Papers
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Going Public: How Africa's integration can work for the poor (Tuesday, 15th December 2009)
In the heyday of African nationalism, the continent's founding fathers plotted their vision of pan-African unity. The twin paths of closer political and economic integration appeared to them as the only means to achieve dignity prosperity and security. Today, closer integration between African states is once again a priority for the African Union and the regional institutions of southern, East and West Africa. This panoramic survey investigates half a century of efforts to advance Africa's integration, often hamstrung by a surfeit of competing ambitions and lack of political will. In recent decades, significant economic growth in many countries has been characterised by starkly rising inequality and entrenched poverty. The authors argue, plainly and without jargon, that the process of cooperation between states needs new direction. The overriding purpose of integration must be to reduce poverty. Macro-economic targets are important, but for too long policymakers have placed disproportionate emphasis o the creation of larger trading blocs. Priority for regional public goods, whether publicly or privately funded, is a more effective strategy. From pan-African infrastructure to common standards in law and politics, they are a proven means to foster growth - and to distribute its benefits more widely. Click here to download |
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Waiting for a Green Revolution (Wednesday, 9th December 2009)
Predictions of a Green Revolution in Africa are overstated. Investment in African agriculture has been neglected by governments and donors. The proportion of aid allocated to agriculture fell from 17% in 1980 to 3% in 2005. Population growth and declining productivity among smallholder farmers has increased the need for imported food. Calls for Africa to achieve self-sufficiency in food production have prompted comparisons with Asia’s Green Revolution in the 1970s and 1980s. These notes argue for more flexible and varied responses to food insecurity in Africa. |
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Tanzania and Senegal: Inside the Machine (Tuesday, 20th October 2009)
Comparing the Politics of Institutional Reform Tanzania and Senegal have long records of political stability. Both made peaceful transitions from single-party 'African socialism' to multiparty democracy, becoming favourites with foreign donors and development agencies. Recent elections were declared free and fair by international observers, but the course of institutional reforms in each country has diverged. These notes compare the prospects for democratic institutions. Click here to download |
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Kenya's Flying Vegetables: Small farmers and the 'food miles' debate (Wednesday, 8th July 2009)
In this highly personal and keenly argued commentary, James Gikunju Muuru makes the first detailed response by an African smallholder to the controversy over 'food miles'. His account describes the serial feats of coordination, discipline, productivity and manual labour which make Kenyan horticulture competitive in global markets. For anyone who has ever asked how some of the poorest populations can reap the benefits of world trade, the example of James's four-acre plot in the Mwea district of Central Province is a compelling reply. Click here to download |
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Nursing the Future: e-Learning and clinical care, in Kenya (Wednesday, 8th July 2009)
Few tests of the new methods of e-learning can be more exacting than to improve standards of clinical care by hard-pressed nurses in Kenya's busy hospitals and clinics. But such is the ambition whihc drives the country's first nationwide e-learning programme for nurses, devised by the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). In this candid and detailed account Angela Nguku chronicles the evolution of the e-learning programme. From her perspective as coordinator of the AMREF Virtual Nursing School in Nairobi, she charts both the obstacles - a shortage of qualified tutors, the scarcity of clinical placements - and the priorities to overcome them. Click here to download |
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Think Small: The example of small grants, in Madagascar (Wednesday, 17th December 2008)
In this Policy Voice, former British Ambassador to Madagascar Brian Donaldson argues that Britain should increase exisiting funding for small grants in developing countries, and commit to supporting independent small grants schemes in countries where it does not have a diplomatic mission. Based on his own experience of managing small grant schemes in Madagascar, he identifies four main advantages of this method of channeling money to the poor: 1. Value for money - the simple structure of small grants schemes ensures low administrative costs, and maximum spending on the ground. 2. Reactivity - small grant schemes are nimble. Unlike large aid agencies, they can react rapicly to local needs. 3. Ownership - projects are initiate, and managed by local communities. 4. Momentum - small grants create a positive dynamic in local communities. Click here to download |
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Feeding Five Thousand: The case for indigenous crops, in Zimbabwe (Wednesday, 17th December 2008)
In this Policy Voice, Chidara Muchineripi, a management consultant from Harare, argues that indigenous crops should play a more important role in African agriculture. Chidara, who is heir to the chieftainship of the semi-arid district of Gutu, built a new consensus amongst local people in favour of growing traditional crops, namely finger millet, pearl millet and sorghum. Indigenous crops, he argues, have a number of advantages over the region's staple crop, maize. Most importantly, traditional crops adapt well to different climates and produce higher yields in regions of low rainfall. Seven villages in the Chinyika communities have been growing indigenous crops for the past three years. Over 5,000 people now have food adequate supplies and a steady cash income from the sale of their surplus crop. Click here to download |
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Bunge Lenye Meno: A Parliament with Teeth for Tanzania (Wednesday, 26th November 2008)
East Africa's most populous nation has been a beacon of political stability in a troubled region. Yet for most of Tanzania's post-independence history, ethnic and religious tolerance has been underpinned by the dominant govering party Chama Cha Mapinduzi. An unyielding political machine has resisted attempts to wrest influence from the ruling elite. Until now. A cross-party group of activist parliamentarians has boldly asserted their constitutional role: the 'oversight' of government business, and the 'challenge function' of standing up to executive power. The unfolding contest to transform Bunge, Tanzania's National Assembly, is changing political life in ways which even the leading protagonists hardly believed possible. In this candid and balanced report, three eminent parliamentarians describe their roles in these far-reaching reforms: from the first parliamentary committee of enquiry, to regular Prime Minister's Questions and fresh scrutiny of the foreign donors who contribute more than 40% of the government budget. In the struggle to create vigilant and accountable public institutions in Africa, Tanzania has set an important precedent. "The ideal situation is to have the teeth, and also to have the meat to chew on." - Samuel Sitta, Speaker of the National Assembly Click here to download |
