Contents
For more information, contact:
Temitayo Omotola
Africa Progress Panel
9-11 rue de Varembé
1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel +41 (0)22 919 7520
Africa Progress Panel
9-11 rue de Varembé
1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel +41 (0)22 919 7520
Foi en l’Afrique
Le soulèvement populaire survenu en Afrique du Nord l’an dernier et surnommé le « Printemps arabe », qui a vu les citoyens hausser la voix en masse pour afficher leur volonté de liberté, de justice et de démocratie, a donné une nouvelle impulsion sociopolitique au continent africain.
Cette agitation reflète le désir très ancré chez les populations d’Afrique du Nord d’un changement politique, social et économique profond. Il a déjà conduit à l’éviction des dirigeants autoritaristes longtemps restés au pouvoir en Tunisie, en Egypte et en Lybie, et a abouti à une transformation politique en profondeur. Aujourd’hui, leurs citoyens élisent leurs représentants via de véritables processus démocratiques. De plus, les effets des mouvements ont aussi contraint les dirigeants des autres pays à instaurer des réformes politiques préventives comme nous avons pu le voir au Maroc.
Les bouleversements politiques d’Afrique du Nord ont vu aussi l’émergence d’autres dynamiques importantes, comme la (ré)-instauration de plates-formes politiques religieuses. En Egypte et en Tunisie, les partis religieux sont devenus l’un des principaux vecteurs de campagnes politiques. Dans certains cas, les tensions se sont transformées en violents conflits, menaçant le mouvement réformateur.
Les tensions religieuses ne sont pas limitées à l’Afrique du Nord mais ont été aussi vues récemment dans d’autres pays d’Afrique, comme la Somalie, l’Ethiopie et le Nigéria, et elles ont conduit à la mort de nombreuses personnes, et forcé au déplacement loin de chez eux de milliers d’autres. Certains se demandent si le fondamentalisme religieux est en train d’affecter le contexte politique actuel du continent. D’autres, au contraire, pensent que ces tournants ne sont pas significatifs. La question essentielle est : quels les facteurs sont à l’origine de l’émergence du fondamentalisme religieux ? La pauvreté, l’exclusion, le manque d’emplois ou l’absence de liberté d’expression, etc. ?
D’après de nombreux commentateurs, la religion peut jouer un rôle important dans la quête de la liberté, de la justice et de la démocratie, et pas seulement en Afrique. Il devient certainement de plus en plus important de comprendre la dynamique puissante de la religion, de travailler de pair avec les figures religieuses et de la société civile, afin d’établir des sociétés stables, unies et de promouvoir le développement national.
News Overview
- President Jacob Zuma is under pressure as South Africa’s ruling African National Congress(ANC) celebrates its 100th year anniversary. Despite his leadership style being criticized, president Zuma is widely expected to gather enough support in the fractious party to win a second term as party chief and then stay on as national president until 2019. But, analysts warn that if the ANC government keeps up its current policies, South Africa risks slipping to new depths of unemployment, debt and corruption that could undermine long-term prospects.
- Egyptians are watchful as they move towards the first anniversary of the January 25th revolution. And with Islamists set to dominate the new parliament, secular Egyptians hope that the moderates will keep the extremists in check.
- In the last few days, Nigeria has witnessed ongoing general strikes and mass protests across the country against the Government removal of the subsidy on petroleum products, which sent the price of fuel up by more than 100%. Anger at President Goodluck Jonathan’s policy appears to have united Nigerians in a way not seen for many years; and there are fears that “this New Year gift” from the president and the violent activities of the Boko Haram sect could drive the country into civil war.
- Civil society and Diaspora in the Democratic Republic of Congo speak out against the recent elections, asking why election results marred by irregularities and considered to be ‘too flawed to be credible’, have not been annuled. While the results have led people to question the essence of democratic culture in their country, the country’s fractious parliament is liable to provoke more unrest.
