July 2015

VOLUME 3 ISBN: 9966-41-175-5 AFRICA’S LAST BEST CHANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT Dr Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng, Executive Director, ACTS

GETTING AFRICA LESSONS FROM EAST ASIA GROWTH AND STRUCTURAL READY FOR THE FOR AFRICA’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION IN SUB- “DIGITAL” SDGS TRANSFORMATION SAHARAN AFRICA Ban Ki-Moon, Dr Elsje Fourie, Punam Chuhan-Pole, Secretary-General, United Nations University of Maastricht World Bank Group

DOES AFRICA REALLY WANT TOWARDS AN AFRICAN YESTERDAY’S FUTURE? NANOFUTURE Prof Gabrielle Hecht, Prof Roger Brownsword, University of Michigan King’s College, London

1 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 2 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Editor in Chief

Dr. Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng

Editor in Chief Dr. Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng

Editorial Assistants: Winnie Asiti Millie Ocholla Mary Muthoni Moses Owidhi

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Published by ACTS Press Nairobi, 2015.

The African Technopolitan is a biannual publication dedicated to the world of science, technology and development. It informs and provokes debate on critical issues in African www.africantechnopolitan.com development.

3 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN IN THIS ISSUE

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AFRICA’S LAST BEST CHANCE FOR DOES AFRICA REALLY WANT 6 DEVELOPMENT YESTERDAY’S FUTURE? Dr Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng, 42 Prof. Gabrielle Hecht, University of Michigan Executive Director, ACTS

GETTING AFRICA READY FOR THE “DIGITAL” SDGS TOWARDS AN AFRICAN NANOFUTURE 18 Ban Ki-Moon, 48 A Regulatory Approach, Prof Roger Brownsword, Secretary-General, United Nations King’s College, London

LESSONS FROM EAST ASIA FOR AFRICA’S NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR WATER ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION TREATMENT IN AFRICA 20 Dr Elsje Fourie, 51 Prof J Catherine Ngila, Adedeji Adelodun, Richard University of Maastricht Nthumbi and Dr Vyom Parashar, University of Johannesburg

SOME LESSONS FROM SOUTH KOREA’S DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE BIG DATA AND THE RISE OF AFRICAN CONSUMERISM, Prof Lee Jin-Sang, Duksung Women’s University 58 27 Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, Founder, African Innovation Foundation and the Innovation Prize for Africa

CHINA: ‘ONE BELT, ONE ROAD’ A NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY FOR AFRICA INITIATIVE 30 Daniel Poon, UNCTAD 64 Russell Bishop, Global Commission on Economy and Climate & Dr Firew Bekele Woldeyes, Ethiopian Development Research Institute

HARNESSING APPLICATIONS OF LIGHT ‘SMART CITY’ APPROACHES TO FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Prof John M. Dudley, Dr Jorge R. González 34 70 Nicholas You & Dr Joseph J. Niemela

SOLAR LED SOLUTIONS CAN END EAST AFRICAN CITIES EMBRACE 38 LIGHT POVERTY IN AFRICA 76 CCTVS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY Harry Verhaar, Philips Lighting Prof. Eric Otenyo, North Arizona University

4 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 106

RISK ASSESSMENT, HAZARD MITIGATION, KENYAN INNOVATORS DEVELOP AND DISASTER RESPONSE IN AFRICA, THE FIRST LOCAL ANTIMALWARE 78 Dr Giday WoldeGabriel, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 102 USA SOFTWARE

RETHINKING AFRICAN HEALTHCARE CLIMATE RELEVANT INNOVATION- SYSTEMS 83 SYSTEM BUILDERS 104 Prof Gideon B.A Okello, Professor of Medicine & Senior Dr David Ockwell, University of Sussex Consultant Physician, Former Director of Medical & Dr Robert Byrne, University of Sussex Services, Kenya

USING DATA TO TACKLE CLIMATE WHY THE AFRICAN UNION SHOULD CHANGE BE DISBANDED 86 106 Prof. S.N. Sangmpam, Syracuse University Dr James Kimondo, KEFRI

E-GOVERNMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL THE UNSUNG HEROISM OF THABO 88 IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN KENYA 122 MBEKI Sharon Mirrella Wakhu, University of Shanghai for Dr. Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng Science & Technology (USST)

ADAPTATION AND DEVELOPMENT 90 POLICY IN AFRICA Dr Richard Munang, & Robert Mgendi, UNEP

THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND SCIENCE IN AFRICA 99 Dr. Alvarro Sobrinho Angolan businessman and philanthropist, and Chairman of the Planet Earth Institute

PROMOTING BASIC SCIENCES IN 101 AFRICA Prof George O. Amolo, Nicholas, University of Eldoret

5 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN AFRICA’S LAST BEST CHANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng Executive Director, African Centre for Technology Studies

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone Pablo Picasso

66 THETHE AFRICAN AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TECHNOPOLITAN A fundamental development problem in Africa is the widespread lack of credible ‘catching up’ economic development strategies. A majority of African countries lack the ‘institutional capabilities’ (i.e. policy, managerial or administrative capacities) needed to harness the continent’s ‘latecomer advantages’ for accelerated development.

atecomer countries in econom- in their catching up strategies. The But each found ways to overcome ic development have the poten- catching up strategies of Germany, these obstacles. All successful late- tial to grow faster than ‘fore- Russia, Japan and to a lesser extent comer countries were determined to runner’ or already developed South Korea, focused on harnessing go after ‘dynamic comparative advan- economies. Latecomers do not have the most technologically dynamic tage’. They were not content to play Lto re-invent the wheel. They can imi- industries of the day (e.g. iron, steel, second fiddle in terms of industrial tate, adopt or modify the production heavy and chemical industries, auto- development. Once they embarked methods, technologies, organizations mobiles and electronics) and leapfrog- on the catching up strategy, each, with or institutions of forerunner countries ging the forerunners in size of plants, laser-like single mindedness, directed to climb the ladder of economic and enterprises and investments. This was all their national resources, energy technological development relatively essentially a ‘catch up and overtake’ and talent towards this sole objective. quickly. Such imitation or emulation strategy. They would acquire whatever ‘capa- often results not in just replication but bilities’ they needed to, through what- also in innovation (whether techno- The catching up strategies of Singa- ever means necessary, but this goal logical, institutional or organizational) pore, Taiwan and Malaysia focused had to be achieved. leading to a relatively quick transition less on direct competition with fore- in national comparative advantage runners but on harnessing globaliza- There was a lot at stake. Economic from labour-intensive to capital and tion by attracting foreign capital in backwardness is a threat to national technology-intensive industries. the form of multinational companies security. This was particularly the case (MNCs) and then upgrading MNCs’ in the 19th century and the early part However, catching up does not hap- products and services through fiscal of the 20th century, as nearly all Afri- pen automatically. Put differently, and labour policies, human capital can countries found out through the economic development is not inevi- development and first class infrastruc- encounter with colonialism. The more table. It is contingent upon a num- ture. Germany, then a ‘moderately industrialized a country, the more like- ber of factors which include national backward country’ in a schema used ly it wielded greater military strength. ‘policy choices’, institutional capabili- by Alexander Gerschenkron, used Similarly, the more industrialized a ties and/or bureaucratic competence ‘universal banks’ to finance its indus- country, the more likely it was capable (i.e. leadership and governance). A trialization programme. In the same of combating the impacts of poten- country must develop capacity to ab- schema, Russia, then ‘an extremely tially devastating health and natural sorb new technologies, accumulate backward country’ with virtually no hazards. Catching up was a matter or attract capital, and participate in private sector, the state took the lead in of social progress, human wellbe- global markets. Writing in the Jour- the formulation, implementation and ing and the survival of nation-states. nal of Economic History in 1986, financing of the catching up industri- National prestige, economic or even Moses Abramovitz put it this way: alization strategy. In Japan and South military jingoism were certainly part ‘‘Countries that are technologically Korea, the ‘developmental state’ in of the equation in some countries, but backward have a potentiality for gen- conjunction with the Keiretsu (Japan) these were secondary rather than pri- erating growth more rapid than that and the Chaebols (South Korea) took mary motivations. It is easy to forget of more advanced countries, provided charge of the strategy. The ‘develop- now that apart from water, Japan has their social capabilities are sufficiently mental state’ also led the catching up hardly any natural resources. Taiwan developed to permit successful exploi- strategies in Singapore, Taiwan and is a tiny Island, Singapore is a tiny tation of technologies already em- Malaysia. city-state, and until the early 1960s, ployed by the technological leaders’’. South Korea was not only an agricul- While the Japanese catching up strat- tural based economy, but one of the With the exception of Britain which egy was mostly financed through poorest in the world. led the way in the First Industrial domestic resource mobilization, the Revolution, every single country that South Korean strategy was partly fi- Arguably, the world has been rela- has industrialized since has deployed nanced through foreign debt. tively more peaceful since 1945. Nev- some form of a catching up strategy. ertheless, economic backwardness This includes latecomer countries in Virtually every successful latecomer remains a threat to national security, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Dif- country started from an ‘initial condi- human welfare and social progress ferent countries have evolved differ- tion’ characterized by a relative lack in the 21st century. The devastating ent institutions to play different roles of capital or skilled labour or both. impact of the recent Ebola outbreak

7 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN in West Africa made this obvious. Not 63 percent of all infections in Africa. (the best in a generation) and potential that a reminder was necessary. Mil- The natural resources and technolo- ‘ecological conditions’ from 2050 on- lions of lives lost to recurrent famines, gies needed to solve many of Africa’s wards (potentially the worst in several droughts, floods, Malaria, HIV/Aids, development problems (i.e. food, nutri- generations), the next 30 year window tuberculosis, cholera and any number tion, energy and water insecurities; poor is probably Africa’s last best chance for of easy-to-control disease epidemics in public health, etc.) already exist. Many development. This is much earlier than Africa over the last fifty years should countries had long solved many of the anticipated by Africa’s collective long have made this obvious a long time ago. development challenges currently fac- term economic blueprint, the African Yet 47 percent of the African popula- ing Africa by harnessing fewer natural Union’s Agenda 2063. tion lives in extreme poverty, 23 million resources and relatively more ‘rudimen- of Africa’s primary school-age children tary’ technologies and institutions than African countries could still develop attend classes hungry, and one in four are currently available or potentially even if global temperature rises remain Africans is undernourished. (All these available (through import, adoption, effectively unconstrained by 2050. But figures refer to Sub Sahara Africa). 620 imitation, or modification) to many Af- who is the African leader or citizen who million people in Africa lack access to rican countries. Africa’s primary ‘devel- is willing to gamble the continent’s fu- grid electricity and 730 million rely on opment deficit’ lies in its limited ‘social ture on this slim chance? Why would inefficient forms of cooking. More than or institutional capabilities’ (i.e. compe- they choose the worst of all possible one-third of the continent’s population tent administration, leadership or gov- development conditions over the best lacks access to safe drinking water. ernance) to effectively harness available of all possible ones? Rhetorically speak- natural resources, technologies and in- ing, African leaders of all stripes claim These facts and figures alone suffice to novations (institutional, organizational/ the pursuit of national development make economic development a mat- managerial, etc.) for accelerated devel- as their topmost priority. In practice ter of the highest national urgency in opment. though, the ‘policy choices’ or ‘devel- every African country. Consider that opment strategies’ embraced by many Africa has 60 percent of the world’s Climate change threatens to make things of them amount to betting their coun- uncultivated arable land and sufficient worse for the continent. If the rise in the tries’ futures on the worst of all possible energy resources (in the form of un- average global temperature remains ef- development conditions over the best. tapped hydro-electric, solar and wind fectively unconstrained by 2050, the Few African countries have the neces- power, for example) to meet its energy impacts of climate change might make sary ‘development strategies’ to seize needs. Moreover as Prof G.B.A. Okello the African development effort much this once in a generation opportunity writes in this Magazine, existing medi- harder from that point onwards. Given to achieve economic or even sustainable cal applications could prevent up to its current ‘development conditions’ development.

LACKINGAFRICA IN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, LET ALONE CATCHING UP DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

In spite of the need for a ‘fierce urgency of now’ in African development, and despite the preponderance of catching up strategies in global economic development, only five African countries (Mauritius, Botswana, South Africa and to a lesser extent Ethiopia and Rwanda) can claim to have formulated and implemented credible catching up development strategies.

