Saturday, June 30, 2012
Korean Airlines And Africa's "Primitive Energy"
Korean Airlines is just the latest example of the deployment of the "primitive Africa" myth for particular gains. They should have known better if they had done even an elementary study of the literature on how to talk about Africa.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The Plague of Corruption In China And Its Effects On Africa
This blog would clearly not be concerned about corruption in China were it not that China has become an increasingly important player in Africa. China's opening up to the global scene has exposed the massive and shameful corruption perpetrated by the elites of the Communist Party in that country. The situation will not be this worse if it did not appear that the government itself appears to be making peace with with this rampant corruption. A recent report shows how ordinary people have to pay bribes to public officials in order to access services. Again, this situation would not be so alarming to this blog were it not for China's massive involvment in Africa. The combination of a corrupt China and equally corrupt African countries make for a toxic combination that sapps the livelihood of ordinary people to feed the insatiable greed of public officials. No wonder Chinese leaders have claimed that their goal is not to intervene in the internal affairs of African countries but only to do business with them. This is a code of colluding in corruption in Africa, just as corruption is the mainstay of the Communist Party in China. One would have thought that a people who have imbibed the ethical teaching of Confucius would want to promote integrity and dignity rather than dabbling in the shameful art of corruption.
What Is The Muslim Brotherhood?
With the coming to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, some want to know what this group is up to. CNN has a very brief highlight of the history of this group. Below is a short description of the group by scholar of Islamic Studies, Tariq Ramadan.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Paul Biya's Dismal Economic Performance In Cameroon
By David Akana in Rio de Janiero
CameroonPostline.com -- According to new data obtained from the World Bank, Cameroon’s leader, Paul Biya has now borrowed a monster sum of $35 billion in foreign aid in the name of fighting poverty and spurring economic growth in the country.
But as the World Bank notes in its January 21st, 2001 country assistance evaluation report prepared by the Operations Evaluation Department, “poverty increased massively between 1986 and 1993. The outcome of the Bank’s programs for the 1982-94 is rated unsatisfactory and its institutional development impact negligible.”
The World Bank which has loaned substantial amounts of money to the Biya’s regime since 1982 when he came to power acknowledges poverty reduction efforts under its country assistance program (CAS) has been a stack failure both in the education, health and agriculture sectors.
Net official development assistance and official aid received by Biya and his government grew from about $605850000 in 2002 to $648340000 in 2009. Millions of US Dollars flowed from UN agencies to the Biya’s regime in the last several decades such as UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP and WHO with United Nations Development Program aid almost doubling from 2002 to 2010.
The poverty reduction strategy which President Biya praised several times in speeches in the past decade such as during a 2003 conference in Tokyo laid out comprehensive ground work to reduce poverty in Cameroon. The strategy relied heavily on international development assistance for its effective implementation.
Several times in the past decade as in previous decades, World Bank officials flew into Cameroon to jointly evaluate Cameroon’s performance in the implementation of a joint economic program. At the end of every visit to the country, the World Bank representative – sometimes accompanied by the representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will go in front of state TV cameras and make ‘positive’ pronouncements about Cameroon’s effort to meet the Bank’s exigencies. What that meant is that each time Cameroon is passed fit – it means more money.
We drilled down World Bank development indicators for Cameroon just as the world conference on Sustainable development opened in Rio de Janeiro. The reason why we did this is because, the international community is likely to make stronger commitments here is Rio about funding sustainable development efforts in developing regions of the world. What this means is that, the life of unborn Cameroonian children are likely to ne mortgaged with more loans without a clear picture of the success of previous loans.
Overall, the World Bank has hundreds of indicators through which it measures development of countries around the world. For practical reasons, we compared just a few of the indicators to see how the country has fared in the past decade. We examined decline and/or increase in areas such as prevalence rate of HIV, mortality rate, access to electricity, teacher/pupil ratio, number of teachers etc. We also looked at other areas that show the improvement in living conditions of a population such as the growth of the number of internet users. For those who may want to read the entire report, we have provided it for you.
