China and Africa: Building an economic partnership

The article analyses the strong and growing ties between India and the African countries to which it is linked by the Indian Ocean, both in terms of trade and investment as well as security due to the strategic transport links in the region. The piece also analyses the work and usefulness of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co‐operation (IOR‐ARC).     

The illegal narcotics trade in southern Africa: A programme for action

The current policy arena with regard to drugs in South Africa is in a state of transition. Yet the burden of harm associated with drug use and the increased usage that has accompanied our changing situation necessitate, it is argued, a comprehensive drug control strategy. The paper provides an overview of previous attempts to address the problem in South Africa and presents the case for a ‘master plan’. It outlines a wide‐ranging set of factors that need to be considered, including the necessity to go beyond ‘control’ strategies to more pro‐actively dealing with demand, a move which should be underpinned by quality research.     

Production networks,economic integration and the services sector: Implications for regional trade agreements in southern Africa

Debate on an appropriate framework for economic integration in southern Africa has hitherto focused largely on matters relating to trade in final goods, with little analysis of the potential benefits of production sharing and fragmented trade, or of challenges related to the accompanying role of the services sector. The first goal of this article is thus to explore the possible benefits for the development of specialisation and trade expansion related to the international fragmentation of production, and whether such benefits may be better harnessed by southern African countries in a context of regional integration. Secondly, the critical role of the services sector in production-sharing arrangements leads to questions about developing country services sectors and regional versus multilateral services liberalisation. The article therefore considers the importance of the services sector in the fragmentation context, and the growing debates surrounding services aspects of developing country regional trade agreements. It is argued that while there may be a case for the promotion of production-sharing arrangements in regional trade agreements in southern Africa, key constraints that continue to hinder the region's trade and development agenda remain the conflicting rules of origin in economic arrangements with overlapping membership, and non-tariff barriers to trade, particularly intra-regional transport costs.     

In search of a more adequate concept of security for southern Africa

This article offers a critique of the conventional concept of security and a broader, more inclusive approach is suggested. This takes into account security threats and needs other than those concerned with (only) military‐political issues. The proposed framework for analysis deals with the various dimensions and levels of security, with special reference to southern Africa. A number of problems concerning such a broad approach are also discussed It is concluded that regional cooperation on the provision of security for all the inhabitants offers the only realistic approach to dealing with the mutual needs and threats experienced.     

Peacekeeping in Africa: A global strategy

Since its first contribution to a UN peacekeeping force in Africa in 1960, India has been one of the biggest contributing countries to peacekeeping missions on the continent. Sushant K Singh traces the evolution of India's engagement with Africa at this level and highlights the issues raised, particularly with regard to the country's standing in the international community.     

Africa unknown: Addressing the effects of an alienating education amongst learners in South Africa

Abstract

The article argues for the Africanisation of the South African education system, most critically at high school and tertiary levels. Using both experiential and theoretical reasoning, it seeks to present a compelling argument for the value of teaching our children, using methodologies, examples and stories they can relate to. It argues that this relatability is what will best develop the cognition of learners and better equip them to turn knowledge into action. The South African education system has often been seen as lacking a critical thinking and problem-solving element, and the article argues that this limitation is embedded in the abstractness of our curricula. The article presents a short case study highlighting just how little about Africa some of our best learners know. It ends by offering practical suggestions about how the education system could incorporate critical African knowledge in its learning models.     

Foreign investment in Africa: Challenges and benefits

Foreign direct investment in Africa has not sparked the benefits that policy makers had hoped for. This article looks at some of the problems that are preventing this growth and highlights the positive developments in parts of the continent.     

Institutional change and continuity in German infrastructure management: The case of electricity reform

Why, despite improving living conditions, has the acceptance of the Western system of institutions (democracy, market economy) decreased in the past few years in eastern Germany? This article criticises the widely held socialisation thesis which seeks to explain the declining acceptance of the Western system on the basis of the difficulties faced by east Germans in adapting to the new conditions. Their attitudes were formed by the socialist system of the GDR, and they still clung to socialist ideals. This article, on the contrary, argues that the declining trust in political institutions and market economy results from current experiences of the transformation process in unified Germany, primarily as a consequence of being treated as ‘not equal’ to west Germans.     

Women and AIDS in Africa: The experience of the society for women and AIDS in Africa

Women and girls constitute a growing proportion of those who are HIV positive or living with AIDS, especially in Africa. Various social, economic and cultural realities make women and girls particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection. The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) is a pan‐Africanist organisation which works in AIDS prevention through various educational programmes targeted at women. The SWAA uses local networks to get its message across, and realises the importance of involving men in the fight against AIDS in Africa.     

Education in Africa

This article represents the larger part of a lecture by theformer Principal of Makerere at a joint meeting with The RoyalEmpire Society on the 26th January, W. E. F. Ward, AssistantAdviser on Education, being in the chair. Mr. Turner, who isnow Headmaster of Charterhouse, was Master of Marlborough beforegoing to Africa in 1939.     

Aviation in Africa

The following address by the adviser on African affairs to B.O.A.C.was given to a joint meeting of the Royal African Society andthe Royal Commonwealth Society on November 2, 1961. Mr. A. E.P. Robinson, High Commissioner for the Federation of Rhodesiaand Nyasaland and former chairman of Central African Airways,took the chair     

Debt in Africa

The writer is attached to the London School of Economics, andhas worked in East Africa (on a Mombasa labour enquiry) andin West Africa (on the Gold Coast census) during the last fewyears.     

Paradigm shifts in Africa: The case of Uganda

It is a positive development that economists and African and world leaders are trying to reinvent the notion and concept of aid but real change means a complete paradigm shift in assessing what leads African economies to grow.     

Promoting business in Africa: How Nepad can help

The formation of the Nepad Business Group has provided a platform for South African business to use its skills to promote and develop business on the continent.