Africa in the News: October 26, 2015

[caption id="attachment_8661" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Wits University in Johannesburg saw the birth of the protest movement that is currently roiling South African universities. Photo by Paul Saad, Flickr. Creative Commons.[/caption]

Protests force South Africa's president to scrap university fee increases — but this is what he missed
Quartz Africa - Oct 23

South Africa's student protests, the #feesmustfall movement, has been perhaps the biggest news story of the week. Quartz argues it's significance lies in the entry of the first post-Apartheid generation into political activism.

Inclusive Governance and Leadership

Tanzania Is Wary as Election Results Trickle In
New York Times - Oct 26

The country is tense as votes are tabulated in Tanzania's closest election ever, the best shot the opposition has of knocking off Africa's longest-reigning ruling party. Polls and international observers have cautiously predicted a ruling party victory, but anything's possible. Results are expected Thursday.

Results Expected in Ivory Coast Vote
Voice of America - Oct 27

The Ivory Coast's electoral commission should announce the final results of the country's Sunday election soon. Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to beat a fractured opposition on the strength of the post-war economic recovery. The election was peaceful, though turnout figures vary widely in different media, with some observers suggesting low turnout might reflect continuing friction over the fault lines that plunged the country into civil war five years ago.

Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding

Women, Peace, and Security Policy Frameworks: Real Achievements or Superficial Promises?
Africa Up Close - Oct 20

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was a landmark framework that centered the discussion of women and gender relations in conflict zones, but it has not changed the fundamental power structures around women and peacebuilding and security. More needs to be done says Isis-WICCE head Ruth Ochieng.

Central Africa Republic: New Spate of Senseless Deaths
Human Rights Watch - Oct 22

HRW's new report tracks the explosion of violence in Bangui, CAR's capital, in late September with interviews and maps. The crisis accelerates in fits and starts, and appears to be no closer to being solved.

Trade, Investment, and Sustainable Development

The Dragon's "Going Out" Policy in Africa and What the US Must Do To Stay Relevant
Africa Up Close - Oct 27

China's economic engagement with Africa is slowly entering a new phase beyond resource extraction and infrastructure building. In test cases, Chinese firms are experimenting with moving industrial and manufacturing centers to the continent to take advantage of cheap labor.

The fight for land rights in Lagos
FT Oct 22

Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, has seen a massive population boom that has left it struggling to catch up, and in the process of razing slums to build middle income housing, land rights are becoming a flashpoint. The city could take lessons from Brazil, where the government has long had to learn to coexist with massive slums.

End of a love affair: Bond market turns against African borrowers as debt costs soar
Mail & Guardian Africa Oct 23

International borrowing is quickly becoming much more expensive for African states compared to even a year ago. Eurobond sales by Ghana, Zambia, and others this year are finding a much less receptive market as investors are worried about falling commodity prices and economic stability.

Africa's Strategic Role in the Global Arena

African nations are strangely silent about their big meeting with Modi in New Delhi
Quartz Africa - Oct 26

The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi is going on right now, but you wouldn't know it from the media coverage. That reflects the fact that India-Africa trade is small and Africa hasn't been high on India's foreign policy priority list. Whether Modi can change that with this summit remains to be seen.

Small group of Somali al Shabaab swear allegiance to Islamic State
Reuters - Oct 23

A breakaway faction of al-Shabaab swore allegiance to ISIS, bucking the al-Qaeda-aligned central leadership. Reports of tensions within East Africa's largest terrorist group have been reported for months as AQ's influence wanes compared to ISIS, and this split may just be the beginning.

Youth: