Tweet
Can South Africa lead Africa?
The upcoming elections in South Africa might be an opportunity for change in the country and the whole continent.
Last updated: 19 Apr 2014 15:34
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Abdi Ismail Samatar is a professor of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota, a research Fellow at the University of Pretoria, and a member of the African Academy of Sciences.
RSS
Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker
Email Article
Print Article
Share article
Send Feedback
Each year, Africa spends $40bn on imported food [Reuters]
Nelson Mandela's long walk to freedom reached its promised land in 1994, but twenty years later the mission misses its inspiring leader. The ANC has done wonderful work during this period, but I will highlight only seven accomplishments.
First, the country has created an opportunity for a growing number of its children to get better education that was unimaginable before. Many South African universities have a majority African student population; the University of Pretoria, which trained bureaucrats for apartheid in the past, now boasts a black student population of 56 percent. Second, the government has built 1.4 million houses in townships which have improved the quality of life for 5 million individuals and families. Third, the country has repaid apartheid's enormous financial debt and remains free from the clutches of the IMF. Fourth, the country's infrastructure has been upgraded. Fifth, more people have access to clean drinking water and access to medical services. Sixth, because of democracy, citizens are now free to challenge their government without fear. Seventh, more educated Africans have better access to economic opportunities their parents only dreamt of.
The free South African state has also played a progressive role across the continent. Its first major interventions included mediating the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and advancing peace in the Great Lakes Region. Under President Thabo Mbeki's leadership, South Africa inspired the transformation of the African Union and the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...615999869.html
The upcoming elections in South Africa might be an opportunity for change in the country and the whole continent.
Last updated: 19 Apr 2014 15:34
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Abdi Ismail Samatar is a professor of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota, a research Fellow at the University of Pretoria, and a member of the African Academy of Sciences.
RSS
Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker
Email Article
Print Article
Share article
Send Feedback
Each year, Africa spends $40bn on imported food [Reuters]
Nelson Mandela's long walk to freedom reached its promised land in 1994, but twenty years later the mission misses its inspiring leader. The ANC has done wonderful work during this period, but I will highlight only seven accomplishments.
First, the country has created an opportunity for a growing number of its children to get better education that was unimaginable before. Many South African universities have a majority African student population; the University of Pretoria, which trained bureaucrats for apartheid in the past, now boasts a black student population of 56 percent. Second, the government has built 1.4 million houses in townships which have improved the quality of life for 5 million individuals and families. Third, the country has repaid apartheid's enormous financial debt and remains free from the clutches of the IMF. Fourth, the country's infrastructure has been upgraded. Fifth, more people have access to clean drinking water and access to medical services. Sixth, because of democracy, citizens are now free to challenge their government without fear. Seventh, more educated Africans have better access to economic opportunities their parents only dreamt of.
The free South African state has also played a progressive role across the continent. Its first major interventions included mediating the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and advancing peace in the Great Lakes Region. Under President Thabo Mbeki's leadership, South Africa inspired the transformation of the African Union and the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...615999869.html
Comment