Beyond textbooks: is West African education finally growing wings?
For generations, education across much of Africa has been criticised for producing students who can recite, memorise and pass examinations, but are often not sufficiently trained to build, repair, design or manufacture. The criticism is not new. Many have traced the problem partly to colonial education, which was largely designed to produce clerks, interpreters, teachers […]
Renewables Are Rising – So Why Is Big Oil Rushing Back to Africa?
From Mauritania and Senegal to Angola, Namibia and South Africa, global energy companies are searching for the next great offshore petroleum province. But the renewed rush raises a difficult question: will Africa’s new oil discoveries finance its development and energy transition—or repeat an old history of extraction without transformation? At a time when governments, investors […]
Ghana wants him back. America has given him residency
Ken Ofori-Atta’s reported US immigration victory has not ended Ghana’s attempt to extradite its former finance minister to face corruption charges A potentially significant legal and diplomatic contest is developing between Ghana and the United States over the future of Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. Ghanaian prosecutors want him returned to Accra to face […]
Xenophobia Threatens South Africa’s Business Empire in West Africa
As African migrants flee hostility in South Africa, major companies in telecommunications, banking, mining and entertainment face growing reputational and commercial danger across the continent. South African companies have spent decades building one of the most powerful corporate footprints in Africa. Their telecommunications networks connect millions of people. Their banks finance businesses and households. Their […]