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Monday 13th of February 2017 |
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Mahama: Leave when applause is loudest @TheStarKenya Africa |
It really was a rare a privilege hosting immediate former President of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, at Mindspeak on Saturday. When Phanice confirmed his attendance, I immersed myself in ‘’Dramani’’ and what I discovered was that my guest was a polymath. His book (which I found in the Library of the Muthaiga Club), My First Coup d’État and Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa, is beautiful and lyrical.
He describes a magical world and in one section he writes of the Simpa, or full-moon dance. Simpa would take place in the village square when the moon was “huge, round, and electric white against the black sky”. Villagers would start to sing. Then young women would begin to dance seductively, and young men would tap them on the shoulder and ask to join them. “As the evening went on under the light of that moon,” Mahama says, “people would find partners not only for dancing but also for life.” I learnt that Mahama is a devotee of Afrobeat music and immersed myself in Fela Kuti and enjoyed ‘Afrodisiac’ best. President Mahama was the first ‘born-free’ President of Ghana. And as I thought about the man, I realised that now for so many of us it’s actually the ‘born-free’ generation that speaks our language.
Of course, I have been following the markets in Ghana for quite a while and the President said: ‘’You know the Cedi was the worst-performing currency in the world, and then a year or two later we were the best-performing currency.’’ And I said quietly: ‘’You remember [which he obviously did].’’
President Mahama conceded the election to President Nana Akufo-Addo in record-breaking time. Mahama was a key player in the ECOWAS team that prised President Yahya Jammeh out of power. When it comes to democratic credentials, Mahama is self-evidently off the charts. He is what Malcolm Gladwell called an ‘’outlier’’.
“The more we investigate the reasons for African prosperity, the more we’ll find that democracy is one of them,” HE @JDMahama #Mindspeak. “Democratic nations unleash the creative nature of its people” @JDMahama “Extreme partisanship is worse than dictatorship because it stifles development & progress.” @JDMahama “And we need to accelerate trade among ourselves in Africa & create opportunities for prosperity for our young people’’ @JDMahama.
However, the most powerful comment was: “Leave when the applause is loudest’’ – and he described how the loudest applause he ever received was when he entered the Backstair square on the day of President Akufo-Addo’s inauguration, and of course after he had already conceded.
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Mr. Mahama is at his best in describing this vanished world WSJ Africa |
Mr. Mahama is at his best in describing this vanished world. He does so with the eye of a historian and the flair of a novelist. "My First Coup d'Etat" is a collection of personal reminiscences centered on the traditional customs of his home village, where every older man is respectfully called a grandfather and every woman a grandmother. Some of the stories are his own, involving one or more of his 18 brothers and sisters; others were handed down by his father, who came from a long line of tribal chiefs. At times the lost world he describes seems almost magical, as if it were populated by fairies and demons rather than real people.
Many of his tales revolve around tribal practices that no longer exist. One is the teenage courting ritual called Simpa, or full-moon dance. Simpa would take place in the village square when the moon was "huge, round, and electric white against the black sky." Villagers would start to sing. Then young women would begin to dance seductively, and young men would tap them on the shoulder and ask to join them. "As the evening went on under the light of that moon," Mr. Mahama says, "people would find partners not only for dancing but also for life."
As a result of his elevation to the presidency, Mahama made political history by becoming the first Ghanaian head of state to have been born after Ghana's declaration of independence on 6 March 1957
Macro Thoughts
Home Thoughts
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Trump Hands Xi a Diplomatic Victory Africa |
Late last year, Trump set the region and world on edge by questioning the “One China” policy that has stabilized U.S.-China relations for nearly four decades. Late last week, Trump walked that back, affirming the policy in a long-delayed phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Some tension is inevitable in this relationship, but it’s hard to argue Trump is making things better. In foreign policy especially, his belligerence could undermine both U.S. security (if it’s ever acted on) and credibility (when it isn’t). Now that Trump’s threat has been exposed as empty, the U.S. is arguably in a worse position than before. Trump has in effect handed Xi a diplomatic victory.
