Post Tagged with: "Kenya"

Europe and America’s ‘master narratives’ of Africa

G. Pascal Zachary in Fanzine:

The master narratives about Africa are inevitably political; art about Africa and Africans, especially art created by non-Africans, inevitably becomes intertwined with the historical use and abuse of the African imaginary. The political entanglements of literary artists engaged with African affairs are complicated by the emergence of a new humanitarianism, which presents African problems as a litmus for the moral capacity of wealthy societies to respond to the plight of less fortunate souls around the world. Just as the response to the genocide against the Jews defined the contours of conscience following World War II, so today does the engagement with Africa define the moral condition of the developed world. Because the engagement with Africa is a test, often narratives about the region and its people are consciously fabricated and fantastic; bad means are justified by good ends. Master narratives from a century ago have been revived and renovated, aimed at generating vast global audiences, with lies and distortions rationalized as part of what the storytellers themselves view as a legitimate “campaign” to help liberate Africans from various maladies—from disease, bad leaders, environmental hazards, wars and other menaces we’ve come to associate with the region. These “progressive,” or developmental, storytellers have even gone so far as to willfully ignore or distort African realities in order to tell the worst stories possible—and thus attract the greatest possible support, financial or moral or otherwise, for “saving” Africans. Such stories that diminish or degrade Africans have been justified (though rarely publicly) as necessary; for without such stories—true or not, exaggerated or strictly accurate—it is believed that people around the world would not express sympathy for the plight of needy Africans.

Here.

April 17, 2011 Read More

A Bleg: Where are the psychologists doing research in Africa?

Sometime last week I attended a podium discussion at the Berlin Humboldt University. The topic was Africa as the laboratory of globalisation. The idea was to discuss different ways in which Africa serves as a laboratory for ideas that then travel to other parts of the world.

Some of those on the podium are STS people who study medical practices in Africa, so the topic of clinical trials in Africa was discussed. For example, it is sometimes much more difficult to get permission to test new drugs in Europe and North Africa than in many African countries. Plus, in many cases, many people would never have access to the treatment if they did not partake in the tests. Of course, there are discussions on what happens to the test subjects when the test phase is ended. From what I gathered in the discussion, it seems that some steps are being taken, in some cases, to make sure that some of them continue having access to the medication. In this case, it is pretty obvious that the test results form part of the decision to introduce drugs in European and North American markets.

Even the idea of no-consent testing is being introduced in some European countries. This is a case in which your Dr does not have to seek your consent before sending samples off to test for HIV. This was first introduced in certain African countries, and if I understood the speaker correctly, it is currently being practiced in France.

With regards to constitution making, someone from South Africa was part of the committee that ‘made’ the new Kenyan constitution, because the SA constitution is thought to be one of the most progressive in the world. Plus the process of constitution drafting in many African countries is influencing the way people think about the nature of constitution around the world etc., etc.

There was also a discussion of cultural forms that have travelled out of the continent. Nollywood is an example; kente is another one.

I am sure you can think of some economic issues.

After the discussion, my friend asked me a question that totally stumped me: if Africa is a laboratory of globalisation, then some people are the lab scientists. Apart from the obvious medical examples, most of those scientists are social scientists. How come, of all the social science disciplines, one never gets to hear about psychologists working in or doing research in Africa?

I was stumped because I couldn’t think of anyone I know who is a psychologist doing research in Africa; and I haven’t heard of the participation of psychologists qua psychologist in development programmes, not even in post-conflict situations. I am ready to accept that it is possible that I am the one who is totally ignorant, which is why I am throwing this out at readers who are much more experienced in development practice than I am, and who have experiences in parts of Africa where I have never worked.

So, to recapitulate, the bleg is: why do my friend and I never get to hear of psychologists doing research in Africa? Any thoughts are most welcome.

March 28, 2011 Read More

Friday Links #49

1. The First Law of Development Stats: Whatever our Bizarre Methodology, We make Africa look Worse

2. On the need for more critical debates on the ‘open aid data’ discourse

3. SSD on Nigeria’s decision to try Dick Cheney

4. Norway examines reports that Muhammad Yunus diverted millions of dollars of aid money from a bank

5. Big trouble for microfinance

6. Kenya’s telecom revolution and the impact of mobile money

December 3, 2010 Read More

Roubini on African markets

Fund managers should consider African markets such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania rather than chasing crowded emerging market trades elsewhere, economist Nouriel Roubini said.

“It (Africa) is risky because there is less liquidity and the governance is not ideal. But in comparison to 10 years ago when there was civil strife and unstable governments, many things have improved,” Roubini said.

Reuters.

November 15, 2010 Read More

The East African common market

BBC’s World Business news discusses the soon-to-be-effected East African common market. The common market will include Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda. It will create a trading bloc of about 130 million people. The positive point is that trade will be easier among the countries of the common market, and the common market will be able to bargain as a bloc. The negative point is the fear that freedom of movement of labour will cause problem for local workers. A Ugandan commentator says that many Ugandans think that once the borders are open, Kenyans will flood the market and will out-compete them in the labour market.

Listen to the full audio file is here.

June 29, 2010 Read More

Dominique Strauss-Kahn on his trip to Africa

Africa is a different place from how it is often portrayed in the popular media. Thanks to sound economic policies in many countries over the past decade or so, Africa has been able to withstand this crisis much better than has been the case in the past. The fact that the crisis hit Africa anyway does not mean that the policies were wrong. On the contrary, those policies helped to buffer Africa from the worst of the crisis, and they should now be strengthened. All three national leaders with whom I met—President Kibaki of Kenya, President Zuma of South Africa, and President Banda of Zambia—conveyed to me their strong sense of the policy agenda ahead.

Read the whole article.

March 13, 2010 Read More

Africa – ‘dumping ground’ for fake goods?

BBC Focus on Africa Magazine:

It is early morning in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and a small independent wholesaler is doing a roaring trade.

The city’s street traders and small independent retailers have come to stock up on household products, one of which is toothpaste.

This wholesaler stocks two brands. The first, the so-called genuine article, is manufactured by Unilever, one of the world’s biggest consumer goods businesses.

The other, the wholesaler describes as “Chinese” – Unilever calls it fake.

By close of business this wholesaler is justifiably pleased. He has sold more tubes of counterfeit toothpaste than the genuine article, which is excellent news for the bottom line.

On the genuine product he has made a 13% mark-up, on the counterfeit an impressive 50%. Fair play to him, some might say – after all it is only toothpaste. Continue reading.

January 24, 2010 Read More

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