- Presidential politics in Senegal is in full swing, with famous musician Youssou N’dour’s announcement that he will run for presidency in the February 26 elections against President Abdoulaye Wade's controversial bid for a third term in office, re-igniting a six-month old opposition. Some Western nations are pressing President Wade not to run, concerned that it could spark unrest in a country that has enjoyed relative stability since it gained its independence 50 years ago.
Multilateral Organizations
AFDB
- The Migration and Development Fund’s oversight committee approve a series of grants amounting to € 1.4 million to six remittances funded local development projects across the African continent
- The AfDB approves a $15.6 million grant to strengthen the capacity of the African Virtual University (AVU)
AU
ECOWAS
- ECOWAS calls for a smooth constitutional transition in Guinea Bissau following the sudden death of President Malam Bacai Sanha
- The ECOWAS Commission provides $2 million to the Ghanaian Ministry of Roads and Highways for the design of a three-tier interchange on the Tema Motorway and Ashaiman roundabouts
IFAD
- IFAD Member States announce $1.5 billion new funds for food security in developing countries
- IFAD will provide a $24.9 million loan to the Republic of Liberia to improve food security and reduce post conflict poverty in rural communities
IMF
- The January 2012 issue of the IMF’s Survey magazine says that the odds are in Africa's favour this year as it seeks to sustain its impressive growth performance of recent years
- Benin and IMF to co-host a high-levelconference on Public Service Reform aimed at exploring ways to help Benin design civil service reform strategies that foster sustainable and inclusive growth
THE GLOBAL FUND
UN
- FAO chief, Jose Graziano da Silva, predicts food price decline in 2012
- The UN Mission in South Sudan is to set up permanent bases for peacekeepers in areas worst affected by ethnic violence in Jonglei State
- The UN and Libyan authorities sign an agreement, establishing the legal framework under which the UN’s support mission in the country will operate
WORLD BANK
- The World Bank, UNEP, OECD & Global Green Growth Institute expand their cooperation on Green Growth for Development, a global initiative aimed to identify and address major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice
- World Bank to finance better health services for up to 8 million Tanzanians a year
In the blogs...
- The Huffington Post: Africa: not fit for print, 12 Jan. 2012 – An interesting post about one man’s two week trip to the DRC and how Africa is so much more than what people think and what is presented in the news.
- African Politics Now!: A hundred years since birth, but what has happened to the ANC ? 6 Jan. 2012 - Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African society, examines the role the African National Congress (ANC) has played in South Africa since its inception 100 years ago. He argues that despite its reputable history, today’s ANC has fragmented into cliques and has become a narrow class of haves protecting their own interests.
- Central African Forum: DRC election ‘too flawed to be credible’ – Civil society and Congolese Diaspora speak out, 5 Jan. 2012 – The author examines the attitudes of Western countries to the elections in the DRC and argues that they ought to have called for an annulment of the results. The author also looks at the Congolese Diaspora and the role they are playing in fighting Kabila’s regime from abroad.
- The Guardian’s Poverty Matters Blog: Technology’s new chance to make a difference in 2012, 4 Jan. 2012 – In this post, the author discusses what he hopes for the information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) community over the next 12 months with a specific focus on Africa.
- Global Development: Views from the Center: A bold new idea for infrastructure in Africa, 3 Jan. 2012 – The author discusses Sokoni, an online marketplace for infrastructure projects in Africa which was endorsed in November last year by the G-20 Panel in Cannes. The author argues that Sokoni could reduce risk, lower costs, improve the flow of information to investors, and present African investment opportunities in a positive light.
Opinions
- Asia Times Online: The war is with China, the battleground is Africa, 13 Jan. 2012 - Referring to a recent press conference at the Pentagon during which President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta appeared together to reiterate America's commitment to the Asia Pacific region, the author argues that America's real focus is Africa and trying to assert its authority over China.