Unsurprisingly, these are the countries scale of effort in each country has var- has led the effort in both countries. The with the most interesting development ied. Mauritius and Botswana have been state has also led the catching up effort stories out of the continent over the last the most ambitious and most success- in South Africa although the charac- three decades. The ambition, scope and ful. A democratic developmental state ter of that state is complex. South Af-

8 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN rica has been a democratic state since the creation of ‘dynamic national com- planning and mobilising resources to 1994 but the country has a long history parative advantage’. efficiently and effectively bring about with industrial policy dating back to the a desired end, objective or solution to apartheid regime. It is a measure of the lack of a ‘fierce a problem. A catching up development urgency of now’ in African develop- strategy can be defined as a national A different type of ‘state’, increasingly ment that not only are there only five economic ‘game plan’ that allows a labelled as the ‘Kigali/Addis Ababa countries with credible catching up latecomer country to develop relatively Consensus’ is leading the effort in Ethio- development strategies, but a majority quickly by emulating, learning from pia and Rwanda. There is not enough of African countries lack development and capitalizing on the economic con- space here to unpack this ‘Consensus’ strategies in the first place. What passes ditions created by forerunner countries. but for the purposes of this argument, for development ‘strategies’ in many Af- A catching up development strategy is it has taken the form of state led invest- rican countries are wish lists of worthy based on the proposition that the pro- ments in infrastructure and ‘mega’ pro- goals, with no clear ways and means or cess of national economic development jects (Ethiopia) and enhancing ‘social ‘capabilities’ to bring about their reali- for latecomer countries interacts with, capabilities’ in Rwanda: by strengthen- sation. A number of African countries and partially derives from, advanced ing institutions, fighting corruption, re- have pursued a raft of ‘development economies. Akamatsu Kaname, a lead- ducing bureaucratic red tape, attracting strategies’ since independence. These ing Japanese economist in the 1930s foreign capital, investments in human include: Health for All by the year 2000; through the 1970s, maintained that it capital and enhancing the country’s Universal Access to Safe Water and was impossible to study the economic ‘absorptive capacity’ with specific refer- Sanitation for All by the year 2000; In- growth of developing countries without ence to information and communica- dustrialization by the year 2000; Poverty looking at the mutual interactions be- tion technologies (ICTs). Reduction by the year 2015; and Struc- tween developing and developed econo- tural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). mies. The recent spate of (‘mega’) infrastruc- ture development in Africa while laud- For the most part, these were merely In the classic case of the Japanese and able, should be viewed with caution. wish lists of worthy goals or in the case East Asian economies, increasingly ex- Much of it exists outside clear or coher- of SAPs, some unworthy goals too (e.g. plained (somewhat controversially) by ent national development frameworks. weakening state capacity; under invest- Akamatsu Kaname’ Flying Geese de- It is not clear to what extent this is ments in public education and health). velopment theory, the latecomer devel- geared towards simply making resource Few countries marshalled the ‘social or oping country starts the ‘catching up’ extraction and shipment out of the con- institutional capabilities’ needed to re- process by adopting from the developed tinent relatively cheaper and faster and alize these goals. Consequently, few of country ‘strategic’ labour intensive in- cheaper for today’s largest consumers of these ‘strategies’ achieved their aims. In dustries (through foreign imports, local Africa’s raw materials. African countries the history of global economic devel- or foreign capital, infant industry pro- would still benefit from this, but there opment, Africa has had an un-usually tection and other forms of state sup- are limits to factor driven economic de- high rates of failure of ‘development port) which it initially produces for its own domestic market. As soon as it per- fects this, the latecomer country begins to produce these same products for the What passes for development ‘strategies’ in many export market (ultimately with national capital, some of which is used to pro- African countries are wish lists of worthy goals, with vide state support such as export subsi- no clear ways and means or ‘capabilities’ to bring dies, which are gradually phased out as the industry matures or attains global about their realisation competitiveness).

In this game of ‘catching up’, any state velopment of this kind - predicated on strategies’. Many of the now developed support or protection is offered to those little if any value addition. (There are countries made ‘mistakes’ en route to industries that are viewed as capable of still limits to factor driven development their ‘development’. Austria and Italy acquiring comparative advantage (i.e. even with value addition, but coupled (among latecomers in Europe); China ‘sunrise industries’ or ‘leading sectors’). with technological and other innova- (Great Leap Forward of 1958-1962); It is seldom given to industries incapa- tions, this can work: see the experiences and Brazil (import-Substitution indus- ble of attaining comparative advantage of Australia, USA, Norway or even trialization of the 1950s through the (i.e. ‘sunset industries’). (It is important the UK). As Prof Sangmpan argues 1970s) all made ‘mistakes’. However, to note that the phrase ‘industries inca- elsewhere in this Magazine, Africa has they were able to learn from their ‘mis- pable of achieving comparative advan- experienced a version of infrastructure takes’ (i.e. ‘policy experimentation’). All tage’ does not necessarily refer to ‘old’ induced factor driven development be- ably re-oriented their strategies to ulti- industries. As Cambridge economist fore. Colonial investment in infrastruc- mately achieve their desired goals. With Ha-Joon Chang has argued in much of ture was principally aimed at reducing the exception of Botswana, Mauritius his writing on industrial policy, in Japan the costs of resource extraction from Af- and South Africa, this is not the case in for example ‘SDI cartels’ or cartels for rica. Nevertheless, it did catalyse some much of Africa. structurally-depressed industries’ were level of development in countries such granted to declining industries on condi- as Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Nige- Strategy, understood in its Greco- tion that they upgraded their technolo- ria. Ultimately, this approach to devel- Roman sense (stratēgía/strategia/ gies and phased out obsolete capacities. opment doesn’t work. It does not lead to stratēgēma/stratagem), is the art of Chang also argues that the Industrial

9 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Development Law in South Korea ena- The lead goose in this theory is the There is no compelling reason why bled some declining industries such as most technologically and economically African countries must replicate these, textiles to receive temporary support advanced country. Since at least the although, generally speaking, these ap- (e.g. subsidies for equipment upgrad- Second World War, that has been the pear to be two of the features of these ing and exemption from anti-trust law) United States. African countries keen development models that have found as long as they achieved technology to follow in the footsteps of the more most favour in a number of African upgrading targets). Through this pro- recently successful Asian countries, countries. Not that African countries cess, a latecomer country improves the might do well to remember this. There needed to transplant or to import these quality of its products to the extent that is a lot to learn from China for example, from Asia - many of them long ago per- it becomes a global leader, sometimes but African countries should not forget fected these instincts themselves. displacing the original producer of the that China itself is emulating the ‘Lead product or technology. The latecomer Goose’. The Flying Geese Theory is There is also much that African coun- country then adopts the next suitable far from static or linear. Its entire logic tries can learn from the early ‘fore- industry or technology and repeats the is predicated on the dynamic interac- runner’ economies including the UK, same process over and over again to tions between latecomer and forerunner Germany, US, France, Japan, Australia, create a rapid process of national eco- countries. The model does not dictate Finland, Norway, Sweden and Den- nomic development. that latecomer African countries must mark. Such lessons might include how of necessity ‘follow’, ‘emulate’ or capi- to harness natural resources for eco- To simplify a complex story (and sev- talise only on the economic conditions nomic development or how to ‘develop’ eral different but often interrelated created by the ‘geese’ nearest to them. without them. They might also include strategies), this overall strategy or ‘set how to create innovation or knowledge of strategies’ might be called import- There are very good reasons why Af- based economies, or generally, how to substitution-cum-export promotion- rican countries might want to emulate effectively play the catching up game. cum-structural-upgrading. It entails a development strategies of the newly de- Nowadays, some of these countries sequence of structural changes in in- veloped economies in Asia. Approached recommend different strategies from dustrial development from consumer to strategically, there can be more to the ones they employed during their capital goods and/or from ‘‘crude and ‘South-South’ cooperation than the industrialisation process. The key to simple goods to complex and refined quaint but materially worthless rhetoric learning from ‘forerunner’ countries is goods” in the words of Akamatsu Kan- of ‘political solidarity’ and ‘moral sup- to focus on the strategies they deployed ame. The Flying Geese theory describes port’ (usually against democracy and at the time of their industrialisation or a catching up strategy whereby coun- human rights). One advantage that currently employ and not necessarily on tries gradually move up in technological latecomers have over forerunners is the what they say. For reasons of ideologi- and economic ‘ladder’ by following in ability to avoid the mistakes of forerun- cal and disciplinary hegemony, some the pattern of those just ahead of them. ners. The South Korean, Taiwanese, of the forerunner countries are likely Much like a group of geese flying in an Singaporean and Malaysian develop- to recommend a raft of ‘free market’ inverted ‘V’ formation that reportedly ment models may have succeeded in or ‘neoliberal’ approaches which, in achieve up to 70 percent energy saving their ultimate aims but they were not the context of catching up specifically over a goose flying solo, this strategy al- flawless. ‘Crony capitalism’ and a ‘de- or economic development generally, lows latecomer countries to develop rel- velopment first, democracy later’ men- amount to a ‘Relax, Kick Back and Do atively quickly relative to forerunners. tality constituted two of their most com- Nothing Strategy’. mon mistakes, at least in the early years.

CONFLATING ECONOMIC THEORY OR IDEOLOGY WITH DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

owever, no successful latecomer country in Eu- This was not the strategy that many rope, North America or Asia took this advice seri- of the forerunner countries followed ously. For the better part of the last three decades, when they were developing. The original however, this has been the overriding principle of Lead Goose, Britain, did render this development policy and practice in Africa. With the excep- misleading advice to early latecomers, Htion of Mauritius and Botswana – and to a lesser extent, most notably to America. South Africa, Ethiopia and Rwanda - few African coun-

10 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN tries have made a decisive break from velopment, a superior one is rooted in this approach to development. Often, learning technological capabilities and this approach is presented as ‘techni- co-evolving best-fit organizations and cal’, ‘neutral’ or ‘non-ideological’. The institutions. It is also the latest demon- implication is that this approach is prov- stration that industrial policy matters in ably and unquestionably superior to economic development. Different tech- alternative approaches to development. nologies, sectors and products matter because they entail different learning Firstly, there is nothing non-ideological opportunities, different income elastic- or apolitical about economic choices or ity of demand, different opportunities priorities. Attempting to divorce eco- to innovate, and different opportunities nomic policy from ethics is problematic to contribute to economic development. because economic policy impacts the Therefore, prioritization matters. Time well-being of different groups of people matters. Social capability or national (and the environment) differently. Eco- commitment matters. nomic choices, including this approach, are inherently value laden and ideologi- The dominance of neoclassical eco- cal. More importantly, the goal of de- nomic thinking in African develop- velopment policy is to achieve desired ment primarily explains the continent’s social, economic and ecological ends. lacklustre approach to development It is not to beatify economics as a value strategy. A development strategy en- free science. The beatification of eco- compasses three things: priority setting nomics as a value free science cannot be (i.e. strategic choices); timeframe; and the goal of development policy. If this national commitment or ‘social and in- is a worthy exercise at all, (and I am not stitutional capabilities’ (ways and means sure that St. Matthew, the Patron Saint of mobilizing resources to bring about damental development problem in Af- of accountants, bankers, tax collectors, its intended aims, goals or objectives). rica. Firstly, he correctly notes that few financial analysts, stockbrokers and pre- Few development strategies in Africa ‘development strategies’ in Africa entail sumably economists, would agree that possess these ingredients. Often (a) eco- much priority setting. ‘‘Development it is), it belongs in university economics nomic theory or ideology is conflated plans will have 150 priorities. Actu- departments, not African ministries of with development strategy; (b) a wish ally only five can realistically be done finance and economic planning or cen- list of goals or aspirations is given a per- in a term’’. (http://www.tonyblairoffice. tral banks. functory timeframe; and (c) governmen- org/speeches/entry/tony-blair-speech- tal backing is mistaken for ‘institutional rethinking-leadership-for development). Secondly, this approach is fundamen- capabilities’. Is it any wonder that very Blair then goes on to make a far more tally flawed. Capital accumulation few of these strategies have succeeded? interesting and revealing statement can be an effect or result of economic when he attributes Africa’s lack of de- growth, rather than its cause. Struc- An underlying theory or ideology is a velopment prioritization to a ‘lack of tural change or economic transforma- necessary but an insufficient ingredi- capacity’. ‘‘Prioritisation is hard when tion, as Joseph Schumpeter argued way ent in a national development strategy. resources are scarce. And with capacity back in the 1930s, is brought about by Clear ways and means of mobilizing around them so low, they end up trying technological, organizational/institu- resources needed to bring about de- to do everything themselves. With the tional and managerial innovations or sired outcomes must be established. A additional demands of diplomacy, in- breakthroughs that result in brand new theory or ideology must be un-packed ternational meetings and social/politi- cal events, with precious little time spent on priorities. Their governments do not have the capabilities to support them as they need. The capacity to implement, Attempting to divorce economic policy track and monitor performance isn’t from ethics is problematic because there’’. economic policy impacts the well-being This statement is more loaded, mislead- ing and revealing than it first appears. of different groups of people (and the The statement reveals a number of flaws in the general mind-set in African environment) differently. development. Blair is blinded by the same ‘Kick Back, Relax and Do Noth- ing’ theoretical framework that has gov- products and services which replace into strategic choices that are backed up erned much of the development policy older ones. The state can, and has done by requisite policies, institutional com- discourse in Africa over the last three a lot to catalyse these types of innova- petencies and financial, technological, decades. Prioritization might be hard, tions in any number of now developed human and other resources. but surely, by necessity, it must be the countries. The Chinese development first order of business when resources experience is just the latest in a long list In a speech on ‘Rethinking Leadership are scarce. Economics, by definition, is of examples to demonstrate that while for Development’, Tony Blair - perhaps about scarcity and choice. Lionel Rob- there are many successful paths to de- unwittingly - put his finger on the fun- bins defined the subject as ‘‘the science

