Rich Links: Power Africa and Kenyan Land Seizures

Will 'Power Africa' Help Grow Sustainable Energy?

"While recognising the role that this emerging initiative plays in elevating U.S. dialogue with Africa, a valid question could be asked about the extent to which it contributes to sustainable energy alternatives in Africa."

Sh*T the EFF will do: Ban genetically modified organisms

"Strange as it may seem, the use of GMOs has never properly been debated in South Africa, mostly because there always seemed to be something more urgent to print on a t-shirt."

Kenyan leader orders seizure of coastal zone

"Kenyatta said the vast coastal zone, nearly the size of Luxembourg and located around a proposed multi-billion dollar port area, had been stolen, fuelling a wave of massacres."

With Rio Tinto’s humiliating exit, a degree of sanity returns to mining in Mozambique

"The mining giant is exiting Mozambique with a massive hole in its balance sheet – and its tail between its legs."

The winners of the platinum strike in South Africa

"While one could properly quantify the losses and the meagre, almost negligible, economic benefits of Amcu’s exercise, the extra-financial gains are weightier and more significant. The answer to the question ‘who won’ requires some digression."

Ghana's Takoradi and Its Uneasy Affair With Oil

"When the oil began to gush, Ghana was determined to avoid the 'resource curse.' But the prosperity many had hoped for in the coastal city of Sekondi-Takoradi has so far trickled down to just a tiny minority."

Platinum future in South Africa: Provide dignity, prevent strikes

"The strike is over. The workers got decent increases, but if non-wage related issues such as housing aren’t dealt with, we’re due to see continued strike action and militancy in the mining sector."

Le directeur général de la Gécamines révoqué pour "manquements graves"

"Durant une conférence de presse tenue conjointement avec Makhtar Diop, vice-président de la Banque mondiale, Augustin Matata Ponyo, Premier ministre de la RD Congo a déclaré qu'"un audit a été réalisé d'une manière totalement professionnelle et, devant le conseil d'administration de la Gécamines, de graves erreurs de gouvernance ont été reconnus par la direction [de l'entreprise]"."

Oil Lubricates Equatorial Guinea's Entry Into Portuguese Language Community

"Evidently, oil talked louder. By unanimous resolution, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) admitted Equatorial Guinea as a full member, in spite of the CPLP's ban on dictatorial regimes and the death penalty."