient University engagement with the requirements of rural educators. [Full Text Article, pdf]

The Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness will be held this September in Accra. But is aid effectiveness a mirage? Yash Tandon reaches the conclusion that “the aid effectiveness project is a form of collective colonialism by Northern donors of those Southern countries that, through weakness, vulnerability or psychological dependency, allow themselves to be subjected to it at the Accra conference in September.” [Pambazuka]

Si l’Afrique est incapable d’assurer sa souveraineté alimentaire, ce n’est point qu’elle manque de ressources pour relever ce défi. Les terres agricoles sont encore peu exploitées, l’eau est disponible à profusion et les bras valides pour remuer les sols sont là. La dépendance alimentaire dans laquelle se trouve le continent est tout simplement due aux chaînes des politiques néolibérales qui l’entravent. [Pambazuka]

Dans « La natte des autres », Joseph Ki-Zerbo terminait son propos comme suit : « L’homme patient finit par plumer un œuf. Plumer un œuf, telle est la finalité du développement. » En fait, l’historien avait déjà indiqué les voies et moyens pour plumer l’œuf lorsqu’il notait que « pour l’Afrique d’aujourd’hui, trois conditions majeures semblent s’imposer pour un développement endogène : L’intégration de l’espace africain, la recherche participation-action, la démocratie »[Pambazuka]

Conférence par le Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III à l’occasion de la conférence “The Implications of Language for Peace and Development” (IMPLAN 2008) en l’honneur du Prof. Birgit Brock-Utne, Oslo Conference, 2-3 May 2008. (more…)

In the March 27th, 2008 Pambazuka issue, Firoze Manji argued that in comparison to Europe and the US, China in Africa is still a small player and that while keeping an eye out on China, Africans should not be distracted from paying attention to the West’s continued exploitation of the continent. In this essay, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta adds yet another layer by looking at India’s growing role in Africa. [Pambazuka]

Firoze Manji argues that in comparison to Europe and the US, China in Africa is still a small player. While keeping an eye out on China, Africans should not be distracted from paying attention to the West’s continued exploitation of the continent including the use of military might to protect its economic interests. [Pambazuka]

La glorification du libéralisme pur et dur domine le débat au sujet du meilleur avenir civilisationnel pour l’humanité. Pour Nsame Mbongo, les idéologies ultralibérales ont fait faillite comme modèle de développement en Afrique. Ce qui rend nécessaire la construction d’un discours développementaliste de libération, aux antipodes de l’asservissement post-moderne. [Full Text Article, pdf]

La Diaspora a connu depuis la manifestation du 11 janvier 2008 contre les Accords de Partenariat Economiques (APE) à Bruxelles, une brutale accélération dans le processus de son organisation. Sékou Diabaté plaide ici pour une organisation unitaire, démocratique et indépendante de la 6eme région de l’Afrique. [Pambazuka]

Kjell Havnevik, Deborah Fahy Bryceson, Atakilte Beyene and Prosper Matondi look at the destructive role the world bank has played in African agriculture and food production. [Pambazuka]

Par Alpha Oumar Konaré. Tout un chacun comprendra que, tout en restant fidèle à ses principes, il ne s’agit pas pour l’Afrique de mimer les autres mais d’agir selon ses cultures, son histoire et à sa façon. L’Afrique entend aujourd’hui élaborer elle-même son agenda, assurer son développement d’abord sur des bases endogènes et non dans des logiques de rattrapage. [Pambazuka]

Issa Shivji tackles the history of the development discourse in Africa, discussing its changing meanings from the colonial period to post-independence rule and the onset of structural adjustment programmes in the 1980s – Africa’s lost decade. The new development discourse of neo-liberalism (otherwise known as globalization) continues historical forms of dispossession, Shivji notes. [Pambazuka]

Paper presented by Dr. Neville Alexander at the South African Embassy in Berlin on the 20th November 2007. One of the main points of his presentation was: How do we assist in the decolonisation of the mind of the billions of people who are held in thrall by the demonstrable “superiority” of the global languages as propagated and prioritised by their own ruling groups and strata? [Full Text Article, pdf]

While setting the scene with an account of how and why Africa has developed its own system for protecting human and peoples’ rights, Hakima Abbas concludes that the success of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in spite of ‘the seeming lack of political will on the part of African states and governments, lies primarily in the distinctive engagement of civil society. [Pambazuka]

Edited by Firoze Manji & Stephen Marks. China’s involvement in Africa has provoked much debate and discussion. Is China simply the latest imperial power out to exploit Africa’s natural resources, putting its own economic interests above environmental and human rights concerns? Or is China’s engagement an extension of ‘South–South solidarity’, enabling African countries to free themselves from the multiple tyrannies of Western debt, aid conditionality, unfair trading rules and political interference? Much existing commentary on China focuses on the vested interests of the West. Lost in the cacophony have been the voices of independent African analysts and activists. Here, they present social, cross-continental perspectives on Chinese involvement in Africa in a unique collection of essays. The articles demonstrate that although there is no single ‘African view’ about China in Africa at a continental level, the authors are united in the belief that Africans must organise their side of the story, together, in their own interests, and in the interest of social justice for all. [Full E-Book, pdf, 1 MB]

By Issa G. Shivji. The distinguished scholar presents perspectives on the historical, political and philosophical contexts that govern the evolution and place of NGOs in Africa today. In two extensive essays, he argues the role of NGOs in Africa cannot be understood without clear characterisation of the current historical moment: that to ‘make poverty history’ we must first ‘understand the history of poverty’ and ‘make imperialism history’. Shivji argues that despite some good intentions, NGOs have uncritically situated themselves within neoliberal and donor-driven discourses. [Full E-Book, pdf, 0,75 MB]

Is there a connection between language and the enslavement or liberty of a people and their capacity for development? In this article, Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III elucidates this question and describes the approaches of the AfricAvenir Foundation to raise consciousness about language and development amongst the people and decision makers. (more…)