11 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN which studies human behaviour as a pabilities’ whether technological, insti- service reform, and not as a result of relationship between given ends and tutional or organizational (i.e. bureau- history and tradition’’ that the country scarce means which have alternative cratic) are acquired and acquirable (and managed to create a competent and uses.” Paul Samuelson defined eco- destructible), often faster than so called relatively clean civil service. nomics as the “study of how societies development or economic experts ex- use scarce resources to produce valu- pect. They are not handed down by The problem with Blair’s sympathetic able commodities and distribute them divine providence or guaranteed by his- posture is that it reinforces the assump- among different people.” tory or tradition. An important part of tion that whatever level of capacity Af- ‘capabilities acquisition’ occurs through rica happens to have is used relatively Blair’s identification of lack of capac- ‘learning by doing’. As Eleanor West- more effectively when spread over ‘eve- ity as a serious constraint to economic ney demonstrated in Imitation and rything’ as opposed to when directed at development in Africa is not in dis- Innovation: The Transfer of Western selective national priorities. To be sure, pute. It is his sympathetic approval of Organizational Patterns to Meiji Japan, Blair does not go as far as to endorse the the deployment of this limited capacity there is (a) learning-by-doing in admin- argument in the East Asian Economic all over the place, rather than on a few istration as in production and (b) tech- Miracle report which implied that the strategic priorities, that is contentious. nologies, institutions and organizations closer an economic system was to a lais- Blair’s sympathetic attitude reprises an are all subject to imitation and innova- sez faire ideal, the easier it was to run. old argument in development policy tion. Emulation itself produces innova- That is what an economy without any debate. The debate reached its ‘climax’ tion, not just replication. Countries are prioritization at all would look like. But with the publication of the World Bank’s just as subject to, and perhaps some- he doesn’t explicitly reject this argument East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth times need, ‘organizational revolution’ either, which leaves his position at least and Public Policy in 1993 and the coun- (i.e. bureaucratic transformation of the from this single speech relatively closer terarguments that followed it. This institutions of public life) as they might to the position embodied in the East World Bank publication, in attempting need technological revolution. West- Asian Economic Miracle report. to diminish the role of industrial policy ney argues that Meiji Japan not only in the economic development of East adopted and adapted Western industri- That would be problematic. As Ha- Asian economies (Japan, South Korea, al machines but also emerging Western Joon Chang has argued in a series of Taiwan, and Singapore) made a num- organizational models (e.g. legal, edu- devastating critiques of the East Asian ber of questionable claims. cation and banking systems; a national Economic Miracle report ‘‘more mar- police force, navy and army; the postal ket-oriented economic systems are not Firstly, the report claimed that while service, political parties, professional so- necessarily easier to construct and run industrial policy might have been prac- cieties and newspapers). The Japanese than more interventionist systems’’. ticed widely in East Asia, empirically, it even had a slogan for this technological For one thing, well-functioning markets made little difference to the production and organizational adoption and adap- also require institutional prerequisites structure or the productivity perfor- tation: ‘Japanese spirit, Western tech- as much as well-functioning policies mance of these economies. Secondly, nology’. although the institutional prerequisites the report argued that notwithstanding might be different (e.g. efficient capital its impacts in East Asia, industrial pol- Responding to this ‘capabilities’ argu- markets and contract law and effective icy would not be helpful to developing ment in the late 1990s, Ha-Joon Chang dispute resolution mechanisms without countries of today because of changed reminded everyone that the South Ko- which market transactions costs would domestic and international conditions. rean bureaucracy was infamous for be high). For another, successful free Thirdly and more crucially for the its incompetence and nepotism as re- market economies ‘‘will require highly purposes of our argument, the report cently as the 1950s. Chang noted that capable private sector bureaucracies argued that developing countries lack until the late 1960s, South Korea was that can successfully manage large and effective domestic institutions (i.e. com- sending its bureaucrats to be trained complex firms’’. (See Chang, H-J. 1993. petent, relatively incorruptible bureau- in Pakistan and the Philippines. It was The Political Economy of Industrial Policy in cracies) needed to implement industrial ‘‘only through continuous efforts at civil Korea, Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. policy as was practised 17, no. 2. 41 Chang, H-J. in East Asia. Blair’s 1994. The Political Econ- sympathies appear to omy of Industrial Policy, mirror this general line London and Basingstoke, of argument. Macmillan. Chang, H-J. 1995. Explaining ‘Flexible The problem with this Rigidities’ in East Asia in argument, as many T. Killick (ed.), The Flexi- opponents of the East ble Economy, London, Rout Asian Economic Mira- ledge. Chang, H-J. 1997. cle have long observed, Luxury Consumption Con- is not that many de- trol and Industrialisation veloping countries, in- in East Asia, mimeo. a cluding those in Africa, background paper prepared lack competent bureau- for Trade and Development cracies. Few would Report, UNCTAD) challenge that claim. Rather, the problem is Inadequate capacity two-fold: Firstly, ‘ca- is one reason African

12 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN countries should engage in serious de- opment institutions, many economics tional revolution’. It is not that outsourc- velopment ‘strategizing’ or priority set- departments and parts of the private ing of policy making does not work or ting. While few will dispute that many sector. Following the triumph of the that ‘good governance’ based initia- African countries lack competent bu- ‘Washington Consensus’, many African tives such as those promoted by Blair’s reaucracies, as I will argue momentarily, countries bought into – or were forced Africa Governance Initiative are not Africa’s capacity problems are some- to buy into - the (neoclassical) economic helpful. Both strategies might or might times overrated and self-inflicted. After theory and ideology that the state need not work depending on individual cir- all, one seldom hears of these types of not ‘intervene’ in pursuit of economic cumstances. The fundamental problem problems within private and civil soci- development since this process hap- is that notwithstanding their merits, ety sectors in Africa or among the cadre pens quasi automatically through au- these initiatives are simply not adequate of African professionals who work with tomatic increases in a country’s capital to the task. The development challenge global financial institutions such as the to labour ratio. According to this school facing many African countries requires IMF, the World Bank, the UN system of thought, long term growth is input- technological and organizational, if not and all manner of aid agencies. A num- driven incrementally and marginally. institutional, revolutions. While these ber of ‘graduates’ of these institutions In this mind-set, national prioritization will require the participation of many have gone on to lead their countries (e.g. or ‘development strategizing’ is either agents both within and outside Africa, Allasane Ouattara of Cote D’Ivoire, El- superfluous or counterproductive: the ultimately, they will not succeed without len Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Mbingu invisible hand of allegedly efficient mar- strategic priority setting and national Wa Mutharika of Malawi and Cheick kets is a superior mechanism for sorting commitment on the part of African Modibo Diarra of Mali) or key critical out competing development priorities. countries. ministerial dockets (e.g. Ngozi Okonjo- All a country needs to do is undertake Iweala of Nigeria, Goodall Gondwe of effective macroeconomic management Tony Blair suffers from the same ideo- Malawi, Akinwumi Adesina of Nige- and ‘good governance’ or a series of logical blind spot that afflicts many ria, etc.). Not to mention the vast tal- political and legal measures that would African leaders and technocrats. Blair ent pool of the African diaspora. Tony ensure both social peace and economic assumes that Africa has the right devel- Blair himself alludes to this in the same stability – a key mandate of Blair’s own opment agenda. ‘‘Assume good faith; speech: ‘‘There’s a new generation of Africa Governance Initiative. usually the correct assumption nowa- African leaders – in politics, business days. Assume the right vision; often the and civil society who are anxious to take While the idea that Africa lacks capacity case’’. Blair goes on to make this claim: the destiny of their nations into their to prioritize its development goals might ‘‘Many of the leaders I know in Africa – own hands. We should encourage and be preposterous, it is not unique to Tony and elsewhere – will work 18 hour days, support them. That’s the challenge for Blair. It is widely shared within the de- 7 days a week’’. I hate to disagree with the international community’’. velopment establishment in Africa and Tony Blair. I spent more than a decade beyond. Otherwise, why would Africa in Blair’s Britain and witnessed first- That there are African governments outsource much of its policy making to hand not only his skilful transformation with 150 priorities in their develop- regional and international development of the UK into a ‘kinder, gentler coun- ment plans speaks to the paucity of banks and/or bilateral and multilateral try’, but also his personal commitment proper development strategies on the development and aid agencies? Notice to international development. Let’s just continent. Sure, institutional capacity the difference between ‘outsourcing’ say that many African citizens I know is a problem. So is the dominance of of economic policy making function would probably request Mr Blair to pass the ‘Relax, Kick Back and Do Noth- in some African countries and the ap- along this message, courtesy of Tracy ing’ neoclassical mentality in much of proaches to ‘capabilities acquisition’ Chapman: ‘‘I’d like to please give Mr Presi- what constitutes ‘the establishment’ in strategies employed by Japan and South dent my honest regards. For disregarding me’’. African development: ministries of fi- Korea. While both went for nothing less nance and economic planning, central than ‘technological revolution’, Meiji banks, bilateral and multilateral devel- Japan went so far as to seek ‘organiza-

strategy should be time bound. Its desired objectives should be NOT RECOGNIZING achieved or achievable within TIME AS A ‘SCARCE’ aA specific time frame. This is partly be- cause a strategy is built on fundamen- RESOURCE tal assumptions (e.g. technological and demographic trends) that are sensitive to time. In spite of this, time is seldom This was not the strategy that many treated as a ‘limited’ or ‘scarce’ resource of the forerunner countries followed in African development. Since 2000, when they were developing. The original one would be hard pressed to find an Lead Goose, Britain, did render this African country with a ‘Five-Year Na- misleading advice to early latecomers, tional Development Plans’. ‘Develop- most notably to America. ment Planning’ went out of fashion with the triumph of the ‘Washington Consensus’ in the 1990s. Nowadays, in a triumph of wishful thinking over hard-nosed development strategiz- ing, one is more likely to come across

13 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN national and continental development ‘Vi- and national commitment can mean two sions’ with much longer time frames than 5 different things. While regime stability and years: 20, 30 or even 50 (e.g. AU Agenda longevity has ensured some level of policy 2063; AU Mining Vision 2050; any number consistency in some countries, as the expe- of National Vision 2020s, 2030s or 2040s). riences of Felix Houphouet-Boigny’ Cote D’Ivoire and Mobutu’s Zaire (Democratic The temporal boundedness of a 5-Year Na- Republic of Congo) have shown, regime tional Development Plan had an implicit stability or longevity is a poor substitute for ‘developmental social contract’ between national consensus or commitment. government and citizen embedded in it. A government could still promise what it could Africa-wide development policy making not deliver, but at some risk to its legitimacy, through the African Union/NEPAD (e.g. prestige, credibility or mandate. The newly AU Agenda 2063, AU Mining Vision 2050 fashionable ‘national visions’, awash in long etc.) and the internationalization of devel- lists of worthy goals, have little, if any, in- opment policy making (e.g. Millennium De- built accountability mechanisms. This is not velopment Goals/Sustainable Development to criticise long term planning (very much Goals) was supposed to solve for some of needed in Africa) or to claim that such ‘vi- these problems. Unfortunately, sometimes sions’ don’t work (Malaysia’s Vision 2020 they reinforce these same problems by (a) worked just fine). The point is to highlight sharing in the listing of ‘worthy goals’ in- the difference between a ‘substantive na- tional vision’ and a wish list of worthy goals with an arbitrary timeframe attached to it. To be successful, a development strategy To be successful, a development strategy must enjoy some level of national consensus, must enjoy some level of national consen- sus, broad-based support or degree of na- broad-based support or degree of national tional legitimacy and ownership that tran- scends theory, ideology presidential term legitimacy and ownership that transcends limits and other nationally polarising issues. This is likely to ensure that long term stra- theory, ideology presidential term limits and tegic development goals are pursued to their other nationally polarising issues. desired ends regardless of changes in gov- ernment or ideology. This was the case with the catching up strategies of many latecom- er countries (Germany, USA, Russia/Soviet stead of hard-nosed development strate- Union, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South gizing (b) conferring legitimacy on govern- Korea, China, Malaysia, etc.). In spite of ments that cynically embrace the rhetoric internal differences, these countries rallied rather than the substance of these agenda. around their catching up development strat- Before the continent defaults to another egies, often drawing from their ‘best and long list of worthy goals and long term vi- brightest’. By contrast, many African devel- sions for which its leaders have neither the opment strategies, policies or practices have intentions, will, nor wherewithal to achieve been predicated on excluding entire regions, – and for which its citizens have no ability, ethnic groups and especially, Africa’s ‘best inclination or the necessary life expectancy and brightest’. Many political regimes in to hold governments to account, it might Africa have been too insecure and too ob- do well to critically reflect on its substantive sessed with regime survival to put national development opportunities and challenges development priorities first. The lack of a over the next 30 years. competent civil service in much of Africa is partly a deliberate creation of politically The national, continental and international weak and insecure regimes, who then have visions might as well be the right ones. How- the chutzpah to use the ‘lack of capacity’ ar- ever, it is going to take more than a wish list gument as a reason for why their countries of goals or visions for Africa to achieve eco- are poor. nomic development. Africa faces a unique set of opportunities and challenges over the With the exception of Mauritius and Bot- next 20-30 years. The opportunities include swana, national consensus or commitment the conditions created by the most recently to development priorities has been rare in developed economies, including most nota- Africa. Commitments by governments of bly, China: the influence of its un-orthodox the day are often conflated with national economic development model; its demand commitment or broad based consensus. In a for (African) natural resources; its search continent mostly governed by ‘governments for new destinations of its ‘outward’ foreign of the few, by the few and for the few’ or pa- direct investment, etc. They also include tron-client politics based on an ideology of conditions created by forerunner econo- ethnic competition, governmental backing mies, especially the confluence between glo-

14 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN balization, the information revolution, the impacts of climate change. Both and harmony – something the Chinese and a number of technologies whose adaptation and mitigation can be costly Communist model also practised in dif- applications have the potential to yield (see Munang and Mgendi in this Maga- ferent ways until fairly recently). significantly large social, economic and zine). Robert Mendelsohn, examining ecological dividends in Africa: informa- the entire global economy, argues that China is both an opportunity and a tion and communication technologies the greatest threat that climate change challenge in terms of Africa’s devel- (ICTs); biotechnology and bioinformat- poses to long‐term economic growth opment. The opportunities it presents ics; biomedical sciences and biomedical is from potentially excessive near‐term have been highlighted. There is not engineering; materials, nanotechnol- mitigation efforts. (See Robert Mendel- enough space here to go through the ogy; ‘green’ and ‘low carbon’ technolo- sohn, 2009. Climate Change and Eco- potential challenges it poses to Africa’s gies, et cetera. Over the next 20 to 30 nomic Growth, Commission on Growth development. Suffice it to say that the years, Africa faces not only a ‘youth and Development, Working Paper No. current structure of trade relations be- bulge’ but also an increasingly educated 60). One need not agree with this as- tween China and Africa might not be and technologically savvy population. sessment to recognize that economic conducive to Africa’s long term devel- If harnessed effectively, the information development within the context of cli- opment, especially the continent’s ef- revolution and the youth bulge could mate change entails additional costs and forts aimed at economic diversification. result in a ‘double development divi- warrants national strategic thinking and Low cost Chinese exports to Africa, denWd’: demographic and digital. prioritization. especially in clothing, apparel, textiles and other labour intensive sectors, have

