South Africa

Economic development in Africa can be a daunting concept. Countries with little infrastructural foundation are difficult to penetrate, and one of the key dilemmas comes with where to start. Food security, political instability, military conflict and crime, economic chaos — these problems can make building roads and bridges and phone networks nearly impossible to conceive, never mind to execute.

Perhaps the best way to develop larger infrastucture is to start small. At least this is the argument of Ethan Zuckerman, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School (and a former college classmate of your faithful scribe), in The Boston Globe. He discusses the case of Democratic Republic of the Congo entrepreneur Alieu Conteh, who founded the cellular telephone company that became Vodacom Congo:

His success is an example of a new strategy for building infrastructure in Africa that might revolutionize the continent. Called “incremental infrastructure,” the idea is to build essential facilities — telephone networks, power grids, roads — in small pieces using private investment, instead of relying on large, centrally planned, government-run projects. . . .

The infrastructure challenges most African nations face are enormous. Just to meet sub-Saharan Africa’s current power demands, for example, could cost $70 billion in new power plants — even more if African nations begin using power to process minerals locally instead of exporting them to China, North America, and Europe. But the success of entrepreneurs like Alieu Conteh suggests that African infrastructure is a big problem that demands a small solution.

We need to be wary of panaceas, of course. Big solutions and small solutions are necessary throughout Africa, but Zuckerman makes an important case inasmuch as executed properly, small solutions can become big ones, and by growing organically can help provide the development Africa most needs.

A few headlines that have caught my attention as I enjoy the first days of my honeymoon in the Pacific Northwest:

Massive strikes, organized by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), continue in South Africa. They have been largely peaceful, but as the strikes enter their third week there have been some incidents of violence and threats, though the army has been called out to ensure public safety. The central issue is pay for public-sector employees, and as the sides grow entrenched the threat of a “total shutdown” become more real. The trade union movement was central to the anti-apartheid movement and COSATU sees itself as the vanguard of left politics in South Africa. Given that the strike effectively pits COSATU against its tripartite ally the ANC it will be interesting to see what effect this has on the alliance and on the future of South African politics.

The cost of living in Zimbabwe continues to skyrocket. This comes amidst concerns that the Democratic Republic of Congo had shut off power supplies to the beleaguered people of Robert Mugabe’s thugocracy.

At NPR Correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton discusses some of the latest issues facing Africans, including a bombing in Nairobi and the latest G8 summit. In a similarly Pan-African vein, the Mail & Guardian reports that African leaders hope to end the “theater of violence” that racks the continent. 

With the chaos in Zimbabwe and the utter catastrophe that is Sudan, it is easy to let the evergreen of African nightmares slip across the transom unnoticed. But rest assured, the Democratic Republic of the Congo still stands astride Africa’s Big Men like a colossus. The DRC may temporarily find itself displaced in this dubious game, but that status usually does not last long. Louise Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is visiting Congo-Kinshasa this week and has declared that “Grave human rights violations occur almost every day in DRC as the perpetrators are encouraged by a climate of impunity that reigns virtually throughout this country.”  

Reports of dissent within Zimbabwe’s security forces represent hope for change in Mugabe’s regim Hints of police dissatisfaction are not new — back in December and January similar rumors circulated. Here is what I wrote about the possibility of police backlash then:

[The recent revelation] represents an interesting development inasmuch as Mugabe relies on both the police and the military to prop up his regime. If he loses the former he will have to trust the latter increasingly. This will prove bad for Zimbabwe’s citizens, but also could make Mugabe’s control more tenuous even if in the short-term it becomes more draconian.
Tellingly, no one in the police is speaking. Mugabe has shown a willingness to crush dissent. The country’s journalistic institutions, especially the newspapers, have been under a state of virtual siege for years. Mugabe and his minions have forced the closure of newspapers, arrested editors and reporters, and generally made a mockery of the idea of a free press. Will a similar purge of the police follow? And if so, what might the consequences be? For too long observers of Zimbabwe have wondered if there might be a tipping point that could lead to the downfall of Zimbabwe’s biggest of Big Men. Perhaps this seemingly small story represents a shift in weight. Or, as is likely, [the news] may represent just another muffled lamentation of the sad state of affairs in tragic Zimbabwe.

There is little doubt that continued dissatisfaction among the security forces is not good for Mugabe. And while a positive outcome might be that the police either refuse to crush opposition or even join in with them, eventually leading to a toppling of Mugabe, there are other, less rosy possibilities. One need look no further than the Democratic Republic of the Congo to realize that security forces, rather than acting politically, might in fact work to foment anarchy. While Mugabe relies on the police to enforce his will, it might be just as effective for him if they simply allow anarchy, a reign of all against all, to prevail.

Nonetheless it seems apparent that the police at least theoretically could provide another pressure point against Mugabe. Having such a vital institution of control waver might provide the tilt that leads to Zimbabwe’s tipping point. Only a fool maintains optimism in the face of Zimbabwe’s plight, but surely there is some small room for hope even among realists.

The New York Times has a feature on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s adjustment to its election six months ago. Not surprisingly, a half a year has not done much to overcome decades of misrule. Congo has long stood as the emblematic example of African chaos. It is far too early to be optimistic about this vast swath of Central Africa, but stability in the Congo would provide a reassuring sign.