Rwanda is often touted as an example of what African states could achieve if only they were better governed. Out of the ashes of a horrific genocide, President Paul Kagame has resuscitated the economy, curtailed corruption and maintained political stability. This is a record that many other leaders can only dream of, and has led…
There is no gainsaying that the initiative by the Akufo-Addo government to transform the country’s economy from predominantly, agro raw materials-based to a more industry–lead through the one-district, one-factory is a laudable one which needs commendation and the support of all Ghanaians. However, with the history of failed industrialisation efforts from the first republic and…
I’ll never forget my sister’s experience in undergrad with a Nigerian classmate that she says had an attitude with her since she stepped foot inside their medical ethics class. My sister would come home saying the classmate often threw labels at her and her friend like “ghetto” and “entitled” and my sister could never quite…
ANALYSIS In Tanzania, if you’re a schoolgirl and fall pregnant, it could mean the end of your education. Even though successive governments have made a push for girls education, those that fall pregnant are routinely expelled from school, and prevented from returning. Most recently this punitive approach was taken to the extreme when school girls…
It was 2008 in the Gaza Strip. When winter arrived, so did the Israeli warplanes. Reem Alfranji lived in a second-floor apartment with her husband, Mohammad, and two sons – five-year-old Aboud and Amro, a toddler. During glass-shattering uninterrupted bombardment, the family would stay at her uncle’s downstairs, where the vibrations were less aggressive. “The…
As 2017 drew to an end, becoming one of the three hottest years on record, my native United States conversely experienced dangerously frigid, Arctic weather, leading to intense debate about how climate change could also be the cause of extreme cold. Although the big freeze was predictably seized upon by climate sceptics to scorn the…
In September 2012, the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), organised a public lecture in the run-up to the election that year. The public lecture was on the theme, “Managing political and administrative transitions: The British Experience.” The speaker, Lord Gus O’Donnel, who had retired from a long career in the civil service after becoming its…
Governments around the world are increasingly shutting down internet access in an apparent attempt to silence discontent and dissent, activists say. In 2017, internet access was cut off more than 80 times around the world, up from 56 times the year before, drawing concerns from digital rights activists. “We do see this as evidence for…
In a country of 28 million multi-cultural and ethnic groupings, it is very ironic that without exception, almost to a man, we all complain daily about the negative effects of corruption and yet, we are non-committal when it comes to punishing those we know to be corrupt to root it out of society. Ordinarily, it…