The continent also faces a number of The second challenge to African eco- been depressing or displacing African challenges. Perhaps the most significant nomic development is a changing de- production, in the very sectors that of these is the expected impacts of cli- velopment landscape. Some of the tools some African countries have been try- mate change. Many African countries used rather effectively by many of the ing to develop a comparative advantage will confront an economic development now developed countries might not be in. Because of the many Chinese indus- imperative that has to be met within available to African countries due to trial ‘clusters’ and the numerous (cumu- a context of rising temperatures and changes in international trade rules and lative) benefits that clustering confers, uncertainty about trends in precipita- the impacts of climate change. As Jean many labour intensive businesses are tion. The implications of all of this on Claude argues elsewhere in this Maga- unlikely to divest out of China even if water supplies, crop productivity, food zine, even technology can be a double labour costs (i.e. wages ) were to rise in security, disease incidence and the re- edged sword in African development. China. Africa would have to be a lot silience of physical and social infra- The same technologies that have the more creative, innovative and strategic structure could be considerable. While potential to catalyse economic growth to wrest the control of labour intensive many economists hold that climate and transformation in Africa, might industries from China. Overall, Africa change is unlikely to substantially slow also, under different circumstances, needs a more sophisticated China en- overall economic growth in Africa over work against the interests of the con- gagement policy. It would be naïve for the next two decades, most agree that if tinent in this respect. Information and African countries to view China simply global greenhouse gas emissions remain communications technologies and ‘big as an ‘opportunity’. China is both an unconstrained by 2050, the impacts of data’ could be harnessed to accelerate opportunity and a challenge. A serious climate change are going to become economic development in the continent catching up development strategy in Af- more pronounced as a factor in African or they could be harnessed to impede rica would seek to harness China’s rise development from that point onwards. such development. For example, by ena- for Africa’s development whilst mitigat- bling conspicuous consumption or con- ing the negative impacts of that rise. The implication of all of this is that Af- sumption of luxury goods, they might rican countries have a very small win- displace local production and destroy A clear eyed look at both advanced dow of opportunity within which to local manufacturing capabilities. (South economies and recently successful late- develop and also to make the necessary Korea did impose controls on the con- comers would give African countries investments in climate smart and adapt- sumption of luxury goods when it was a comprehensive picture of potential able agriculture, energy, cities and resil- ‘developing’ not only to save foreign ex- opportunities and challenges. Develop- ient infrastructure needed to cope with change but also to preserve social peace ment is not linear. There is no compel-

15 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ling reason why African countries must curity; water security; access to energy; cle elsewhere in this magazine though, not seek to harness high technology and public health, disaster risk preparedness some of these technologies, especially knowledge intensive industries for their and resilience; climate change adap- nuclear, might be ‘yesterday’s future’, development. This is the fastest growing tation and mitigation. Many African with considerable costs and challenges sector of the global economy today. It countries have already identified some even in the 21st century. Whatever lead- is the most dynamic technology of the of these technologies as ‘strategic’ to ing sectors or technologies that indi- day in the context of Africa’s develop- their development: vidual African countries might ‘select’, ment. The leading ‘geese’ in many of • Information and communications they would do well to remember that the knowledge or technology sectors are technologies (ICTs) technological innovation is a necessary still ‘forerunner’ economies. • Biotechnologies and bioinformatics but insufficient condition for economic • Energy technologies development. For it to be successful, it Effective applications of some of these • Biomedical technologies needs to be accompanied by compatible technologies could have far reaching • Materials, Nano science and nano- organizational and institutional innova- impacts on some of Africa’s long run- technologies tion. Governance matters. Organiza- ning development challenges: agricul- • Nuclear technologies tions also matter. tural productivity, food and nutrition se- As Gabrielle Hecht warns in her arti-

THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT CLOCK IS TICKING

hat requires countries to set strategic priorities, treat responsibility for the continent’s development. That is the es- time as a limited resource and make the most of all sence of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. of Africa’s human, natural and financial resources. Ceding the role of development policy making and practice African governments need to look ‘inward’ as much to a select group of people - economists, ‘technocrats’, politi- Tas they look ‘outward’. They should stop their obsession with cians, international development banks, ‘development part- what others can do for Africa and preoccupy themselves with ners’ or NGOs - is an abdication of moral, civic and political the question of what Africa can do for itself. African citizens responsibility. It constrains national innovation. It does not might do well to heed the advice of John F. Kennedy to Amer- engender national commitment. Individual African citizens icans: ‘‘ask not what your country can do for you, ask what – scientists, economists, lawyers, academics, businesspersons you can do for your country’’. Thabo Mbeki put this best in and philanthropists – are beginning to realize this. Some have African terms: ‘‘Surely, there must be politicians and business founded their own mathematical schools or engineering uni- people, youth and women activists, trade unionists, religious versities to nurture and unleash the continent’s scientific, engi- leaders, artists and professionals from the Cape to Cairo, from neering and technological talent. Others have started ‘African Madagascar to Cape Verde, who are sufficiently enraged by Schools of Economics’ or public policy think tanks to open Africa’s condition in the world to want to join the mass cru- up the continent’s policy space to intellectual, methodological sade for Africa’s renewal’’. Thabo Mbeki SABC, Gallagher and ideological contestation. Estate, 13 August 1998. While these initiatives are laudable, they are far from suffi- Ultimately, Africans – leaders, academics, peasants, scien- cient. What is needed is a new social contract anchored in tists, teachers, nurses, artists, traders, engineers, lawyers, economic development. It is time for the continent to for- businesspersons, whatever - bear a moral, legal and political mulate and implement credible catching up development

16 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN strategies. Nothing less would yield impacts of ‘bad policy’. For example, the many worthy goals embedded in engineering solutions that do not take many of the continent’s development into consideration underlying social, documents. Millions of people cannot economic and political conditions are continue to die of easily preventable ultimately unsustainable. The process and curable diseases. Nobody should of economic development requires die of hunger and famine in the 21st economists, engineers, doctors, soci- century. This generation of Africans ologists, anthropologists, et cetera. In There are no must not die and leave the continent many African countries, economists underdeveloped. Enough already. (typically of the neoclassical school ‘miracles’ in 50 years of independence should be of thought) tend to have an out- worth at least this much. sized role in this process. This might economic be counterproductive. At any rate, it Economic development is possible. does not amount to making the most development. Country after country has demon- of a country’s ‘best and brightest’. strated this over and over again, in Economic region after region, over the last 150 In spite of considerable and often years. In almost every case, it always heated and ideologically tinged de- development is seemed impossible until it was done bates, we know quite a bit about the (hence the ‘German Economic Mira- process of economic development. As an entirely rational cle, ‘East Asian Miracle’, ‘Miracle on examples of all successful latecomer the Han River’, ‘Mauritius Miracle’, countries show, economic develop- and practical etc.). In many ways, the history of the ment requires the creation of ‘dy- process. It is driven world over the last 150 years is a his- namic comparative advantage’. Any tory of economic development. This country can acquire any ‘capabilities’ by technological, is a point worth emphasizing in Afri- by invention, innovation, imitation, ca, a continent long plagued by wide- diffusion, transfer, evolution or crea- organizational spread cynicism and an ‘impossibility tive destruction. complex’ mentality – notwithstanding and institutional occasional bouts of Afro-optimism The state, markets, civil society, poli- such as the current ‘Africa rising’ nar- tics and culture (or collectively, insti- innovations. rative. It is also important to note that tutions) as well as policy, technology, with the exception of Britain, every innovation, and leadership (i.e. politi- single country that has industrialized cal will) all play a central role in this has faced its share of sceptics and process. As Irma Alderman has ar- naysayers. Africa commands no mo- gued: ‘‘The development process en- nopoly here. tails continual, coordinated change in many aspects of the economy, society There are no ‘miracles’ in economic and polity: production patterns and development. Economic development technology; social development; eco- is an entirely rational and practical nomic, social and political institutions; process. It is driven by technological, and patterns of human development. organizational and institutional in- Creative evolution, redirection and novations. There is a reason Ha-Joon destruction constitute the essence of Chang keeps saying that the South successful economic development’’. Korean development experience was http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/wp-con- led by engineers - not economists. It is tent/uploads/2007/11/20071116_ engineers who build the products and IrmaAdelman.pdf services (e.g. infrastructure, equip- ment, tools, machines etc.) whose ap- It follows from the foregoing that eco- plications ultimately lead to food, en- nomic development is not inevitable. ergy and water security; public health The African (sustainable) develop- and sanitation; waste disposal and ment clock is ticking. The time for the environmental clean-up; sustainable continent to put in place its develop- transport, climate adaptation and ment strategies is now. The time for mitigation, etc. Arguably, no profes- leadership in African economic devel- sion has made greater contribution opment is now. The time to harness to global economic development and science, technology and innovation poverty reduction than engineering. for accelerated sustainable develop- However, as engineers such as Ber- ment in Africa is now. This is no time nard Amadei have warned, ‘good to Kick Back, Relax and Wait for the engineering’ needs ‘good policy’ for Invisible Hand of the Market to Work development to work. ‘Good engi- its Magic for African Development. neering’ cannot substitute for ‘bad policy’. In the absence of ‘good pol- icy’, engineering can exacerbate the

17 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN GETTING AFRICA READY FOR THE “DIGITAL” SDGS

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL, United Nations

18 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Africa has made great progress in the past decade, saving and improving lives on an unprecedented scale. The United Nations has supported the African development agenda in a number ways, including by working closely with the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

frican leaders have been by traditional ways of generating and countries to continue these applications strong proponents of using using data. Research conducted by the on their own in the medium and long science, technology and in- UN Department for Economic and So- term. novation as one of the pillars cial Affairs for the Global Sustainable of their efforts to achieve the Millenni- Development Report 2015 (http://sus- For a successful monitoring of the umA Development Goals, the framework tainabledevelopment.un.org/globals- SDGs in Africa, two factors will be key. that has guided us since the year 2000. dreport.html) shows that African coun- First, each country will have to make a It was Liberian President Ellen Johnson tries are already using ICTs to collect frank assessment of what its data needs Sirleaf and the co-Chairs of the Post- and disseminate data in ways not seen are and identify which innovations can 2015 High Level Panel that first stated in wealthier countries: birth registra- better respond to those needs. Second, the need for a “data revolution” in sus- tions through mobile phones and SMS; strong domestic political commitment tainable development. Last year, my the monitoring of medicine stocks; the will be needed to bring together the Independent Expert Advisory Group mapping of water points; the assess- necessary financial, human and tech- on the Data Revolution -- with strong ment of land potential and vulnerabil- nological resources. Countries will also representation from Africa -- highlight- ity; and reporting on disease outbreaks need access to independent advice on ed various ways in which new technolo- such as Ebola. new technologies and tools and their gies can assist (www.undatarevolution. relative strengths and drawbacks. The org), and noted that “Data are the life- Geospatial technology is also part of international community should be blood of decision-making and the raw the picture, and has been used to take encouraged to create a catalogue of in- material for accountability. Without agricultural and population censuses, to novations with users’ reviews to inform high-quality data providing the right compile land information and to moni- countries on different alternatives. Such information on the right things at the tor the flow of the River Nile. Several a catalogue could also provide informa- right time to the right people; designing, African countries have launched their tion on the extent to which freely avail- monitoring and evaluating effective pol- own satellites. able innovations are an adequate substi- icies becomes almost impossible”. The tute for commercial ones. work of the Committee of Experts on The potential of big data – massive data the African Data Consensus, supported sets from satellite images, social media, My Global Pulse initiative has been by the UN Economic Commission for online commercial transactions and cell helping the United Nations improve Africa, has also been a further impor- phone records, among others – has gen- data literacy since 2009. Global Pulse tant contribution (www.uneca.org/da- erated much discussion. Africa is lagging brings together partners from academ- tarevolution). behind in this area, but not necessarily ia, public sector and business to explore for lack of availability of big data, as cell new ways to monitor and plan devel- As a result of the efforts to monitor the phone records are becoming a massive opment programmes by leveraging big MDGs, we know much more about data source across the continent. Some data. The Global Pulse innovation lab the state of the world and of Africa in of the applications are showing prom- in Kampala models new approaches to particular. But huge data and knowl- ising results. Cell phone records have better monitor the effects of epidemics, edge gaps remain. With the imminent been used to produce estimates of pov- natural disasters and other problems adoption of a post-2015 development erty, literacy rates and food expenses; that affect the people of Uganda and agenda, including a set of Sustainable to determine travelling patterns to bet- elsewhere. Kampala is just one of sev- Development Goals, investments in ter manage public transportation; for eral booming data, technology and in- data systems must be a priority as Africa malaria prevention and for estimating novation communities in Africa, among and the world pursue economic trans- population flows to inform the Ebola which are the UNICEF Innovation formation for inclusive development. response in West Africa. Privacy con- Hub and the iHub in Nairobi. Indeed, And given the breadth and depth of the cerns and confidentiality issues must be many mobile technology innovations, new agenda, traditional statistics will addressed as African countries take ad- including mobile money, were born in need to be complemented by and, even- vantage of these new possibilities. Africa, and have global potential. tually, integrated with non-traditional statistics. These and other novel approaches are Access to the latest science, technology laying the basis for effective monitoring and innovations will be crucial to moni- Some claim that the data revolution will of the Sustainable Development Goals tor and achieve the Sustainable Devel- only increase the digital divide between in Africa. It will be crucial to move from opment Goals. The United Nations developed and developing countries, mostly ad-hoc exercises implemented in looks forward to supporting the people since the latter do not have the neces- one or a few African countries, to more of Africa in realizing our shared goals sary technology to benefit. Others argue systematic undertakings. In addition, of peace, development, human rights that the revolution will happen mainly many of the applications have been pro- and lives of dignity for all. in continents like Africa, which has ex- duced by researchers and experts from perienced an exponential increase in developed countries, and it is unclear if *Ban Ki-Moon is the Secretary General of the the use of information and communi- enough knowledge is being transmitted United Nations cations technologies and is not bound and capacity is being built for African

19 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN LESSONS FROM EAST ASIA FOR AFRICA’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION Dr Elsje Fourie Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Maastricht

Keen observers of sub-Saharan Africa will have lately noticed a marked increase in expressions of interest in East Asian ‘models’ of development among the region’s policymakers.

ith increasing fre- leaders, politicians, bureaucrats and nomic growth. In countries like South quency, policymakers community representatives, I found Korea, Taiwan and China, many from states as diverse that certain groups of influential scholars agree, investment in the ag- as Nigeria, South Af- Ethiopians and Kenyans have indeed ricultural sector and reform of the rica and Senegal are mooting plans attempted to draw concrete lessons land tenure system led to spill overs toW draw lessons either from individual from East Asia’s own history of rapid in technology and labour that facili- countries in East and Southeast Asia and transformative economic devel- tated the creation of a manufacturing or from the region as a whole. Often, opment. Despite significant differ- sector. In turn, this industrialisation the developmental state in particular ences between the two cases, leaders created the revenue and widespread is evoked as a model that can be ab- from both countries view this region employment that enabled investment stracted from its geographical origins as the best contemporary example of in public goods such as universal edu- and implemented in a new locale. state-guided modernisation, in which cation and healthcare. When Rwandan President Paul Kag- technocratic elites insulated from ame recently referred to his coun- societal and political pressures were Despite this emerging scholarly con- try as the ‘Singapore of Africa’ and able to use rapid economic growth, sensus, many African policymakers pledged to emulate the late Lee Kuan physical infrastructure and market- seem to believe that they can circum- Yew’s efforts to transform Singapore friendly industrial policy to drive for- vent this step in their emulation of into one of the world’s wealthiest ward an ambitious project of societal East Asia. The late Meles Zenawi and most modern states in the space transformation. The result has been expressed great interest in loosely fol- of two generations, he was therefore policies such as Kenya’s Vision 2030 lowing the East Asian experience of echoing similar pronouncements and Ethiopia’s Growth and Trans- structural transformation, and, as my from leaders across the continent. formation Plan, both of which aim research has demonstrated, was able to adapt elements of East Asia’s ‘suc- to successfully disseminate this mes- In the midst of such discourses, it is cesses’ to local contexts. sage throughout the ruling party. To often difficult to understand what this end, Ethiopia’s strategy of Ag- these East Asian models actually look East Asian lessons can, if suitably ricultural Development Led Indus- like when they ‘land’ on African soil. indigenised, have a positive impact trialisation (ADLI) was formulated What influence do they actually have in countries such as Ethiopia and in the 1990s with the experiences of on policy and practice? Why are cer- Kenya. However, my findings have South Korea and Taiwan in mind. As tain models chosen over others? In also indicated a number of gaps and in these countries, ADLI has entailed attempting to answer these questions, misunderstandings in the lesson- significant investments in agricultural my own research has focused on two drawing process. The development extension, defined by the World Bank very different cases, namely Kenya stories of most high-performing in 2004 as “the delivery of informa- and Ethiopia. Drawing on analysis Asian economies centre on the struc- tion inputs to farmers”; it has also of key policy documents, as well as tural transformation that both fuelled entailed a prioritisation of rural in- on over 90 interviews with business and flowed from these countries’ eco- frastructure and smallholders that has

20 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN been unusual in Africa. Yet ADLI is be- was held to have done since 1991. But larly affected. If even Malaysia’s agri- ing increasingly abandoned in favour of Kenyan technocrats’ two preferred cultural model faces such problems, is a new policy of large-scale commercial models in East Asia—Malaysia and it really suitable for Kenya, which al- agriculture, in which foreign investors Singapore—are hardly the region’s best ready grows cash crops like coffee, tea lease large tracts of land and produce examples of structural transformation and flowers on large estates and has a commodities for the export market. Ac- and pro-poor agricultural development. far worse track record of wealth redis- cording to the Oakland Institute, an As a tiny port city, Singapore never had tribution? area roughly the size of France has al- to face the challenge of incorporating ready been leased in this manner, with a large, poor, rural population into its It is understandable that Kenya’s lead- an area twice this size earmarked for economy. This stands in marked con- ers would seek out models—Singapore future investment. Instead of creating trast to Kenya, where, according to the with its strong service sector, Malaysia the kind of smallholder-oriented, pro- World Bank, three-quarters of the pop- with its mixed economy and commer- poor development that will free labour ulation makes at least some part of their cial approach to agriculture—that al- and technology for the creation of an living from agriculture. Relying on ready resemble their own country in industrial sector, this is likely merely to Singapore as a model carries the risk of many ways. It is equally understandable lead to the displacement of peasants exacerbating the urban bias from which that Ethiopia’s ruling party should try and the growth of a precarious informal Kenya has been suffering since the colo- to balance its longstanding emulation sector. Structural transformation works nial era; it also threatens to privilege a of South Korea, China and Taiwan’s best when the domestic agricultural and service sector in which economic growth agricultural development-led industri- industrial sectors are closely linked, and is often jobless and which benefits main- alisation with the new opportunities such developments sever that link. ly the urban elite. As the example of In- offered by foreign investors. Singapore dia cautions us, rapid economic growth and Malaysia may have other, more spe- One argument in favour of commer- without structural transformation can cific lessons for Kenya. And Ethiopia cial farming in Ethiopia holds that leave vast swathes of a country behind. would indeed not be able to emulate it was only permitted to occur once With the best efforts of Kenyan techno- its preferred East Asian models whole- ADLI had been shown to be ineffec- crats, parts of Nairobi may conceivably sale, as important elements of Taiwan, tive. And indeed, Ethiopia’s rural pro- one day resemble Singapore, but what China and South Korea’s land reform ductivity is still woefully low, more than of the rest of the country? processes stem from rather specific his- two decades after the introduction of torical circumstances. ADLI. In Ethiopia, however, all land Malaysia does have a large rural popu- remains state-owned, depriving farmers lation, but it, too, has not achieved the These considerations notwithstanding, of incentives to invest in the land on a kind of broad-based development asso- current trends are taking both Ethio- long-term basis. In addition, the ruling ciated with the East Asian developmen- pia and Kenya further along the path party maintains a tight grip on farmers tal states. While Malaysia has been suc- towards the large-scale commercialisa- through the kebele system, making ex- cessful in diversifying its economy and tion of agriculture and therefore away tension services and access to resources improving the living standards of large from the classic East Asian model, even such as fertiliser conditional on politi- numbers of its citizens, its agricultural as leaders in each country ironically cal support. This again is contrary to sector remains highly dependent on a profess to be looking to this region for the East Asian experience: in both small number of exported cash crops. lessons. African policymakers may de- South Korea and Taiwan, agricultural In 2005, a full 63% of agricultural land cide that this classic model is too dif- development really took off only once use was given over to the cultivation of ficult to follow, given the continent’s rural reforms allowed smallholders to palm oil. This creates problems with own historical legacy and structural purchase and cultivate their own plots food sufficiency—Malaysia must import constraints. Or they may decide to fo- of land. This has not, of course, been many dietary staples. cus on the key aspects of this model, the case in China, but even there those even if outcomes will necessarily not be peasants from Xiaogang village who fa- Malaysia’s use of cash crops also relies identical. There is no getting away from mously inspired Deng’s reforms in 1978 on a landholder/estate model of agri- the fact, however, that these key aspects by breaking free from party strictures culture that does not necessarily lead to entail initial investments in smallholder were rewarded, not punished, for their effective poverty alleviation. It may do agriculture and rural development, long efforts. This strongly suggests that small- so if revenues from this sector are chan- before manufacturing becomes a prior- holders need land, investment from the nelled back into social programmes and ity and even longer before the service government, and the freedom to decide invested in poor areas. This has hap- sector receives attention. There can be how best to use these resources in order pened to some extent in Malaysia, but no ‘Singapore of Africa’, ‘South Korea to aid structural transformation. inequality persists. The GINI coeffi- of Africa’, or ‘Japan of Africa’—if this cient is considered by many to be one of indeed is what Africans from all walks Kenya, too, is missing an opportunity the most reliable measures of inequality of life want—without this essential in- in its emulation of East Asia. Virtually within a country. According to the CIA gredient. all of the foreign advisors who sat on World Fact book, Malaysia’s GINI coef- Mwai Kibaki’s elite advisory body, the ficient in 2009 was actually higher than * For a more detailed discussion of findings, National Economic and Social Council Kenya’s in 2008, translating into greater see: E. Fourie. 2015. “China’s Example for (NESC), hailed from East Asia. It was inequality in the former. Much of this Meles’ Ethiopia: When development ‘models’ this region that NESC used as inspira- wealth divide is also an urban-rural di- land”. Journal of Modern African Studies tion in putting together Vision 2030, vide, and the country’s large population 53(3) (forthcoming in August); also E. Fourie. which aims to transform Kenya into of migrant farm labourers—many of 2014. “Model Students: Policy Emulation, a middle-income country much in the whom are often employed illegally and Modernization and Kenya’s Vision 2030”. same way that Malaysia’s Vision 2020 face very harsh conditions—is particu- African Affairs 113(453), pp. 540-563.

21 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN GROWTH AND STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA Punam Chuhan-Pole World Bank Group

Two decades of strong economic expansion have raised expectations of Africa’s emergence. But to achieve this, African countries will need to accelerate growth and economic transformation, and make growth more inclusive.

Africa’s rise ub Saharan African countries Overall, the region now boasts 22 mid- aging 1.8 percent a year in 1995-2014. have been enjoying two dec- dle-income countries, and by 2025, an- This is a much slower pace than the 4.4 ades of sustained economic ex- other 10 countries could join these ranks percent growth rate for the economy as pansion. The region’s economy (Devarajan and Fengler 2013). Africa’s a whole. Thus, measured in real terms, grew at an average annual rate of 4.4 middle-income countries are home to per capita income has only increased by Spercent in 1995-2014, comparable to over 40 percent of the region’s popula- 40 percent during this period. that of the rest of the developing world. tion and account for around 80 percent This growth performance represents a of its output (Chuhan-Pole 2014). Re- While Africa’s 20 years of sustained remarkable turnaround from the sub- flecting the dynamism of the region, a output growth have reversed the income par pace of expansion (annual growth handful of African countries—Ghana, decline of the lost decades of the mid- of less than 1.5 percent) of the previ- Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Zam- 1970s to the mid-1990s, the pace of per ous 20 years. A notable feature of Af- bia—have joined the ranks of the so- capita output growth has been below rica’s growth is that it has been broad called frontier markets or the next set of that of other developing countries. In based, although there is considerable emerging markets. short, on a per capita basis, growth did cross-country variation, with resource- not converge to the average for other de- rich countries growing substantially The quality of growth raises veloping countries. Again, there is vari- faster than non resource-rich countries. some concerns ation across the region’s countries, with Thanks to robust growth, the region’s Looking beyond GDP growth, there are resource-rich countries posting much aggregate output has more than dou- some less impressive aspects of Africa’s higher per capita income growth than bled in real terms since 1995, and was growth story. First, on a per capita basis, non resource-rich countries. Overall, over $1.6 trillion in 2013. Recent rebas- output growth has been far from stellar. however, convergence of income levels ing of national accounts in several large Rapid population growth (2.65 percent with emerging market and more devel- countries, such as Ghana and Nigeria, a year), underpinned by fertility rates oped economies will require a substan- suggest that the region’s actual GDP that are the highest of any developing tial acceleration of per capita income might be undercounted by a substantial region, has translated into a moderate growth. amount. pace of per capita GDP growth, aver-

22 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Panorama of sea port, Casablanca - Morocco

Second, despite sustained growth, on the rate of economic expansion but composition of this growth by broad sec- which is central to moving people out also, critically, on how the gains from tors—agriculture, industry, services— of poverty, poverty has remained stub- growth are distributed. Indeed, the esti- shows that the fastest-growing sector bornly high in Africa. The incidence mated average growth elasticity of pov- was services, which includes wholesale of extreme poverty (using the interna- erty in Africa is -0.7, compared with the and retail trade, banking, transport, and tional standard of under $1.25 per day developing country average of around public services. According to Africa’s on 2005 PPP basis) fell from nearly 60 -2.0 (Christiaensen, Chuhan-Pole, and Pulse (volume 10), per capita growth of percent in 1993 to around 47 percent Sanoh 2014). This means that growth this sector averaged 2.6 percent per year in 2011. Moreover, because of popu- in Africa has one-third the impact on in 1995-2011. Growth of the industry lation growth, the number of people reducing poverty, compared to growth sector was much lower at 1.7 percent, living in poverty actually increased to in other developing countries. while agricultural per capita growth nearly 420 million in 2011. The pace lagged substantially at 0.9 percent. A of poverty reduction in Africa has been Third, Africa’s pattern of growth has closer look at the industry sector, which too slow, and lagging relative to other been uneven across sectors, and it has includes mining, manufacturing, con- regions. Consequently, the region has been associated with little structural struction, and utilities, suggests that in- achieved only 35 percent of the Mil- transformation. Historically, develop- dustrial growth has largely been driven lennium Development Goals poverty ment has been underpinned by struc- by natural resources. Manufacturing target of halving the proportion of peo- tural transformation out of agriculture has scarcely taken off in the region. ple living in extreme poverty (between and into modern sectors such as manu- Spurred by the region’s resource boom, 1990 and 2015), while globally this tar- facturing. But Africa’s structural trans- industry has, thus, contributed 25 per- get has already been met. The region formation process has been different, cent to the cumulative growth in GDP is also lagging on non-income welfare with a shift out of agriculture and into per capita during this period; services measures--such as child and maternal services (mostly in the informal sector), contributed the most with 62 percent, mortality--of the MDGs. Progress on and bypassing manufacturing. Under- and agriculture’s contribution was a human development outcomes needs to standably, Africa’s pattern of growth paltry 13 percent. be ramped up to converge with levels in has raised concerns over the sustainabil- more developed countries. ity of this growth. Disparities in sectoral growth rates have Weak progress on poverty reduction is changed the structure of Africa’s econo- partly due to rapid population growth, Pattern of growth and struc- mies, with some unexpected trends. which slowed output expansion in per tural transformation The share of the services sector in out- capita terms (as explained above), and Two decades of rapid growth have put has grown, and that of agriculture partly because growth itself has not suf- transformed the economic structure of has declined. Africa’s Pulse (Volume 10) ficiently benefited the poor. The pace the regional economy and shifted the finds that between 1995 and 2011, the of poverty reduction depends not only sectoral composition of output. A de- relative size of the services sector has

23 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN grown from 49 percent of GDP to 55 tive of limited structural transforma- in farming and small household enter- percent. A troubling trend, however, is tion. Typically, as poor countries devel- prises. In other developing countries, the decline in industry’s share in GDP, op, there tends to be a diversification of by contrast, labor is more evenly dis- from 33 percent to 30 percent over exports away from commodities and to- tributed across sectors, with agriculture this period. Within the industry sector ward better quality of existing products accounting for under 40 percent of em- there are divergent trends. Specifically, or new products. This diversification ployment. the share of “other industry” (which in- supports structural transformation. But cludes mining) has risen sharply, thanks Africa’s exports remain concentrated Is Africa’s growth momen- to the region’s boom in natural resourc- in a narrow set of products. Moreover, tum sustainable? es, while the share of manufacturing the region remains heavily reliant on Africa’s pattern of growth raises con- shrank to under 10 percent. There are resource-based exports, and the share cerns about the sustainability of growth. some exceptions to the regional trend of primary commodities in total exports The process of structural change in of gain in services sector’s share and is high, at 75 percent. Within primary Africa has been different from that of declining shares of agriculture and in- commodities, fuels and metals have other countries, and not the kind of dustry. For example, in Mauritania, gained share and agricultural com- transformation that was expected. Ac- the Republic of Congo, and Guinea, modities have declined. In addition, the cording to the standard literature on industry (which is heavily reliant on number of new products that have been structural transformation, as economies extractives) accounted for all of the cu- exported remains low. develop, there is a reallocation of re- mulative growth since 1995. In a few A changing economic structure is likely sources across sectors, causing labor to shift from low-productivity sec- tors and jobs to high-productivity ones. For poor countries, this has typically meant a shift out of tra- ditional sectors and activities such as agriculture to modern sectors such as manufacturing—as in East Asia’s growth take-off. By contrast, the experience of Af- rican countries has been one of declining shares in GDP of both agriculture and manufacturing. While the services sector—formal and informal—has been absorb- ing workers and capital in most countries, much of the growth in services has been in low-pro- ductivity activities in the informal sector.

The overall lack of industrializa- tion in Africa’s boom has raised concerns over the sustainability of this growth. There is much debate on whether sustainable countries, such as Burundi, Liberia, to impact jobs. For developing countries, growth in the region requires a shift and the Central African Republic, ag- this means that the share of agriculture in favor of manufacturing, or whether riculture has been the largest driver of generally declines with rising GDP per such growth can be achieved by moving growth. capita and that of services and indus- up the quality ladder in sectors where try increases. Evidence on trends in countries currently enjoy a comparative While the growing importance of ser- employment and jobs in Africa suggests advantage. An example of the latter vices in the region is not exceptional, that labor share in agriculture has de- would be moving from a mere produc- Africa’s pattern of growth differs from clined and that the movement of work- tion of raw materials to both production that in other developing countries in ers has been out of this sector and into and processing of these raw materials. notable ways. One important differ- services, not manufacturing (de Vries et Advances in information communica- ence is that per capita growth in in- al. 2012, and McMillan and Harttgen, tion technology suggest another poten- dustry in other developing countries is 2014). Notwithstanding these shifts, tial path to sustainable growth—that is, much higher than in Africa, and com- nearly 60 percent of Africa’s workers a shift into high-productivity modern parable to the pace of expansion in continue to be employed in agriculture, services (such as software development, services. This has translated into a ris- even though this sector accounts for less call centers, and outsourced business ing share of industry in output in these than one-sixth of output (Africa’s Pulse processes), as experienced by India. countries. In addition, manufacturing Volume 10). Moreover, agriculture em- has maintained its share in output in ploys an overwhelmingly large number Analysis of labor productivity growth other developing countries. of poor workers (nearly 80 percent). for 16 countries for the period 1995- Overall, most Africans continue to earn 2009 finds that the shift in labor across Africa’s exports also show little evidence livelihoods in the traditional economy sectors accounted on average for around of diversification, reinforcing the narra- or the informal sector—non wage jobs half of the overall growth in labor pro-

24 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ductivity during this period (Mcmillan form the policy debate and choices. quire high and sustained growth. and Harttgen 2014). The remaining was from intra-sector productivity im- But boosting agricultural productivity In conclusion, Africa’s emergence re- provements. Of course, there is sub- alone will not suffice. It will be impor- quires accelerating growth and making stantial variation in the contribution of tant to foster processes that enable oc- this growth more inclusive. As we dis- structural change to productivity across cupational shifts from lower-productiv- cussed above, there is much scope for countries. For instance, in Mauritius, ity jobs to higher-productivity ones. In policy to address the key constraints to most of this growth was from produc- short, it will be important to promote sustainable development. tivity gains within the modern services rural income diversification, that is, sector, and not from intersectoral re al- nonagricultural rural activity. Evidence location of labor. In Uganda, shifts out suggests that jobs that are generated Further reading of agriculture into non farm activities in nearby to agricultural activity—that Christiaensen, Luc, Joachim De Weerdt, and both rural and urban areas accounted is, in the rural economy, either on the Yasuyuki Todo, 2013. “Urbanization and for all of the growth in labor productiv- farm, or in rural and secondary towns, Poverty Reduction – The Role of Rural Diver- ity (Christiaensen and Kaminski 2014). are particularly effective in reducing sification and Secondary Towns.” Agricultural Some countries actually experienced poverty (Christiaensen, De Weerdt, Economics, forthcoming. a decline in labor productivity. Over- and Todo 2013). A recent World Bank all, the results suggest scope for growth study on youth employment in Africa Christiaensen, Luc, Punam Chuhan-Pole, and from intersectoral labor re allocation, as (Filmer and Fox 2013) concludes that Aly Sanoh. 2014. “Africa’s Growth, Poverty well as from moving to the productivity the region’s jobs will continue to be in and Inequality Nexus – Fostering Shared Pros- frontier within sectors. the informal sector for some time. Since perity.” Unpublished. World Bank, Washing- “informal will be normal” in many of ton, DC. The challenge of more inclu- the region’s developing countries, pub- sive growth, and the role for lic policy in these countries will be well Christiaensen, Luc, and Jonathan Kaminski. structural transformation served by focusing on lifting productiv- 2014. “Structural Change, Economic Growth Sustainable development requires both ity of informal household enterprises, and Poverty Reduction, Micro Evidence From rapid and inclusive growth. While Af- especially through investments in rural Uganda.” World Bank, Washington, DC. rica’s growth has been strong, slow pov- public goods, such as education, health, Unpublished. erty reduction implies that this growth transport, electricity, and ICT. has not been very inclusive. But is struc- Chuhan-Pole, Punam,. 2014. “Africa’s New tural transformation out of agriculture, Finally, Africa needs to grow its mod- Economic Landscape” The Brown Journal of in particular to more manufacturing ern sector—both manufacturing and World Affairs XX1 (1): 163-179. and modern sectors, the answer? For services. African manufacturing is con- de Vries, Gaaitzen J., Abdul A. Erumban, growth to be inclusive, first and fore- strained by a number of well-known Marcel P. Timmer, Ilya Voskoboynikov, and most, this means that growth will need structural factors. Among these are: an Harry X. Wu. 2012. “Deconstructing the to take place in the sectors and places acute skills gap of labor, and the need BRICs: Structural Transformation and Aggre- where the poor are enabling the poor to build human capital for the 21st cen- gate Productivity Growth.” Journal of Com- to make a larger direct contribution to tury; infrastructure deficiencies, espe- parative Economics 40 (2): 211–27. Associa- growth. In particular, this means rais- cially access to reliable and affordable tion for Comparative Economic Studies. ing productivity in sectors that provide a electrical power; high transport costs livelihood for the poor. Since poor peo- and trading costs, which weigh heav- Devarajan, Shantayanan, and Wolfgang Fen- ple are generally concentrated in rural ily on the region’s competitiveness; and gler. 2013. “Africa’s Economic Boom: hy the areas and are engaged in agriculture, costly market regulations that discour- Pessimists and Optimists Are Both Right.” promoting growth in agriculture is an age completion. All these factors weigh Foreign Affairs. obvious place to start. down heavily on the competitiveness of Africa’s manufacturing sector. Diao, Xinshen, James Thurlow, and Shenggen Agricultural productivity is disappoint- Fan, eds. 2012. Strategies and Priorities for ingly low (though improving) in Africa, Growth and structural change will dis- African Agriculture: Economywide Perspec- and well below levels in other develop- rupt livelihoods of some, and gains may tives from Country Studies. International Food ing regions. Lifting agricultural produc- be spread unevenly. To make growth Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC. tivity is a priority, and there is consider- more inclusive will, thus, also require able potential for public policy in terms redistributing the gains from growth Filmer, Deon, and Louise Fox. 2013. Youth of improving access to and functioning taking place elsewhere for the benefit of Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa Youth of agricultural input and output mar- the poor. There is much scope for do- Employment. Washington, DC: World Bank. kets; bringing better irrigation services ing this in mineral-rich countries, where McMillan, Margaret S., and Kenneth Hartt- and production techniques to farmers; extractive activities have little backward gen. 2014. “What is Driving the African and strengthening rural infrastructure. linkages with the local economy. Social Growth Miracle?” NBER Working Paper An appreciation that not all agricultural safety nets and cash transfers can be ef- 20077, National Bureau of Economic Re- growth is equally poverty reducing, is fective in redistributing the gains from search, Cambridge, MA. relevant to the policy debate on poverty growth. Although social protection reduction. For example, growth that mechanisms have increased in number World Bank. 2014. Africa’s Pulse (10). positively affects smallholder staple crop and size, there is substantial variation World Bank, Washington, DC. productivity as opposed to exports has in scope and coverage across African been found to be more poverty reducing countries. Clearly, redistribution alone (Diao, Thurlow, and Fan 2012). Unde- will not suffice to eliminate poverty and niably, robust evidence will need to in- boost shared prosperity. This will re-

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26 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN SOME LESSONS FROM SOUTH KOREA’S DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE

Introduction

The South Korean economic development story is of great interest to many developing countries. Until the early 1960s, South Korea was among the poorest countries in the world. Arguably, its ‘initial development conditions’ were worse than those of many countries in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA). Over 60 percent of its population lived below the poverty line and its life expectancy was 57 years. Agriculture constituted more than 40 percent of its GDP and employed 60 percent of its labour force.

However, within a generation, the country had transformed itself into a ‘Newly Industrialized Country (NIC). From an agricultural based economy in the 1960s, the country is today a technology and knowledge driven economy. By 2014, South Korea had become the 13th largest in the world. Its GDP per Professor LEE, Jin-sang, capita stands at USD 28,739. Director, Center for International Development and Korea’s 5 Major Export Commodities in 2014(US$ billion) Cooperation Duksung Women’s Year Electronics Automobile Computers and Chemical Shipbuilding University, Seoul, goods Machinery Products Republic of Korea 2014 138.23 73.3 63.0 52.4 46.7 2010 110.8 53.4 52.0 32.6 38.3 Source: Korea Statistics Office (2015)

27 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ow did she do it? The government of development. Earnings from exports allowed Park Jung Hee launched the country’s the country to import industrial raw materi- structural transformation strategy in als, capital goods and foreign technologies. H1962 with the first Five-year Economic De- The country transitioned from exporting velopment Plan. A labour-intensive, export- mainly primary products such as minerals oriented industrialization (i.e. e.g. textiles, (in the 1960s) to low technology, labour in- light industries) and poverty eradication tensive products such as textile in the 1970s topped the agenda of this plan. The plan and to more to more sophisticated industrial sought to promote exports in selected stra- products (e.g. semi-conductors, ICTs) from tegic industries. This included the establish- the 1980s onwards. Many of the industries ment of performance targets (e.g. exports, that were promoted under this policy remain technological upgrading). The first five year competitive today. These include: petro- development plan was succeeded by succes- chemicals, iron, steel and ship building, and sive 5-year development plans, each focusing automobile industries are some of the best on different priority industries. The 1973- examples. (Consider that South Korea does 1978 Development Plan (Heavy Chemical not have oil for example). Industrialization) focused on the promotion of heavy and chemical industries. Capital The Korean economy became more liberal- intensive industries such as iron and steel, ized and integrated into the world economy chemical, shipbuilding, and automobile were in the 1990s. The country joined the OECD given priority in the 1970s. Investments went in 1996. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 into the manufacture of steel, non-ferrous marked a temporary departure from the metals, machinery, shipbuilding, electronics country’s core economic policy. The country and chemicals. The government introduced turned to the IMF for a financial ‘bail out’ special interest loans, export subsidies and and a number of large conglomerates went other tax incentives for export industries. into bankruptcy. After the Asian economic The Korean strategy has been characterized crisis, the country strengthened its capac- as ‘Outward Looking or Export Oriented ity to compete in the international market Industrialization (EOI). The export sector by focusing more on the knowledge-based has been a driving force of South Korea’s economy.

28 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Korea’s Annual Trade Growth in 2000-14(US$ billion) Year Export Import Balance

2000 172.2 160.5 +11.8 2004 254.2 224.5 +29.7 2008 363.5 323.1 +22.0 2012 547.9 519.6 +28.3 2014 572.7 525.5 +47.2 Source: Korea Statistics Office (2015)

Lessons for Africa? Thirdly, a ‘balanced growth’ approach domestic market to create, protect and In about the same time that as many Af- or simultaneous investments in both ag- incentivize its private sector (i.e. Chae- rican countries have been independent ricultural and industrial sectors, urban bols) to play a positive role in its eco- (i.e. since the early 1960s), South Korea and rural areas, large scale industries nomic development. Some of the tools has transformed her economy from low and small and medium size industries available to South Korea might not be technology, labour intensive industries might help in creating vital inter-secto- available to many African countries to capital intensive industries and fi- ral linkages and accelerate poverty re- today. Nevertheless, they can still do a nally to high technology and knowledge duction. In the 1970s, the Republic of lot to promote the growth of a vibrant intensive industries. Along the way, it Korea introduced the Saemaul Undong private sector and to co-opt them in the has managed to create a highly skilled Movement. The Saemaul Undong was national development process. labour force, a vibrant private sector a community driven movement that and a highly competent civil service. contributed to poverty reduction in ru- Social and environmental Along the way, it managed to eradicate ral communities through agricultural protection poverty. What can Africa learn from this production, communal empowerment Trade unions faced tight regulations in experience? and regeneration, and women’s partici- South Korea until the late 1980s. Envi- pation in economic development. South ronmental protection regulations also A strong public sector Korea did not start out with a strong came relatively late in the Korean devel- There are lessons that African coun- or even competent state and or public opment experience. There is no reason tries could learn from the South Korean institutions. It built one from the early why African countries should replicate development experience. First of all, 1960s onwards. It is possible for African these trends. Both might be critical to effective policy formulation and imple- countries to build strong, competent, political stability, poverty reduction and mentation requires strong and compe- and development oriented public insti- sustainable development although this tent public institutions, beginning with a tutions. will depend on the nature of the rela- strong, development minded or orient- tionship between the state, unions and ed state and a merit based bureaucratic A strong private sector the private sector. system. The public sector must be able With government support and a diverse to formulate and to implement fiscal, set of incentives the private sector in China monetary and other macroeconomic South Korea was able to produce quali- The economic development of China policies that are sound, stable and for- ty products for the international market. has been a boon to the South Korean ward looking. Implementing a develop- The private sector has to be the driv- economy. The rapid growth of the Chi- ment or industrial policy requires strong ing force of economic development in nese economy has allowed a number and competent institutions (there are Africa. African governments must find of South Korean businesses to expand multiple interests to weigh, after all). Po- ways to create conditions that enable into China, especially after the 2008 litical stability is critical because without the private sector to play a pro-active global financial crisis. A number of it, there can be no macroeconomic sta- role in economic development. Social South Korean companies have moved bility or certainty. and physical infrastructure and a skilled their manufacturing facilities to China. Secondly, investing early in skilled la- labour force, are key in this process. Presently, China is South Korea’s larg- bour force is important. It is particularly While Africa may not be able to repli- est trading partner and South Korea is important to invest in science, technol- cate all the industrial policy tools used China’s third largest. Obviously, Africa ogy and research and development. by South Korea (due for example to cannot replicate South Korea’s trading South Korea’s current global competi- WTO induced changes in global trade successes with China. Nevertheless, the tiveness in high technology industries rules) there are still many instruments large size of the Chinese market and its can be traced back to its investments they can use to provide the ‘incentivize’ un-orthodox development policies pre- in education, science, technology and businesses to invest in national priority sent potentially good opportunities for R&D beginning in the mid-1960s. sectors. South Korea manipulated its Africa’s development.

29 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE ‘ONE BELT, ONE CHINAROAD’ INITIATIVE Daniel Poon United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

China’s “going out” strategy formally began in the early 2000s with the broad objective of promoting the foreign expansion of Chinese firms to improve resource allocation and international competitiveness.

hina’s annual outward FDI financial institutions such as the World regional economic cooperation and in- flows have grown from around Bank and the Asian Development Bank tegration primarily through investments $2bn in the late 1990s, to (ADB), represent China’s emerging in infrastructure: railways, air routes, $101bn in 2013. This still ‘Plan B’ for revamping the global de- ports, roads, power plants and refiner- only represents 7.2 per cent of annual velopment and financial architecture. ies. Cglobal FDI outflows in 2013, but the Whereas ‘Plan A’ mainly pursued re- world economy could be on the cusp of forms within pre-existing global insti- For other developing countries, how- the next phase in China’s foreign policy tutions and processes, ‘Plan B’ seeks to ever, there is even more at stake in - a more active Chinese participation in use a mixture of cooperation and com- China’s growing interest in interna- global economic governance. In 2014, petition to facilitate changes that better tional economic governance. The Chi- a Deutsche Bank report argued that reflect the growing economic heft and na’s economic development model has with the pace of domestic growth and interests of emerging economies. been predicated on the strategic use of investment slowing, China is expected unorthodox development policy tools to continue generating large current This could signal a shift from the ori- including: industrial policy, state banks account surpluses that will enable it to entation of past Chinese regimes that and enterprises, capital controls, stable shift from its reputation as the “factory generally sought a low profile in foreign and competitive exchange rates and low of the world” to that of the “investor to relations, preferring to focus on domes- interest rates. Though industrial policy the world”. In the context of weak glob- tic development instead. One of Deng tools remain pivotal to the process of al economic growth, “how the world Xiaoping’s most striking foreign policy economic development and structural absorbs China’s large current account maxims was, “never become a leader”. transformation, such tools are often surpluses will define the next round of The advent of China-inspired multilat- off-limits for many other developing economic expansion”, the report con- eral financial institutions could usher in countries due to the prevailing develop- cluded. a new phase in China’s foreign policy: ment ‘orthodoxy’ of many of their de- one where China is actively learning to velopment partners. That leaves China, This is the context within which one lead in the Asia region and beyond. The through its Chinese inspired multilat- must view initiatives such as the China- AIIB and the Silk Road Fund (SRF) are eral financial institutions, with an excel- led Asian Infrastructure Investment key financial instruments of a broader lent opportunity to champion industrial Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Chinese initiative known as “One Belt, policy as an effective tool in economic Bank (NDB). Both initiatives, viewed One Road”. The One Belt, One Road development. Should it decide, it could by some as potential rivals to existing Initiative (IBIR) seeks to promote Asian significantly re-orient economic doc-

30 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN trine in many developing countries by (IBIR) south through the Middle East and on steering its investments and foreign aid to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterra- towards industrial policy. In using an The 1B1R strategy was first articulated nean Sea; and from China to Southeast array of industrial policy tools, China by President Xi Jinping in successive Asia, onward to South Asia and the In- is piecing together the ladder of devel- trips to Southeast Asia in 2013 when he dian Ocean. The maritime ‘Road’ starts opment that was “kicked away” (to use raised the idea of a ‘Silk Road Econom- from Chinese eastern ports, towards the Ha-Joon Chang’s apt phrase) by today’s ic Belt’ and the ‘21st Century Maritime South China Sea, onward to the Indian developed countries. China’s economic Silk Road’. In the latest version of the Ocean and then to Europe. A branch of development model may serve as an initiative, the overland ‘Belt’ includes the maritime ‘Road’ also extends south- immediate and pragmatic example for three directions: from China to central east from the South China Sea to the other developing countries to follow. Asia and Russia, then on to Europe; South Pacific Ocean (see Map 1). The ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative’ from China to central Asia, heading

Map 1. Geographic Contours of the “One Belt, One Road” Strategy Source: China Daily, 15 April. See, http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2015-04/15/content_20435638.html

Fifty seven countries (including China) are founding members, and are expected to complete ne- gotiations over its Articles of Agreement by late June 2015 – with operations to begin by year-end. China and 20 countries signed an MOU last October to establish the AIIB, to be based in Beijing. Thirty-six have since become founding members (Table 1). To become a founding member, a country had to submit a formal “confirmation letter” to China. This had to be approved by the existing members (although not all applicants followed this process). The application deadline for founding members was March 31. Countries applying after this date will be “regular” AIIB mem- bers. The list of founding members was finalized on April 15.

Post-MOU AIIB Founding Member Countries, 2014-2015

Indonesia Denmark Maldives Australia New Zealand Finland Saudi Arabia Russia Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Jordan Sweden United Kingdom Iceland France Portugal Italy Iran Germany United Arab Emirates Luxembourg Malta Switzerland Spain Turkey Egypt South Korea Norway Austria Israel Netherlands South Africa Brazil Azerbaijan Georgia Poland

31 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Last October, the Ministry of Finance 2014, he formally announced China’s plans (MoF) stated that founding members agreed to establish the SRF with $40bn for invest- that shareholding will be allocated accord- ment in countries along the 1B1R initiative ing to a member country’s GDP size. This in infrastructure, natural resource develop- makes China the largest shareholder in ment, industrial and financial cooperation, AIIB, although China has stated that it is and other related projects. Xi stressed that not seeking to be the “lone, big sharehold- China seeks to do more than just build er” with a 50 per cent stake. The creation roads and bridges, but to enhance “inter- of AIIB regional offices and senior man- connectivity” in the Asia-Pacific region in agement appointments will be subject five key areas: policy, infrastructure, trade, to further consultation and negotia- finance, and people. By February 2015, tion. China is the standing chairman Xi confirmed that AIIB’s main role is of the negotiators’ meetings, to be to provide financing for building infra- co-chaired by the member country structure in Asia and the 1B1R. hosting the event. Also, an interim multilateral secretariat has been Little is known about the SRF, but Chinese established to support the work media have reported it will be capitalized of the institution, headed by by four state agencies: State Administration Chinese economist Jin Liqun. of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China Invest- ment Corp. (CIC), China Export-Import Silk Road Fund: a Key Bank (China Exim Bank), and China South-South Financial Development Bank (CDB). The SRF Building Block? was officially registered on De- In President Xi’s speech cember 29 2014 in Beijing at APEC in November and held its first Board of Directors meeting on January 6th, 2015.

SRF could be viewed as China’s latest sovereign wealth fund (SWF) ini- tiative and has been re- ferred to as the “second CIC” in some Chinese media. The CIC was created in 2007 and put under managerial control of the MoF. This time around, however, SRF appears to have a distinct People’s Bank of China (PBoC) imprint – SAFE is a branch of the PBoC, China’s central bank. By early February, the SRF’s chief executive, general manager, and a member of the board of directors were an- nounced, all with a PBoC background.

In a recent interview, PBoC governor Zhou Xiaochuan declared that at present the SRF will not use the SWF concept, because many SWFs have a clear investment port- folio allocation among stocks, bonds, and mergers & acquisitions, whereas the SRF will “perhaps concentrate more on co- operation projects” - particularly on direct equity investment. Zhou con- tends that there are many projects looking for equity investment. However, many private equity (PE) firms have short invest- ment horizons of 7-10 years. There is thus, a need for longer-term infrastruc- ture investment funds. Zhou hopes that others will look at SRF as a kind of PE inves-

32 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN tor, but with a longer time horizon of 15 years Never become a leader? or more for returns. The 1B1R initiative is arguably China’s at- tempt at learning to lead in the Asia-Pacific Zhou also highlighted how the SRF will work region, using its development model as a guide. with other Chinese state financial institutions In his APEC speech, Xi offered a metaphor in a selected project equity and debt financing. to explain the initiative: “if ‘One Road, One Though he said that competition can never be Belt’ can be regarded as the two wings of Asia’s ruled out, he stressed that cooperation would take-off, then interconnectivity is like the arter- take the form of joint equity investments by ies and veins of the two wings.” It might be SRF and other investors in a needed project, at tempting to view China’s growing interest in which time China Exim Bank and CDB could global economic governance from the old Cold follow with loans for debt financing. CIC could War mindset. However, it would be more prag- also partially participate in equity investments. matic to look at these new Chinese inspired The SRF and AIIB could cooperate in arrang- multilateral financial institutions as mecha- ing both equity and debt financing. Add in the nisms for facilitating the provision of much NDB, and a constellation Chinese led South- desired public goods in the form of infrastruc- South development finance institutions begins ture financing – a hugely unmet need in much to take shape. of the developing world. Indeed, Chinese-led financial institutions have not ruled out the A Fine Balance possibility of cooperating and co-financing Though Zhou also suggested that experiences projects with existing multilateral institutions. of China Exim Bank and CDB will have a beneficial impact on the future development of SRF, many observers believe striking a balance between political and Though industrial policy tools remain pivotal economic interest will be the big- to the process of economic development and gest challenge facing the 1B1R ini- tiative. For example, in looking at structural transformation, such tools are often off- some of China’s previous domes- tic regional infrastructure building limits for many other developing countries due plans, some analysts believe that to the prevailing development ‘orthodoxy’ of many did not meet their goals be- cause “financial returns were not many of their development partners. the key investment concern”.