HIV/Aids prevalence Rate:
With respect to HIV/Aids prevalence in Cameroon, the World Bank data shows that there is has been a negligible drop in prevalence of HIV in Cameroon during the past ten years. In other words, the prevalence of deadly HIV virus fell from 5.5 percent in 2002 to 5.3 percent in 2009. Keep in mind, the whole of the past decade in Cameroon was dominated with a ‘focused’ anti HIV campaigned championed for long by the man who is now spending time at the Kondengui maximum security prison, Hubert OlanguenaAwono. Money poured into government hands from the World Health Organization, specialized funding agency to fight HIV and several bi-lateral partners of the country. Most of the pioneer government officials entrusted with the fight against the pandemic are in jail today for alleged embezzlement - perhaps a reason why much ground has not been covered in fighting HIV.
Electricity:
World Bank data does not show recent stats – but it indicates less than half of Cameroonian haveaccess to electricity – 48.7 percent to be exact of the total population. Biya’s regime has received substantial sums to implement renewable energies programs in the country especially as talk of new forms of energy became mainstream with the climate change talks in the past decade. It would be interesting to see how many more people get electricity with the completion of the LomPangar dam in the East region.
Life Expectancy and Mortality Rate:
Life expectancy crept up from 49 to 51 years from the start to the end of the past decade. But infant mortality did not improve. First of all, the World Bank documents a lamentable and pathetic one bed per thousand patients in Cameroon and finds out that many more children are still likely to do before they get a chance to celebrate their first anniversary.
Internet Users:
Cameroonians using the internet did not grow much in the last ten years. About 60000 Cameroonians used the internet in 2002 and by 2011 the figure was well under 80000 representing less than a 15 percent increase in ten years. At the same time countries like Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa saw an increase of more 100 percent of people using the internet. Considering the importance of internet connectivity for development and today’s economy – it would seem Cameroon isn’t seizing this great opportunity to spur its growth. Several times in the past decade, President Paul Biya emphasized the important of what he called at the time new information and communication technologies to the nations youths. Money from the UNDP and other aid agencies was used to set up multimedia units in schools across Cameroon and what we know is ten years after – there has been a marginal improvement in the number of people using internet.
Teacher-pupil ratio:
One bright spot in the World Bank report is the fact that literacy rate and the number of teachers recruited to teach in Cameroonian schools has increased. The number of primary school teachers doubled from 2002 to 2010 while the teacher/pupil gap narrowed by about 25 percent in ten years.
CameroonPostline.com -- According to new data obtained from the World Bank, Cameroon’s leader, Paul Biya has now borrowed a monster sum of $35 billion in foreign aid in the name of fighting poverty and spurring economic growth in the country.
But as the World Bank notes in its January 21st, 2001 country assistance evaluation report prepared by the Operations Evaluation Department, “poverty increased massively between 1986 and 1993. The outcome of the Bank’s programs for the 1982-94 is rated unsatisfactory and its institutional development impact negligible.”
The World Bank which has loaned substantial amounts of money to the Biya’s regime since 1982 when he came to power acknowledges poverty reduction efforts under its country assistance program (CAS) has been a stack failure both in the education, health and agriculture sectors.
Net official development assistance and official aid received by Biya and his government grew from about $605850000 in 2002 to $648340000 in 2009. Millions of US Dollars flowed from UN agencies to the Biya’s regime in the last several decades such as UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP and WHO with United Nations Development Program aid almost doubling from 2002 to 2010.
The poverty reduction strategy which President Biya praised several times in speeches in the past decade such as during a 2003 conference in Tokyo laid out comprehensive ground work to reduce poverty in Cameroon. The strategy relied heavily on international development assistance for its effective implementation.
Several times in the past decade as in previous decades, World Bank officials flew into Cameroon to jointly evaluate Cameroon’s performance in the implementation of a joint economic program. At the end of every visit to the country, the World Bank representative – sometimes accompanied by the representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will go in front of state TV cameras and make ‘positive’ pronouncements about Cameroon’s effort to meet the Bank’s exigencies. What that meant is that each time Cameroon is passed fit – it means more money.