- The Christian Science Monitor, Africa Rising - Ghana’s future looks bright, 11 Jan. 2012 - In an interview in Accra, one of the world’s most prominent development economists says Ghana is proving to be one of the strongest performers on the MDGs in Africa and unlike some of its African counterparts is likely to fulfill them by the 2015 deadline.
- Business Day: IMF begging bowl comes to Africa, 10 Jan. 2012 - The author argues that the IMF needs to focus more on what actually needs to be done in Europe, and less on talking up European growth prospects, to get support from emerging market countries for more bail-out funds to support European countries.
- The Mercury: Freedom’s just another word when everything’s at stake, 10 Jan. 2012 - The author writes about the recent centenary celebrations of the ANC in South Africa. He argues that today's ANC does not represent the founding ideals and values of the party.
- The Atlantic: Anti-Christian violence, and maybe worse, in Congo, 10 Jan. 2012 – In this article, the author questions, first, why Congolese living abroad have reacted so differently to those living in the country regarding the elections at the end of last year and, secondly, why some populations are inactive following flawed or stolen elections while in others there is violent protest and the prospect of civil war.
- africanews.com: Is the Ivorian syndrome looming in Senegal? 9 Jan. 2012 – According to the author, Sub-Saharan Africa needs the kind of extreme make-over politics that upended long-term tyrannies in North Africa last year. He focuses specifically on Senegal and examines how the political landscape has changed since President Abdoulaye Wade was elected in 2000.
- allAfrica.com: Livestock Insurance – A Chance to Outsmart Drought? 9 Jan. 2012 – The authors examine the Index-Based Livestock Insurance scheme in Kenya and argue that although the new insurance product does not cover the total loss caused by drought, it does offer participating farmers and herders an opportunity to recoup some of their losses.
Quote
“There are obvious benefits of providing aid to fragile states, it is, after all, cheaper to prevent conflicts than to deal with wars and their aftermath.
- Malcolm Bruce, Scottish Liberal Democratic Member of Parliament
G8/G20 Update
CHINA
EU
- The EC announces its plan for the allocation of €640 in humanitarian aid funding during 2012, with the largest operation in budgetary terms being sub-Saharan Africa, for which 52% of Commission's humanitarian funding is reserved
- A large EU observer delegation is headed for Senegal to monitor the country’s tightly-contested February election
FRANCE
GERMANY
INDIA
- India will provide a credit line worth $100 million to Mali to help the west African nation expand its energy sector
- India proposes a $100 million line of credit for improving health infrastructure in Zimbabwe, saying that Indian public sector undertakings would assist in reducing the infrastructural deficit and contribute to the African nation's economic development
SOUTH AFRICA
UK
USA
Reports
- A WTO Report titled “Harnessing Trade for Sustainable Development and a Green Economy” looks at the workings of the WTO and how the multilateral trading system supports countries’ efforts to realize sustainable development and a green economy.
- A report drawn up by representatives of several national and international organisations, entitled “Quelle protection pour les enfants concernés par la mobilité en Afrique de l’Ouest?” calls on ECOWAS for increased efforts on West Africa child migration.
- An FAO guidebook titled "Climate Change Mitigation Finance for Smallholder Agriculture - A guide book to harvesting soil carbon sequestration benefits," underscores the role of agriculture in global climate change mitigation efforts and describes approaches for participating in carbon financing opportunities.
Calendar
| 16-19 January | World Future Energy Summit – Launch of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All: Abu Dhabi, UAE |
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| 17 – 19 January | International Scientific Symposium on Food and Nutrition Security Information: Rome, Italy |
| 19 – 21 January | Global Forum for Food and Agriculture: Berlin, Germany |
| 21 January – 12 February | Africa Cup of Nations: Equatorial Guinea and Gabon |
| 23-30 January | 18th African Union Summit- “Boosting Intra-African Trade:” Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| 25 – 29 January | World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: Davos, Switzerland |
| 30 January – 3 February | 27th Regional Conference for Africa (ARC), Brazzaville, Congo |