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South Africa: The Next Republic (Friday, 24th October 2008)
The resignation of former president Thabo Mbeki can be seen as the ending of a "First Republic" in democratic South Africa. The liberal left tradition of the governing African National Congress is fading, and the "Second Republic" will be shaped by more competition for political powers both inside and outside the ANC. These notes consider Mbeki's legacy, the challenges facing President Kgalema Motlanthe, and the prospects for a "Second Republic" under presidential aspirant Jacob Zuma. Click here to download |
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Planting Ideas: How agricultural subsidies are working in Malawi (Thursday, 13th March 2008)
Malawi is the most densely populated country in southern Africa. Without affordable fertiliser and other inputs, small farmers have struggled to grow enough food from over-cultivated soils. But after successive food crises, the government of Malawi acted against the advice of donors and many international experts to introduce a home-grown subsidy programme for smallholder farmers. In this balanced and timely study, Blessings Chinsinga and Aoiffe O'Brien examine how agricultural subsidies can be made to work for rural populations. Despite fears of a return to the pervasive corruption, cronyism and waste which led to the abolition of agricultural subsidies throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s, Malawi has set an important precedent. The authors argue - plainly, and without jargon - that it is possible to design an effective and efficient subsidy for small farmers. While more remains to be done, Malawi's innovative voucher-based programme has brought bumper maize harvests and stable prices. Many more rural communities, in Africa and across the developing world, could benefit if the lessons of this study are taken up by governments, donors and policy makers. Click here to download |
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Kenya: A nation fragmented (Tuesday, 5th February 2008)
Kenya is effectively partitioned by criminal and ethnic violence, triggered by the December 27th presidential ballot. The unrest threatens Kenya's cohesion as a nation state, with sever consequences for its landlocked neighbours and the East African region. Evidence of vote-rigging has reinforced claims that the presidency was stolen by incumbent Mwai Kibaki, but the roots of the conflict lie in longstanding disputes over land and other resources. The systemic failure of Kenyan institutions to address these grievances will not be diffused by a negotiated settlement between politicians in Nairobi. Click here to download |
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South Africa: The Brazil of Africa - Briefing Note (Thursday, 20th December 2007)
This briefing note compares economic and social policy in South Africa with Brazil. It argues that South Africa has followed a trajectory similar in many respects to Brazil, the dominant economy in South America. But the comparison highlights weaknesses in Pretoria and the ANC. Click here to download |
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Making fertiliser subsidies work in Malawi - Briefing Note (Saturday, 15th December 2007)
This briefing note highlights the role of fertiliser subsidies in Malawi, the world's fifth poorest country. Malawi has suffered recurrent poor harvests, with disastrous consequences for food security since the early 1990s. Yields have improved significantly in the past two years, helped by a government subsidy scheme that has improved access to fertiliser by smallholder farmers. Click here to download |
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Keeping the peace in D.R. Congo (DRC) - Briefing Note (Monday, 10th December 2007)
This briefing note arues that the United Nations has no option but to extend the role of MONUC when its current mandate is reviewed in December 2007, as recommended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The international community is counting on Security Sector Reform (SSR) to ease its withdrawal from Congo, but the timeframe must take account of the situation on the ground. Click here to download |
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Sleights of hand at Lancaster House (Thursday, 1st November 2007)
An interview with the former secretary-general of the Commonwealth Sir Sonny Ramphal Click here to download |
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Will ZANU-PF survive after Mugabe? (Thursday, 1st November 2007)
The combination of a nationalist guerrilla movement with the mechanisms of colonial administration has been a recipe for disaster. But close ties to the military and security apparatus mean that only a reformed ZANU-PF can manage a peaceful transition to democracy, writes Ibbo Mandaza in his contribution to 'The Day After Mugabe: Prospects for Change in Zimbabwe'. Click here to download |
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Process matters as much as substance (Thursday, 1st November 2007)
A new constitution is no panacea for Zimbabwe. Principles are important for a democratic society, but a deal brokered behind closed doors will not solve the crisis of legitimacy, writes Gugulethu Moyo in her contribution to 'The Day After Mugabe: Prospects for Change in Zimbabwe'. Click here to download |
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Varieties of justice (Thursday, 1st November 2007)
In the search for a better future there are useful precedents for confronting teh past. International law will be hard to defy, writes Priscilla Hayner in her contribution to 'The Day After Mugabe: Prospects for Change in Zimbabwe'. Click here to download |
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Taking Africa's name in vain (Thursday, 1st November 2007)
Regional leaders have adopted high standards for Africa's new institutions, reflecting the great moral concerns of their continent's history. But governments have struggled to translate principle into action, writes Tawanda Mutasah in his contribution to 'The Day After Mugabe: Prospects for Change in Zimbabwe'. Click here to download |
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Prospects for Change in Zimbabwe - Briefing Note (Thursday, 19th July 2007)
A short briefing note on the current situation in Zimbabwe that has been sent to all members of parliament with an active interest in Africa. It argues that in developing a practical response to the crisis in Zimbabwe, British policy-makers must recognise the realistic prospect of continued deterioration and the entrenched obstacles to recovery. Click here to download |