We drilled down World Bank development indicators for Cameroon just as the world conference on Sustainable development opened in Rio de Janeiro. The reason why we did this is because, the international community is likely to make stronger commitments here is Rio about funding sustainable development efforts in developing regions of the world. What this means is that, the life of unborn Cameroonian children are likely to ne mortgaged with more loans without a clear picture of the success of previous loans.
Overall, the World Bank has hundreds of indicators through which it measures development of countries around the world. For practical reasons, we compared just a few of the indicators to see how the country has fared in the past decade. We examined decline and/or increase in areas such as prevalence rate of HIV, mortality rate, access to electricity, teacher/pupil ratio, number of teachers etc. We also looked at other areas that show the improvement in living conditions of a population such as the growth of the number of internet users. For those who may want to read the entire report, we have provided it for you.
HIV/Aids prevalence Rate:
With respect to HIV/Aids prevalence in Cameroon, the World Bank data shows that there is has been a negligible drop in prevalence of HIV in Cameroon during the past ten years. In other words, the prevalence of deadly HIV virus fell from 5.5 percent in 2002 to 5.3 percent in 2009. Keep in mind, the whole of the past decade in Cameroon was dominated with a ‘focused’ anti HIV campaigned championed for long by the man who is now spending time at the Kondengui maximum security prison, Hubert OlanguenaAwono. Money poured into government hands from the World Health Organization, specialized funding agency to fight HIV and several bi-lateral partners of the country. Most of the pioneer government officials entrusted with the fight against the pandemic are in jail today for alleged embezzlement - perhaps a reason why much ground has not been covered in fighting HIV.
Electricity:
World Bank data does not show recent stats – but it indicates less than half of Cameroonian haveaccess to electricity – 48.7 percent to be exact of the total population. Biya’s regime has received substantial sums to implement renewable energies programs in the country especially as talk of new forms of energy became mainstream with the climate change talks in the past decade. It would be interesting to see how many more people get electricity with the completion of the LomPangar dam in the East region.
Life Expectancy and Mortality Rate:
Life expectancy crept up from 49 to 51 years from the start to the end of the past decade. But infant mortality did not improve. First of all, the World Bank documents a lamentable and pathetic one bed per thousand patients in Cameroon and finds out that many more children are still likely to do before they get a chance to celebrate their first anniversary.
Internet Users:
Cameroonians using the internet did not grow much in the last ten years. About 60000 Cameroonians used the internet in 2002 and by 2011 the figure was well under 80000 representing less than a 15 percent increase in ten years. At the same time countries like Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa saw an increase of more 100 percent of people using the internet. Considering the importance of internet connectivity for development and today’s economy – it would seem Cameroon isn’t seizing this great opportunity to spur its growth. Several times in the past decade, President Paul Biya emphasized the important of what he called at the time new information and communication technologies to the nations youths. Money from the UNDP and other aid agencies was used to set up multimedia units in schools across Cameroon and what we know is ten years after – there has been a marginal improvement in the number of people using internet.
Teacher-pupil ratio:
One bright spot in the World Bank report is the fact that literacy rate and the number of teachers recruited to teach in Cameroonian schools has increased. The number of primary school teachers doubled from 2002 to 2010 while the teacher/pupil gap narrowed by about 25 percent in ten years.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
200 Days Of Protesting Paul Biya's Dictatorship In Cameroon
While it appears that many have made peace with the dictatorship of Paul Biya, as Biya had hoped would be the case after he forced his way into another seven years as dictator of the peaceful and hardworking people of Cameroon, we at flourishingafrica have made sure that he stays in the limelight until his dictatorship ends. Our twitter program "Tweet Until The Biya Dictatorship Ends" was launched 200 days ago and it has been shining the light on the Biya Dictatorship ever since. Join the movement - tweet until the Biya dictatorship ends!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wole Soyinka, Religion, and Boko Haram
Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian Nobel laureat for literature and one of Africa's foremost men of letters, has written a very insightful piece that purports to dissect the origins of the Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group in Nigeria, Boko Haram. Anyone familiar with the unholy exploits of this group would surely want to know what makes it tick. This is precisely what Soyinka attempts to do. He thus traces the background of this group to other forms of Islamic fundamentalism such as in Iran and Afganistan. The piece, I think, is worth reading.
