Stories about Governance from March, 2006
Kenya: Parliament resumes
Kenyan Pundit comments on the Kenya's current parliament which resumed yesterday which she describes as “Congregation of fools“.
Zimbabwe: Weekly inflation
The Beareded man has a series of reports from Zimbabwe ranging from, Air Zimbabwe now charging in US$, weekly inflation, assasination conspiracy and an ex Rhodesian soldier.
DRC: Elections and “Rwandanization”
For Musengeshi Katata from Forum Realisance (FR) a victory for Joseph Kabila in the upcoming election would only prolong the “rwandanization” of the Congo. The “rwandanization” of the Congo started when Laurent Kabila, Joseph's predecessor and father began hiring rwandan and ugandan mercenaries to keep himself in power, says Katata....
Belarus: Protest Stories and Conversations
For the past four evenings, thousands of people have been gathering at Kastrychnitskaya (Oktyabrskaya) Square in Minsk, Belarus, to protest the fraudulent presidential election, demand a new vote and support the opposition. The crowd thins as the night arrives, but a few hundred young activists stay on in a small...
Belarus: The Purpose of the Protest in Minsk
Ivan Lenin at Rush-Mush translates a Belarusian LJ user's eloquent explanation of what the protest in Minsk is about: “The current resistance is a note of protest. A revolution probably won't happen. But there is a hope that the authorities will remember the tents on the square, next time they...
Nigeria: And it's Census Time Once Again
Nigeria is having another population census after 15 years since the last one was held. Unsurprisingly, the Nigerian blogosphere is buzzing with information and opnions about the national activity. Grandiose Parlor is pessimistic about the whole exercise, and bears his mind on the issue: Census 2006: Another Nigerian Spectacle? Despite...
Nigeria: Progressive?
Grandiose Parlor comments on the Nigerian census and wonders despite 4 censuses and the widespread violence reported around the census whether Nigeria has what it takes to exist as a progressive nation.…”How does the insurgency in the Niger-Delta impact the census in this area? Is there any provision (by the...
DRC: “I Have a Dream”
Blogger Tony Katombe of Le Blog du Congolais publishes (FR) an eloquent email received from a Belgian reader who thanks him for shedding light on Belgium's past and present entanglements with the DRC. Katombe then embarks on his version of “I Have a Dream” in which through his blog he...
Trinidad & Tobago: Not in Chaguaramas
The Trinidad & Tobago government's proposal to locate low-income housing on Trinidad's north-western peninsula is a bad idea, says Francomenz, in a well-documented post on the matter.
Belarus: Opposition Leaders Break Up
Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush comments on the recent breakup between the two opposition leaders, Milinkevich and Kozulin: “Milinkevich has got a wonderful opportunity to create a change, thanks to the courage of the thousands Belarusians who braved the very real threats from Luka and the cold; the tens of thousands...
DRC at a Boiling Point
Over at UDPS Liege, blogger J. Kayembe Tshipamba lists (FR) all the reasons why he believes the DRC is headed towards an era reminiscent of the Mobutu years: free speech issues as evidenced by the repressed March 10 opposition protest; the presence of Rwandan mercenaries; the parcelling of the DRC...
Bahamas: The great land rush
As “the biggest sell-off of Bahamian land in history” takes place, Sir Arthur Foulkes recalls some earlier efforts at land development and speculation by both Bahamians and foreigners.
China: Who rules the province?
Chinese Law Prof summarizes and comments on an article which analyzes the career of Qiu He (仇和), recently promoted to the rank of vice governor of Jiangsu Province. The essence of the issue, the Prof writes, is that Qiu has apparently run roughshod over the legal rights of those he...
Cayman Islands: Expat bashing
Cayblogger takes a politician to task for implying that expatriate managers are preventing the advancement of locals.
Aruba: Status aparte and frightening food
ArubaGirl salutes her home country on the occasion of its 30th anniversary of Status Aparte status vis-à-vis the Netherlands. She also eats some frightening food.
China: Privacy issues
Xiao Qiang, on China Digital Times, flags an article by Thomas Crampton in the International Herald Tribune on how a new Internet technology, IPv6, will make life even easier for the Chinese government to monitor what its citizens are doing on-line. Crampton is also a guest-blogger on Joi It’s blog.
India: Infrastructure Blues
Even as India's presence on the IT map gets stronger, Bangalore's infrastructure gets worse. Scenes from the street from India's IT capital.
Haiti: Pros and Cons on Resurrecting the Army
While President Preval wishes to dissolve the Haitian army for good, a recent commission would like to resurrect it. AyitiCherieConnexion weighs in (FR) with an analysis of the Haitian army's historical role as a repressive tool for presidents. AyitiCherie concludes however that since Haiti's neighbor the Dominican Rep. has an...
Ethiopia: The fantasy of Meles
Mehedeya also commenting on an Ethiopia related report this time from the Economist which finally turns the heat on Meles.... “It is hard, for instance, to find any educated Ethiopian, even in the government, who really believes opposition leaders were plotting “genocide” against the ethnic Tgreans, the group from which...
Ethiopia: realities of economic growth
Ethiopundit comments on a recent Reuters report that Ethiopia could end extreme poverty if it continued it's 7% economic growth of the past three years. .”The Ethiopian government's style of 7% growth would have to be sustained for several centuries of ‘decades’ to pull off that trick. Too bad none...
Buying In, Selling Out or Scraping By: Francophone African Bloggers on Social Mobility and Education
School on Hold While Mom Scrapes By Carine. Courtesy Tony Katombe. Le Blog du Congolais shares (FR) the touching story of Carine, a 22 year-old from the DRC with an infectious smile who sells omelettes and doughnuts during school hours: Today I don't feel like eating Carine's omelettes. I can't...
