Africa Rising 21st Century

          Prior to the August 12 election in Zambia, there were widespread fears that then-President Edgar Lungu would follow the playbook of some other Africa leaders (and those outside the continent) and prevent his main opponent Hakainde Hichilema from winning through a fair vote.   State resources were used to promote Lungu, including handing farmers subsidies.   Hichilema was prevented from freely campaigning.   The electoral commission was stacked with Lungu supporters. And even some civil society figures had been coopted.             Even though polling suggested Hichilema would win a majority of the vote in a free and fair election, it looked as though he might not get a chance to prove that prediction.             However, Hichilema and his United Party for National Development (UPND) won with 59% of the vo...

  Africa is the continent where life began and spread across the world, but despite being the mother of all living, it also is the youngest continent in terms of population.   Sixty percent of Africans are under 25, and in less than a decade from now there will be about 320 million Africans between the ages of 15 and 24. The challenge we face is to ensure that opportunities are there for them. It won't be easy, because by some estimates, Africa will need 18 million new jobs per year for the next 20 years just to match these new entrants into the job market.   Clearly, Africa’s future lies with its youth, but they are being ill-served. According to the United Nations, for the first time in two decades there has been an increase in the incidence of child labor and the coronavirus pandemic could push millions more youngsters toward the same fate.   In a joint report, the International Labour Organization and the UN children's agency, UNICEF, said the number of c...

            We live in a time of great upheaval worldwide, which according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has resulted in 79.5 million people displaced – the highest recorded number in history.   The agency reports that 48 million people are internally displaced, i.e., they are moved out of their homes by conflict or other causes but are not able or willing to leave their country.   One person is forcibly displaced approximately every two seconds, according to UNHCR calculations.   So, consider how many thousands will be newly displaced once you finish reading this blog post.             UNHCR statistics show that 1 percent of the world’s population is among the displaced.    About half of the world’s displaced are children, and 25 percent are young women, with an additional four percent being pregnant women.   This p...

            Some places on Earth are situated in the wrong area.   Either it lies in a geographically dangerous zone or it happens to be in the midst of political upheaval.   Goma , the capital of North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) fits both unfortunate categories. Located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi, it lies in the Albertine rift, the western branch of the East African Rift system. Goma lies perhaps less than 11 miles south of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. In addition to recent volcanic eruptions, the people of Goma have been plagued by the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its aftermath.   It seems Goma residents constantly are presented by one crisis after another.                 The First Congo War (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was...

              Many of us who have traveled widely in Africa have been asked to recommend a first place to go on the continent by new Africa sojourners.   I often say Egypt or Kenya, but many will suggest they go to South Africa because it is the most Western-friendly, with many modern conveniences, numerous English speakers, many great hotels and museums and Western food choices along with Africa fare.   I often refer to it as “Africa lite” for those very reasons.   However, recent events in South Africa have revealed the truth: despite the notable heroism of Nelson Mandela, his fellow liberation leaders and the success in the movement for majority rule, South Africa is a deeply divided nation between haves and have-nots and those who embrace democracy and those who favor a more authoritarian style of government that loots this nation’s vast resources and economic opportunities.   And the façade of a count...