February 07
Ethiopia: Somaliland-Ethiopia Port Deal - International Opposition Flags Complex Red Sea Politics
The memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland announced on 1 January 2024 set off diplomatic rows in the Horn of Africa - and beyond. Read more »
January 19
South Africa: Why Are Floods in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal So Devastating? Urban Planning Expert Explains
The devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa demonstrates again that the country is not moving fast enough to adopt appropriate urban planning. It… Read more »
January 09
Southern Africa: Studying Engineering Is Tough - 6 Insights to Help University Students Succeed
Engineering courses are a popular choice among South African university students. But these courses are also gruelling and the attrition rates are high. The Council on Higher… Read more »
December 06, 2023
Africa: Rural Communities Are Being Left Behind Because of Poor Digital Infrastructure, Research Shows
In an era where businesses and households depend on the internet for everything from marketing to banking and shopping, the lack of adequate digital access can be a significant… Read more »
May 21, 2023
Africa: Grand Infrastructure Projects Aren't a Magic Bullet for Industrial Development - Insights From Ghana and Kenya
The African Union's flagship Agenda 2063 initiative prioritises large-scale infrastructure development and promises to "link the continent by rail, road, sea and air". Read more »
March 29, 2023
Africa: Industries Can Harm Health in Many Ways - Here Are 3 That Aren't So Obvious
A recent ground-breaking series of reports in the science journal The Lancet unpacks what commercial determinants of health are, and how they affect public health. It uses a new,… Read more »
January 27, 2023
Somalia: Somaliland's Oil Find Could Reset the Regional Balance - Here's How
The presence of oil in Somaliland has been confirmed by a recent exploration. The discovery has raised the stakes in Somaliland's claim for independence from Somalia as it holds… Read more »
January 17, 2023
Africa: Extreme Storms and Flood Events Cause Damage Worth Billions to Ports - and They Are Most Disruptive to Small Island Developing States #AfricaClimateCrisis
Shipping ports are crucial for the global economy. They handle the majority of trade, are industrial and transportation hubs and provide employment. But ports, by their nature, are… Read more »
January 11, 2023
Ethiopia: Chinese Imports Could Undermine Ethiopian Manufacturing - Leaving Women Workers Worst Off
China is now the African continent's largest trading partner, accounting for US$254 billion in 2021. It's also the main country of origin for African manufacturing imports,… Read more »
Africa: Chinese Workers On Africa's Infrastructure Projects - the Link With Host Political Regimes
China has rapidly become Africa's most important infrastructure builder, and the footprint of Chinese construction companies is seen in cities, towns and villages across the… Read more »
January 04, 2023
Africa: COP27 in Review - Climate Talks Delivered Big Gains for Africa, but Also Several Challenges
Africa has contributed negligibly to the changing climate, with less than 4% of global emissions. Yet it stands out disproportionately as the most vulnerable region in the world. Read more »
December 13, 2022
Africa: Ports Race Is Hyped As 'Development' but Also Creates Pathways for Plunder
Ports have long been integral to Africa's connectivity with the rest of the world. Yet over the last 15 years, a new stage in maritime infrastructure planning and development has… Read more »
December 12, 2022
East Africa: The Lapsset Development Corridor - Between a Bright Future and a Grim Past
The Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport - or Lapsset - corridor is the flagship project of Kenya's Vision 2030 development agenda. Inaugurated in 2012, the planned corridor… Read more »
November 17, 2022
Ethiopia: Civet Musk, a Precious Perfume Ingredient, Is Under Threat.
The African civet -- an animal closely related to the mongoose and widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa -- is among four mammals known to secrete scented compounds. Civets… Read more »
October 25, 2022
Kenya: Kenya's Big Railway Project Makes Life Even Harder for the Poor By Ignoring Their Reality
People's responses to large infrastructure projects - railways, bridges, highways - are rarely neutral. To some, these projects represent powerful social and political promises of… Read more »
October 07, 2022
Uganda: Uganda's Owen Falls Dam - a Colonial Legacy That Still Stings, 67 Years Later
Uganda's Owen Falls hydropower plant has a rich history that predates the country's independence in 1962. The plant is located across the White Nile and sits between the towns of… Read more »
August 31, 2022
Southern Africa: Southern African Countries Can Do Better At Infrastructure - What the Choices Might Look Like
Countries in southern Africa are under a crushing burden brought about by a confluence of factors. These include the unprecedented growth in the number of young people, the… Read more »
August 04, 2022
Africa: China Has a New Global Development Initiative, But Who Will Actually Benefit From It?
China's well-publicized Belt and Road Initiative to invest in infrastructure projects in other countries has helped it expand its political influence around the world. But a newer,… Read more »
July 25, 2022
Africa: Free Trade Area Offers Promise for Cities - But Only If There's Investment
The African Continental Free Trade Area came into operation on 1 January 2021. This is a considerable achievement. The free trade area is now the world's single largest market for… Read more »
Southern Africa: Industrial Policy Options for Southern Africa - Scenarios Set Out Possibilities and Risks
There is a need to transform the underlying economic principles of the economies in southern African countries to address the persistent challenges of severe poverty and… Read more »
East Africa: Dam Dispute - Five Key Reads About How It Started and How It Could End
The US has revived diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute sparked by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on the Nile. Sudan and Egypt, which rely most… Read more »
May 16, 2022
Kenya: Mombasa Port - How Kenya's Auditor-General Misread China's Standard Gauge Railway Contracts
In December 2018, a leaked letter from the Kenyan auditor-general's office sparked a rumour that Kenya had staked its bustling Mombasa Port as collateral for the Chinese-financed… Read more »
May 15, 2022
Kenya: Big Infrastructure Projects On the Continent Should Work for Everyone
Big infrastructure projects should be based on the needs of people and communities. Often, they are criticised for benefiting the wealthy only. These projects reflect specific… Read more »
May 11, 2022
Nigeria: Why Import Restrictions Aren't Enough to Help Nigeria Industrialise
Nigeria has a strong ambition to industrialise. It has relied heavily on the restriction of imports of certain goods targeted for domestic production. But for Nigeria's… Read more »