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Why corruption remains a way of life in the public service in Africa – Opinion – nation.co.ke

March 17, 2014

Peter Singhatey African Center for Strategic Studies Africa, corruption, Gambia, People & Society, peter singhateh 2 Comments

Why corruption remains a way of life in the public service in Africa – Opinion – nation.co.ke.

When colonialism ended, Africans made no attempt to establish a link between the people and the government.

Government remained a hostile entity that has no real attachment to the mwananchi.

Growing up in the village, the other boys and I would run away when we spotted policemen at a distance for absolutely no reason.

That’s because to society, the government, i.e. the public service, is a threat to be feared, not a legitimate entity concerned with the public interest.

This is the mind-set of public servants and elected officials who see ‘public money’ as nobody’s money that is therefore fair game.

It belongs to the ‘government’ not to the people. In Sweden or Japan, on the other hand, every single coin in the hands of a public official is seen as belonging to the society at large and something to be treasured and put to the right use.

To eliminate corruption in Africa, we must rethink the African state. We must ask ourselves how to re-establish its legitimacy and get everyone to understand the link between taxation and delivery of public goods and why stealing public funds is the same as robbing a grandmother in Kangemi who pays a huge amount of tax on her jerrycan of paraffin…”

ISS Africa | The post-2015 Development Agenda: new goals, no goals – or own goals?

February 24, 2014

Peter Singhatey Reports Africa, Development, Gambia, MDGs, People & Society Leave a comment

ISS Africa | The post-2015 Development Agenda: new goals, no goals – or own goals?.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), for all their doubtless faults, had this one great virtue: they encapsulated the whole, sprawling and often rather arcane development issue into eight universal, simple, concrete, comprehensible and measurable development targets, to be reached mainly by 2015.

From halving absolute poverty and hunger to reducing infant mortality by two-thirds, the goals were clear and tangible, which made them relatively easy to brand and market. Being measurable, they would, of course, quite clearly show success or failure. And as the deadline looms, it is apparent that in sub-Saharan Africa especially, failure will be far more common than success…

Calculating Coups: Can Data Stop Disasters? | Think Africa Press

February 22, 2014

Peter Singhatey International Security Africa, Conflict, Coups, Gambia, Peace & Security, peter singhateh, West Africa Leave a comment

Calculating Coups: Can Data Stop Disasters? | Think Africa Press.

In March 2012, junior officers stage a coup in Mali, throwing the country into disarray. A year later, rebels oust the government of the Central African Republic (CAR), paving the way for widespread violence that has made refugees out of a quarter of the country’s population. And at the end of the year in December, an internal political conflict in South Sudan’s governing party and army escalates into a full-scale civil war, killing ten thousand or more.

These conflicts differ widely in almost every aspect, apart from the sense of surprise and helplessness that they instilled in the international community. Mali was lauded as a democratic role model before some soldiers took power almost by accident. The French government, for decades the kingmaker of the Central African Republic, confessed to being taken blindsided by the speed and viciousness with which the conflict escalated. And in South Sudan, the regional organisation IGAD struggled to respond to the conflict, finding themselves unprepared and at odds over how exactly to proceed.

In all three cases the surprise greatly limited the influence of the international community, which if better prepared could not only have intervened earlier and more effectively but could perhaps even have taken pre-emptive measures. This unpreparedness was even more of a shame because in all three cases, the outbreak of conflict had been predicted by statistical models…

Women on the Rise in African Politics

February 11, 2014

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Gambia, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Women on the Rise in African Politics.

DAKAR — Africa now has three female heads of state, after Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic took office in January. Though women leaders remain the exception in African politics, activists say things are looking up.

Women are breaking into the “boys club” of the African presidency.

Fighting female genital mutilation – Family News & Advice | Parenting, Marriage & Kids | The Irish Tim – Tue, Feb 04, 2014

February 5, 2014

Peter Singhatey Irish News Africa, Education, FGM, Gambia, Ireland, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Fighting female genital mutilation – Family News & Advice | Parenting, Marriage & Kids | The Irish Tim – Tue, Feb 04, 2014.

In December 2012 the United Nations (UN) passed five resolutions condemning it. The motions were supported by all the countries in the African Union.

The procedure ranges in severity from a clitoridectomy, or the partial or total removal of the clitoris; excision, or the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora; infibulations, or the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal with or without a clitoridectomy.

The procedure can lead to multiple problems later in life. Infections, urinary incontinence, infertility, pain during sex and childbirth are among the problems faced by women who have been subjected to FGM.

The UN estimates that 140 million women have suffered FGM, two million girls a year are still subjected to the process. In parts of the Horn of Africa, FGM rates are more than 90 per cent. ..

One in four young people in developing countries unable to read, says UN | Global development | theguardian.com

January 31, 2014

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Education, Gambia, peter singhateh, United Nations Leave a comment

One in four young people in developing countries unable to read, says UN | Global development | theguardian.com.

One in four young people in developing countries are unable to read a sentence, according to a report, which warns that poor quality education has left a “legacy of illiteracy” more widespread than previously believed.

Research published on Wednesday by Unesco, the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural body, suggests that 175 million young people lack even basic literacy skills.

“Access [to education] is not the only crisis – poor quality is holding back learning even for those who make it to school,” said Unesco director-general, Irina Bokova, in a foreword to the 11th annual Education for All global monitoring report, which measures progress towards global goals.

A ‘Marshall Plan’ needed to tackle Africa’s unemployment challenge – Comment – www.theeastafrican.co.ke

January 13, 2014

Peter Singhatey African Center for Strategic Studies Africa, Development, Economic Growth, Gambia, peter singhateh, unemployment Leave a comment

A ‘Marshall Plan’ needed to tackle Africa’s unemployment challenge – Comment – www.theeastafrican.co.ke.

To Africa’s many challenges, add one more: unemployment.

Unemployment, independent of any other factor, threatens to derail the economic promise that Africa deserves. It’s a ticking time bomb with no geographical boundaries.

Economists expect Africa to create 54 million new jobs by 2020, but 122 million Africans will enter the labour force during that time. Adding to this shortfall are tens of millions currently unemployed or underemployed…

Why is the African Union still failing its people on peace and security? – By Martin PlautAfrican Arguments | African Arguments

January 10, 2014

Peter Singhatey African Center for Strategic Studies Africa, African Standby Force, African Union, Gambia, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Why is the African Union still failing its people on peace and security? – By Martin PlautAfrican Arguments | African Arguments.

“The conflict in the Central African Republic is spiralling out of control. “Strife in Central African Republic could turn into religious war and spill over borders, UN warns,” reads the headline in the UN’s latest report. The UN’s head of Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, told the Security Council that killings were continuing daily, dividing the country along religious lines – nearly 1 million have been driven from their homes and half the population needs aid.

This is exactly the kind of catastrophe that the African Union was designed to address. The organisation’s constitution was specifically written to allow it to step in where its widely discredited predecessor – the Organisation of African Unity – had failed to act. As its constitution puts it, the African Union can directly intervene in a member state in: “…grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.”

This was introduced to ensure that Africa’s senior organization would never again allow itself to stand idly by, as it had done during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Or so we thought…”