Conclusions
Its farcical.
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"Olive oil is expensive and very much in the hands of nature," said Oliver. Commodities |
"The really good stuff is worth every penny. You pretty much charge the oil per tablespoon, like you would foie gras or caviar."
Prices for extra virgin olive oil in Italy have soared almost one-third since October to €5.75 ($6.15) a kilogram, while Spanish costs jumped about 10%, according to the International Olive Council in Madrid. The forecasters at Mintec Ltd. in England see room for even further gains.
Nowhere is the surge felt more than Britain. Thanks to the Brexit-induced collapse of the pound, olive oil is the most expensive it's been in at least seven years. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is closing six of his Italian restaurants around the country after the currency's crash drove up costs.
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If Donald Trump can't play nice with U.S. allies, his presidency could crash and burn in the Horn of Africa. Foreign Policy Africa |
Successive U.S. administrations have had their strategic plans shattered in the Horn of Africa. Between the “Black Hawk Down” fiasco in Somalia, the Darfur genocide, and the implosion of South Sudan, few regions have proved as resistant to the designs of American policymakers. But in addition to notable failures — South Sudan being perhaps the most glaring — Barack Obama achieved a number of qualified successes there during his presidency, including partnering with African military allies to drive al-Shabab militants out of Somalia’s cities and convincing Sudan, long a regional pariah, to begin coming in from the cold.
These successes stemmed from the Obama administration’s willingness to work cooperatively with allies. They now risk being undone by President Donald Trump, who will probably retain the Obama administration’s robust counterterrorism efforts but has made no secret of his disdain for multilateralism.
The risk that Trump’s unilateral approach could backfire is even greater because the challenges his administration has inherited in the Horn of Africa are just as vexing — if not more vexing — than those that greeted the Obama administration in 2009. In addition to the civil war in Somalia, there is a seemingly intractable conflict in South Sudan; looming succession crises in Sudan, Eritrea, and Djibouti; and growing unrest in Ethiopia, America’s pivotal ally in the region and its primary engine of economic growth. Meanwhile, a decades-long period of economic expansion seems to be ending, leaving many U.S. allies politically vulnerable and more dependent than ever on American engagement.
Yet Trump’s own policies could cause further economic distress. His administration has floated plans to restrict trade, increase the cost of borrowing, and limit migration. Such measures could lead to diminished remittances sent from the United States and elsewhere in the West — long the lifeblood of economies across the region, including Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Failure to renew the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act of 2000, which gives dozens of African countries the right to export certain goods duty-free to the United States, would deal the region another blow.
Flagging growth has already sparked violent unrest across the Horn of Africa. One of the first victims was South Sudan, which reported record deficits when the price of oil collapsed in 2012. Some have speculated that the country’s economic stagnation precipitated the violent collapse of its government at the end of 2013. Meanwhile, mass protests driven by economic grievances have erupted in several nearby countries, including Ethiopia and Sudan. Last October and November, Khartoum was rocked by a series of popular strikes protesting a 30 percent increase in fuel prices, as well as price hikes for basic medicines of between 100 and 150 percent. Even larger protests played out across Ethiopia in 2016, as youth unemployment and anger over land seizures fueled mass discontent.
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Dollar versus Rand Chart INO 13.382 Africa |
Egypt's annualised urban consumer price inflation jumped to 28.1 percent in January from 23.3 percent in December, the official CAPMAS statistics agency said on Saturday, its highest level since central bank records began in 2005.
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Kenya declares drought a national disaster, seeks help Kenyan Economy |
Kenya declared a national disaster on Friday, calling for aid to counter drought that is posing a major risk to people, livestock and wildlife.
The Kenya Red Cross has estimated around 2.7 million people are in need of food aid after low rainfall in October and November and the next rainy season not due before April.
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