Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from September, 2005
Nigeria: Succession struggles
Chippla posts a long commentary wondering who will succeed Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and notes the recent flight of current Vice-President Atiku Abubasar to a ruling PDP party stronghold to register as a member.
Zimbabwe: Government scandals
Zimpundit gives a long and detailed round-up of the latest news from Zimbabwe's scandal-hit ruling party.
Senegal: Sufi brotherhood
Black Star Journal flags a fascinating feature on the BBC about Senegal's Sufi brotherhood.
Kenya: IT infrastructure
Bankelele reports that the state-owned Telkom Kenya has launched an Internet telephony, or VoIP, service, and has begun laying a fiber-optic cable connecting Nairobi to Mombasa.
Nigeria: Overpriced taxis
Chippla reports on the emergence of another new street item in the Nigerian capital of Abuja: smart new taxis which are bookable by phone–but unaffordable for the average resident of the city.
South Africa: Potato famine
Commentary.co.za wryly notes a recent comment from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe: “We have heaps of potatoes but [the] people [of Zimbabwe] are not potato eaters.”
Uganda: Gulu Walk Day
UgandaCAN is organizing an event called Gulu Walk Day in major cities across the world on Oct. 22 to campaign for peace in northern Uganda.
Sudan: Mounting tension
Aid worker Sleepless in Sudan reports that thousands of Arab camel-herders are gathering near the Kalma camp for displaced persons, while elsewhere in the troubled region of Darfur, rebel militias are said to be infiltrating the northern town of El Fasher.
Zimbabwe: Remembering Memory
“Who will remember Memory?”, asks Faithful at Sokwanele, referring to the baby daughter of a Zimbabwean man whose home was destroyed by the government of President Robert Mugabe.
Ghana: Entrepreneurial pride
Timbuktu Chronicles highlights the success of an up-and-coming Ghanaian food-processing company, and its conveniently packaged traditional flours and foodstuffs.
Kenyan Blogosphere Roundup
- First things first. The Kenyan Blogs WebRing recently celebrated it's first birthday and crossed the 100 member threshold. Congratulations are in order. Here are some snippets of the amazing community that is Kenya Unlimited. - Bankelele offers up helpful information regarding buying shares on the Kenyan stock exchange from...
Nigeria: Sex or prayer?
trae_z at Trae Days blogs about losing his religion, though not his sense of God, and his scepticism about deifying human beings, though not about miracles.
Township Sessions: CD review
Afromusing reviews the forthcoming release of “Township Sessions”, a CD released from an old cassette recording by the South African Philani Mothers Choir.
Sudan: Medair chopper service
The Passion of the Present reports that the roads in West Darfur have become so dangerous that Switzerland-based medical aid NGO Medair has started helicopter flights to reach affected areas. Medair is one of the longest-serving NGOs in Darfur, with a presence there since 2001.
Uganda: Prayer and action
UgandaCAN organizes a “Weekend of Prayer and Action” on behalf of children affected by 19 years of war in northern Uganda.
Zimbabwe: Farm manager beaten
Zimpundit rails against the beating by a gang of armed men of white farm manager Allan Warner, quoting Martin Luther King Jr.: “Are we any better than they are if we treat them like they've treated us?”
Globalization & Democracy: The Helsinki Conference 2005
The Helsinki Conference 2005: From Words to Action I recently attended the Helsinki Conference 2005 in Helsinki, Finland (Sept. 7-9). The conference was a follow-up to the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy initiated by the governments of Tanzania and Finland in 2002 to create a multi-stakeholder approach to solving...
Sudan: Fresh killings, rape, destruction
Aid worker Sleepless in Sudan reports fresh outbreaks of fighting in the troubled region of Darfur. “It is tragic to see that even after two years of conflict we are still witnessing fresh displacement and horrific stories of burning villages, killings and rape,” she writes.
Eritrea, Ethiopia: More war?
Nazret.com‘s Ethioblog picks up on a news release saying that Eritrea has warned that it may resume war with neighboring Ethiopia if the United Nations failed to resolve a border dispute between the two countries.
South Africa: Barclays billions
Wayne Wides, writing on commentary.co.za tracks the movements of the mysterious Barclays billions in the South African Reserve Bank's Monthly Release of Selected Data, with a little help from a local financial journalist.
Live 8: Tinkle of broken promises
Ma-Schamba, a Mozambique blogger who usually writes in Portuguese, picks up on an article by George Monbiot in the Guardian saying that most of the promises made to African countries around the Live 8 concert and G8 summit have already been broken.
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