A Quick Poll on Zim’

Events surrounding Zimbabwe have certainly not gone unnoticed in the news lately. A few examples can be found here, here, and here. Not forgetting Petina Gappah’s rant here, and Michael Trapido’s sentiments here.
I am keen to gauge the mood pertaining to Zimbabwe based on the traffic passing through this blog.  Kindly spare a moment to [...]

Missing Ingredients

Yesterday my drive through central Manchester took me past the defunct Jowata African Restaurant (pictured).  Black wooden boards covered the windows and entrance to the premises – certainly not a heartwarming sight.  The Jowata was closed to the public well over eight months ago for reasons beyond my knowledge.  While the restaurant never really had [...]

África, Pecado de Europa

África, Pecado de Europa is a book written in Spanish, translated to mean Africa, Sin of Europe in English. It is the work of Luís de Sebastián Carazo, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Economics at the ESADE Business School. In the video clip below he takes a few minutes to talk about what the book entails.  I get the [...]

Men’s What?

The November edition of Men’s Health magazine came through my postbox this past Wednesday.  Images of impossibly fit bodybuilders have become a fixture on the magazine’s cover each month.  Bearing this in mind, it was surprising to find a glum Barack Obama staring out of the latest edition (pictured).
November’s Men’s Health magazine is dubbed “The [...]

Q&A – Margaret Sengwaketse

Margaret Sengwaketse is a Research Fellow at the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA).  She is currently undertaking research towards a Ph.D. degree at the University of Manchester.  Margaret’s thesis explores three possible explanations to manufacturing growth in Botswana; mineral abundance, the trade policy environment, and the general macroeconomic environment.  Margaret was [...]

Int’l Religious Freedom Report 2008

Earlier on this month, the U.S. Department of State released the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report.  Published on the 19th of September, this is a significant document giving a country-by-country assessment of our religious liberties. Of interest to me is the report’s ability to provide updated reviews pertaining to specific African countries.  The erosion of [...]

No Excuse

Nigerians living in Manchester would really have to make an effort to forget their Independence Day this year. Posters (pictured below) advertising Independence Day celebrations have popped up across the city this past week.   On the 1st of October, Nigeria will be two years shy of celebrating fifty years of independence from British rule. Given [...]

“How To Write About Africa”

Africa has had a long history of being patronised in various forms of the media and literature.  Most of us have come to expect it all. Cringeworthy distortions of the continent in movies, newspaper articles, novels, and even documentaries.  Ironically, non-Africans are often at the forefront when it comes to dictating how Africa and her [...]

Africa Can

The good gentlemen at the African CEO blog have pointed out a new addition to the blogosphere: Africa Can. This is Shanta Devarajan’s new blog in his capacity as the Chief Economist of the Africa region at the World Bank.  After giving it a quick read, I would say it certainly seems to be a [...]

Africa and the Credit Crunch

UPDATE: A comprehensive discussion on this topic has been subsequently facilitated by the World Bank’s Chief Economist for the Africa Region.  Strongly recommended – click here to access it.
The week so far has definitely been diary material.  In view of the current global financial crisis, these are certainly unprecedented times.  Images of former Lehman Brothers [...]