Category Archives: News

Guarding the Guardians: Civil-Military Relations and Democratic Governance in Africa, by Mathurin C. Houngnikpo. Ashgate, London. £55 hardback. Reining in Africa’s armed forces. Will African militaries ever accept civilian control? Desmond Davies reviews a book that explores this thorny issue.

On March 31, 2011, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

A year ago, the coup in Niger once again raised the spectre of unconstitutional changes of governments in Africa. The continent, first through the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and now the African Union (AU), frowns upon these illegal actions. In the case of Niger, the matter was more complicated….

Africa’s Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere, edited by Chambi Chachage and Annar Cassam. Pambazuka Press, £12.95 paperback

On March 15, 2011, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

Reviewed by Desmond Davies, Africa Editor, North-South magazine, London. Fitting tribute to Mwalimu The late Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere, was greatly misunderstood when he was in power. It was only when he stepped down that his critics realised that he meant well for his country and Africa. And that his…

Crafting an African Security Architecture: Addressing Regional Peace and Conflict in the 21st Century, edited by Hany Besada. Ashgate. UK. £55 hardback

On March 15, 2011, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

Reviewed by Desmond Davies, Africa Editor, North-South magazine, London One of the overarching aims of the African Union, which was established in 2002, is to ensure that human security takes precedence over state security. This has been a thorny issue for some of the continent’s leaders who feel that the…

All About AIDS ISBN: 9781934970225 – Review by Dr Saidi Kapiga

On July 24, 2010, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

The series provides a very comprehensive coverage of all important areas of HIV/AIDS and strikes a very good balance between scientific details and more broad issues of a wider interest to both scientists and also people without a science background. The books are written in very simple English making them easy to read…

eLearning initiative launched in Tanzania

On May 5, 2010, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

New York; May 5, 2010 ‘ Accenture (NYSE: ACN); BSI, Ltd. and NetHope have been engaged by the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) to create an eLearning initiative to improve the country’s secondary education system using state-of-the-art information and communications technology. The initiative, ‘Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow,’ will…

WESTERN SAHARA CONFLICT: Historical, Regional and International Dimensions by Ali Bahaijoub, North-South Books, 2010, Price £20.00

On March 30, 2010, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

Reviewed by Desmond Davies, Africa Editor, North-South magazine http://www.northsouthmag.com/ The issue of the Western Sahara has now dragged on for 35 years with no apparent end in sight. This rather convoluted dispute entered into the consciousness of the world in 1975 when the Spanish colonialists left the Western Sahara and…

The New Scramble for Africa by Guy Arnold, North-South Books, 2009. Price £15.00

On March 30, 2010, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

Reviewed by Desmond Davies, Africa Editor, North-South magazine, http://www.northsouthmag.com/ The African continent continues to baffle the rest of the world. It is generally portrayed as the poorest, the most disorganised and the most conflict-ridden. But the rest of the world does not want to leave Africa alone to mend its…

Morocco in the 21st Century by Guy Arnold, North-South Books,2009.Price £15.00(paperback) or £20.00(hardback)

On March 30, 2010, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

http://www.northsouthmag.com/ Since the beginning of the 21st Century, Morocco has gone through various phases to emerge as a regional economic power conscious of the privileged strategic position it occupies at the tip of Africa controlling one side of the narrow Strait of Gibraltar that links the Mediterranean with the Atlantic…

The trouble with aid: Why less means more for Africa, by Jonathan Glennie, Zed Books, London. F&N Books Reviewer

On May 11, 2009, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

Between 1970 and 2002, African countries received close to $300 billion in development aid, but the continent continues to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of economic growth. This situation has continually stumped development economists who believe that by international financial institutions and Western countries throwing money…

The French Oil Industry and the Corps des Mines in Africa, by Douglas Yates. Africa World Press, 2009, New Jersey, USA and Asmara, Eritrea. F&N Books reviewer

On April 29, 2009, Posted by , In News, By , With No Comments

The French have always been ruthless when it comes to exploiting Africa’s natural resources. Take Congo. When in 1997 President Pascal Lissouba stood in the way of the French state-owned oil company, Elf Aquitaine, Paris turned a blind eye as ex-President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s Cobr a rebels launched an attack…