However, Soyinka makes two mistakes in that piece. The first is that he considers Boko Haram to be motivated by bad Quranic education that leads to an unquestionable allegiance to authority. Because the education of the typical Boko Haram consists in memorizing the Quran, they hardly develop the mindset to question authority and so blindly follow the dictates of their Mullahs. However, Soyinka surely knows that there are many well educated people who blindly follow the dictates of their superiors. You will find many of these people in Nigeria and in the Nigerian government itself. These people, have, however, not killed en masse, as Boko Haram does. Further, there are other Islamic groups in Africa, such as the Mourids of Senegal, who would fit Soyinka's description of the kind of education which a typical Boko Haram follower receives, yet the Mourids are not violent.Thus, it seems that for blind allegiance to be pernicious, it needs more combustion. Bad education is not the only issue here.
Perhaps bad education will have to be coupled with pernicious beliefs, as it appears to be the case with Boko Haram. However, Soyinka misses a more significant point here. The significant point which he misses is the fact that he makes a distinction between religion and politics. He seems to think that religion should have nothing to do with politics so that when one uses religion to gain political opportunity, Soyinka sees them as not being true believers. Like the Boko Haram which he claims sees orthodox Islamists as not true Muslims, Soyinka sees Muslims who use their religion to gain political power as not true Muslims. Prof. Soyinka should know that religion is politics. Politics, like religion, have their positive and negative sides. To see religion as somehow missing the mark when it becomes political is not an inadequate view of religion. A more adequate view of religion is to see it as politics so that those who appropriate religion to gain political power are not being irreligious. They are simply doing what religion, like politics, does. That is what Boko Haram is doing. Thus, it is not a good argument to fuss that religious people use religion to gain political power. The question should focus on the method which religionists, just like secularists, use to gain power in a political arena which includes both religionists and secularists.
However, Soyinka makes two mistakes in that piece. The first is that he considers Boko Haram to be motivated by bad Quranic education that leads to an unquestionable allegiance to authority. Because the education of the typical Boko Haram consists in memorizing the Quran, they hardly develop the mindset to question authority and so blindly follow the dictates of their Mullahs. However, Soyinka surely knows that there are many well educated people who blindly follow the dictates of their superiors. You will find many of these people in Nigeria and in the Nigerian government itself. These people, have, however, not killed en masse, as Boko Haram does. Further, there are other Islamic groups in Africa, such as the Mourids of Senegal, who would fit Soyinka's description of the kind of education which a typical Boko Haram follower receives, yet the Mourids are not violent.Thus, it seems that for blind allegiance to be pernicious, it needs more combustion. Bad education is not the only issue here.
Perhaps bad education will have to be coupled with pernicious beliefs, as it appears to be the case with Boko Haram. However, Soyinka misses a more significant point here. The significant point which he misses is the fact that he makes a distinction between religion and politics. He seems to think that religion should have nothing to do with politics so that when one uses religion to gain political opportunity, Soyinka sees them as not being true believers. Like the Boko Haram which he claims sees orthodox Islamists as not true Muslims, Soyinka sees Muslims who use their religion to gain political power as not true Muslims. Prof. Soyinka should know that religion is politics. Politics, like religion, have their positive and negative sides. To see religion as somehow missing the mark when it becomes political is not an inadequate view of religion. A more adequate view of religion is to see it as politics so that those who appropriate religion to gain political power are not being irreligious. They are simply doing what religion, like politics, does. That is what Boko Haram is doing. Thus, it is not a good argument to fuss that religious people use religion to gain political power. The question should focus on the method which religionists, just like secularists, use to gain power in a political arena which includes both religionists and secularists.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Gacaca, Traditional Genocide Courts, Finish Work In Rwanda
The traditional community genocide courts, which were set up to try victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, have finished their work.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Killer Of Thomas Sankara Gets Amnesty
Blaise Compaore, current president of the dusty country of Burkina Faso and killer of the former president, Thomas Sankara, has been granted amnesty by the corrupt parliament of that country. With the help of France, Compaore butchered Sankara in 1987 and buried him under cover of night. Since 1987, France has helped him to be dictator of that impoverished country. Apparently seeing the writing on the wall, he ordered parliament to grant him amnesty for this hideous crime. In order to make it seem as if the amnesty was not specifically for this crime, he ordered parliament to say that the amnesty covered all past presidents. Any future president should prosecute him for that crime.
Monday, June 11, 2012
ESPN's Discredited Serge Ibaka Story
ESPN ran a story on Serge Ibaka, the Oklahoma City Thunder star defender, that appears to have deliberately confused the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo for reasons of sensationalism. I decried this story and called on them to apologize for this mistake. Since then, they have run the story again. In order to put their story straight, I have attached here the events which they confuse. They should read it and either correct the story or take it off air for good.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Virulent Racism In The Middle East
The issue of racism appears to have been talked about more in terms of the relation between black and white people, that is, between Africa and the West. The case of racial segregation in the United States and South Africa have often served as prime examples. This has led the sometimes virulent racism in the Middle East to pass under the radar. Some Middle Eastern scholars have focused attention on critiquing Western racism, totally ignoring the racism of their own people. Such a blindspot in scholarship can hardly be forgiven given that racism in the Middle East is not a recent phenomenon. Recently, however, there have been increasing reports of racism in the Middle East, especially in places like Lebanon and Israel. Scholars sometimes see black Africans, Arabs, and Israelis, as somehow having a common cause that stems from having been oppressed. Thus, a work like Edward Said's that deals with imperialism is seen as speaking from the perspective of the colonized and has thus become a classic in postcolonial studies. However, it appears that Said's people also have the superiority complex that breeds imperialism. Thus, it now appears that black Africans, Arabs, and Israelis do not have a common cause. By trafficking in racism, the Arabs and the Israelis are manifesting a critical element of the imperialistic imagination - the superiority complex.
Like Father Like Son: Vieux Farka Toure Channels His Father
The father did not want his son to be a musician (who knows why?) but now the son is one of the rising voices of Africa. The song below was originally played by his father; now the son plays the same song using his deceased father's guitar. This song has featured as soundtrack in American movies. Enjoy.
Robbers In Paradise: South Sudan Edition
It is common knowledge that many African leaders are, to put it quite unremarkably, thieves. Their primary goal is to steal as much money from their people as possible and enable members of their gang, which they usually call "government," to steal their own share. The money thus stolen is usually stashed in foreign banks or used to buy property in Europe or America. That is the case with Obiang Nguema and his son, both of Equatorial Guinea, Paul Biya of Cameroon, the Bongos of Gabon, and many others. A similar thing is beginning to happen in the newly independent and small nation of South Sudan, where the blood and sweat of the people were used to gain freedom. Now, the small minority in government are living large off the resources of the country. This state of affairs is unremarkable. What is remarkable, however, is that the President of the country seems to detest this kleptocracy and has written a letter to all those who have stolen money to return it - with some success. The President's hands may not be quite clean, however, it is hoped that the money he recovers will be put to work for the people, as he says he wants to do.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Racism In Israel, Part II
The continuous targeting of Africans in Israel by some racist elements in that country is becoming increasingly alarming. Whatever happened to hospitality to the stranger which is a central element of the holy book of Israel, the TANAK? It is quite disturbing that Israel claims land based on divine command yet humiliates Africans in blatant disregard of the precepts of the God whom they claim gave them the land. The vandalizing of the homes and businesses of Africans is a deplorable fact and must be condemned.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
ESPN Should Apologize For Its Wrong Serge Ibaka Story
In an attempt to be sensational, ESPN, the flagship news channel in the United States, has run a confusing story about Serge Ibaka, the star defender of Oklahoma City Thunder. This story was apparently first run on May 25, 2012 and placed on Youtube but it has since been removed. The main problem with the piece is that it confuses the Democractic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. It mentions the Republic of Congo and its capital Brazzaville but discusses the history of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ESPN should have contacted someone who knows the distinction between the two Congos. They need to apologize for this mistake and correct their story.
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