Perhaps more tellingly, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei argued that in learning from existing multilateral banks’ ex- perience, the AIIB will have strict but practi- The new China-led financial institutions like cal safeguard policies in order to reduce costs the AIIB, the NDB, and the SRF remain works and improve operating efficiency. According to in progress. However, it is possible to envision Deputy Finance Minister Shi Yaobin, existing their potential roles as part of an emerging con- multilateral institutions have continuously im- stellation of ‘South’ led development finance proved safeguard policies and have made im- institutions, more sympathetic to development portant reforms. He argued that strictly speak- ideology in many developing countries. Chi- ing, there are no “best practices”, only “better nese development assistance has had its prob- practices”. lems in some developing countries. These new For Zhao Changhui, a risk analyst at China ‘instruments’ will have their limitations too. Exim Bank, 1B1R-related projects should Nevertheless, they provide an additional win- meet at least three conditions: ability to finance dow for developing countries to leverage the large scale transnational infrastructure pro- much needed resources for their development. jects; projects should go beyond infrastructure to include value-added manufacturing sectors such as petroleum and steel refining; projects Daniel Poon is an economist with United Nations Con- must be firmly founded on multilateral con- ference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He is sensus. Others, like Zhu Jiejin of Fudan Uni- author of the UNCTAD Discussion Paper, “China’s versity’s BRICS Research Centre, called for Development Trajectory: A Strategic Opening for In- greater consideration of localization in related dustrial Policy in the South” (2014). Portions of this projects and cooperation with host-country article are drawn from, “Development Finance with development banks. Even President Xi, dur- Chinese Characteristics?” co-authored with Richard ing his APEC speech, suggested that countries Kozul-Wright and published by Project Syndicate, as could cooperate on financial support through well as from, “China leading by example in South- regional, industry, or project-specific subsidiary South relations”, published by East Asia Forum. funds.

33 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN HARNESSINGAPPLICATIONS OF LIGHT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Prof John M. Dudley, University of Franche-Comte, Besancon, Dr Jorge R. González, European Physical Society (EPS), Dr Joseph J. Niemela, Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste

People throughout the world and across history have always attached great importance to light. We see this in cultural symbolism, myths and legends, and in the many ways that studying the science of light and applying it in practical applications has shaped the societies in which we live.

eople throughout the world sources of energy that can promote ending hunger, ensuring food security, and across history have always growth whilst having low carbon foot- and promoting sustainable agriculture attached great importance to print; improving education; reduc- are key objectives of the Sustainable light. We see this in cultural ing poverty and inequality; improving Development Goal targets. In many symbolism, myths and legends, and in healthcare and quality of life for all. developing countries, agriculture is also Pthe many ways that studying the sci- These challenges are of course ad- the backbone of the economy, and is a ence of light and applying it in practi- dressed in the proposed Sustainable key for long-term and inclusive growth cal applications has shaped the societies Development goals which are expected due to its strong multiplier impact on in which we live. Light is central to our to frame governmental actions relating other sectors. planet and our existence. On the most to the United Nations Post-2015 Devel- Light-based technologies can play an fundamental level- through photosyn- opment Agenda. But as discussions of important role in improving agricul- thesis- it is light from the sun which these goals gathers pace in the count- ture and farming through the area of drives life itself; in our daily lives, the down to their adoption, it is the ideal agri-photonics. Lasers and imaging light-based technologies of photonics time to recall that one of the central sensors on planes can be used to map give us applications such as internet messages of the International Year of soils and crop density, and reflectance communications, modern manufactur- Light is that light science and technolo- data from vegetation can be used to de- ing, the fabrication of computer chips, gies provide practical and cost-effective termine very specific information such and medical imaging. solutions to meet many of these chal- as the amount of nitrogen present in lenges. plants. Lasers and telescopes can be In recognition of the importance of used to monitor evaporation and guide light in so many areas of life, the United In what follows we provide an overview decisions on irrigation, and with ap- Nations has proclaimed the year 2015 of the many ways in which light sci- propriate lighting, vegetables and fruits as the International Year of Light and ence can aid sustainable development. can be grown indoors outside of their Light-based Technologies. This In- The examples below are of course not normal season, opening up possibilities ternational Year has grown from an exhaustive, and a selection of further for crop-cultivation year-round, even in initiative of a large consortium of many reading is provided. But we hope that inhospitable regions. different partners together with UN- the selection of applications we have ESCO, and its overarching objective is chosen highlights just in how many Climate Science to raise worldwide awareness of how ways light-based technologies can lead Developing countries are at the front- important the science and technology to practical solutions that can extend line of human-induced climate change of light is for humankind, and the many social, medical, and energy generat- over the next century. According to the ways in which photonics provides solu- ing benefits to billions of people in the to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, tions to problems of global importance. world today. throughout the 21st century climate change is expected to lead to increases The world today faces many urgent Agriculture and Farming in ill-health in many regions, and es- challenges, such as providing food to a The food and agriculture sector is essen- pecially in developing countries with growing population; developing clean tial to sustainable development. Indeed, low income. Rural areas are expected

34 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN to experience major impacts on water broadband subscriptions exceed 2.1 bil- advanced: Geometrical Optics, Lenses availability and supply, food security, lion! Significantly, most of this progress and Optics of the Eye, Interference and infrastructure and agricultural incomes, has taken place in developing countries, Diffraction, Atmospheric Optics, Opti- including shifts in the production areas which account for 82% of net additions cal Data Transmission and Wavelength of food and non-food crops around the of new Internet users globally in the last Division Multiplexing. In many cases world. five years. The UN Broadband Com- the cost of material is low, and cours- es can be adapted to Light-based technolo- many diverse cultures. gies are critical for monitoring and predict- Rural areas are expected to experience major ALOP courses are ing the consequences of impacts on water availability and supply, food not aimed at students, climate change. They security, infrastructure and agricultural incomes, however, but are fo- are extensively used to including shifts in the production areas of food cused on teachers – map radiation emitted “training the trainers.” from the Earth’s sur- and non-food crops around the world. This is an essential face using radiometers, part of the philoso- scanners and sensors phy, and indeed since placed in satellites orbiting our planet. mission and the ITU are pushing hard 2004, ALOP workshops have reached These measurements are transmitted to ensure that mobile broadband can over 1,000 teachers from 55 develop- to ground stations where the data is fulfil its potential to improve education ing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin converted to images that provide in- and development. America. The participants are typically formation on ocean currents or global lecturers in universities as well as some carbon-dioxide distribution. Of course, This was expressed eloquently by ITU secondary school teachers of physics. mitigating the effects of climate change Secretary-General Houlin Zhao during Follow-up activities, in which trained will also rely heavily on light-based tech- the 11th meeting of the UN Broadband trainers train others locally are an im- nologies in the field of renewable ener- Commission in February 2015: “For portant part of the strategy and this gy as described below. the first time in history, mobile broad- has been very successful in a number of band gives us the chance to truly bring regions around the world. ALOP work- Communications education to all, regardless of a person’s shops also provide practical examples The visible light that we can see is only geographical location, linguistic and of how Interactive Lecture Demonstra- a small part of the spectrum of electro- cultural frameworks, or ready access tions using light-technologies can be magnetic radiation that finds important to infrastructure like schools and trans- used in large classes. and widespread use in modern society. port.” It is invisible microwave electromag- One example involves image formation netic radiation that is used in mobile Education and Training and serves to also illustrate how signifi- telephone communications and satel- In addition to the use of light-based cant learning gains can be achieved with lite networks, and it is the invisible light technologies to improve educational low-cost materials and without “black- from infrared lasers that carries the infrastructure, light science is an ideal box” solutions which can sometimes pulsed signals of optical information subject to stimulate interest in STEM be counter-productive. For instance, a under the oceans and across continents (science, technology, engineering, math- cylindrical lens can be designed from a via the optical fiber infrastructure of the ematics) subjects in a classroom context. transparent plastic container jar filled Internet. This has been recognized for many with water, using a 9V battery and years by UNESCO, the UNESCO flashlight bulb as light source. The importance of communications Category I Centre ICTP (International for development is stressed by the UN Centre for Theoretical Physics) and the Energy and Lighting Broadband Commission for Digital International Society for Optics and Development, who have recently stated Photonics (SPIE) who have developed a how access to mobile devices (phones, global programme on Active Learning tablets and e-readers) with broadband in Optics and Photonics (ALOP). In- internet connectivity can bring qual- quiry-based, or active learning encour- ity education to people everywhere, es- ages students to construct the knowledge pecially in the world’s poorest or most from their own observations, guided by isolated communities. Although it is a facilitator whose role it is to lead them technology such as fibre to the home from observation to discovery. (FTTH) that is being emphasized in many developed countries, it is mobile This is on contrast to the normal class- broadband that is perceived as the most room scenario in which the teacher lec- practical solutions for many developing tures and the students passively absorb countries. The International Telecom- as much information as they can, which, munications Union (ITU) reports that by itself, is known to be inadequate in mobile broadband is the fastest growing developing correct conceptual under- technology in history - mobile phone standing of the underlying physics. subscriptions now exceed the world’s ALOP modules have been developed total population, and active mobile for many subjects, from the basics to the Credit: SolarAid/Kat Harrison

35 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN When one thinks of harnessing light- enough light to read, helping them with of parasites in blood or stools. based technologies for sustainable de- their schooling. velopment, renewable energy through There is, of course, much work to be solar power would likely be the first Healthcare and Medicine done in moving from demonstration to thing that came to mind for most peo- Optical technologies play a key role in large-scale uptake, but the smartphone ple. After all, many developing coun- medicine from simple diagnostics and is one of the most advanced technologi- tries have abundant solar energy re- monitoring, to advanced treatment op- cal devices ever made, with state-of-the- sources (insolation), and the use of solar tions and research. Photonics appears art imaging and communications built- energy is ideally-suited to providing in very simple and widespread devices: in. It is clear that it has tremendous an off-grid energy supply as a sustain- clip-on pulse oximeters use the trans- potential as a potable mobile labora- able alternative to the diesel generators mission of light from an LED through tory. Recent years have seen dramatic which would otherwise be used. a finger to measure oxygen saturation strides in the field of telemedicine in and heartrate, and ear thermometers general, the use of telecommunica- There remain many challenges to ad- use infrared light detectors to provide tion and information technologies to dress, but research is advancing rapidly a safe and reliable measurement of provide access to medical services that in the underlying physics and materi- body temperature. Imaging and sur- would often not be consistently avail- als science, the development of storage gery have been revolutionized with the able at a distance. The smartphone technologies, and in optimising and use of endoscopy and laparoscopy, and may well be showing the way towards comparing the technologies of photo- light-based technologies and lasers find the democratization of healthcare in voltaics and solar thermal collection. important uses in many medical proce- developing countries. Although the economics of deployment dures including neurosurgery, derma- in the energy sector can be complex, the tology, dentistry, vision correction, heart Vision and Seeing International Energy Agency encapsu- surgery, and reconstructive procedures. lated the issues well in its 2011 report Many light-based when they stated explicitly that solar therapies have also energy “…will increase countries’ en- proven effective for ergy security…enhance sustainability, detecting and treat- reduce pollution, lower the costs of mit- ing cancer. One igating climate change, and keep fossil example of a light- fuel prices lower than otherwise. These based technique to advantages are global. Hence the ad- treat cancer is pho- ditional costs of the incentives for early todynamic therapy, deployment should be considered learn- where a patient is ing investments.” given a nontoxic photosensitive drug Closely coupled to the availability of that is absorbed by energy is the availability of lighting. cancer cells. During With no reliable source of light, many surgery, a light beam people in developing communities de- is positioned at the pend on kerosene lamps for light, which tumour site, which has been estimated to lead to the death then activates the of over a million people every year. Pro- drug to become toxic Symon from Zomba Malawi trying new glasses viding clean, efficient forms of lighting to targeted malignant cells. provided by the one dollar glasses initiative. to developing communities is not only In developing countries, there are of (Credit: Wolfram Cüppers) important for health reasons - it is also course many challenges in ensuring the vital for productivity. Families in rural best healthcare treatments are available, People in developed countries take eye- communities rely on work to provide but the advanced technology of the glasses and good vision for granted. for the most basic needs of their family, smartphone promises huge potential to However, worldwide estimates of those but working hours can be limited due to revolutionise medicine in low-resource who suffer from uncorrected defective scarce lighting after sunset. The major- areas. Such technology-based mobile eyesight range from the 100’s of mil- ity of children in developing countries health can take many forms. For exam- lions to over a billion adults and chil- are also expected to work during the day ple, a specialised mobile app and lens dren! Far more than just an “inconven- to help provide for their family. With no, adapter can convert a smartphone into ience,” the worldwide lack of eyeglasses or inadequate, light at night, children a device that can take diagnostic-quality to correct vision prohibits people from are deprived of an education. Although images of cataracts. The resulting im- working and taking care of their fami- longer term solutions will require clear age can then be sent by email to a re- lies and has a negative effect on chil- policies on renewable energy on the re- mote expert for evaluation and recom- dren’s schooling and study. In fact, one gional level, many industries and NGOs mendation for treatment, and the ability 2012 study estimated the loss in GDP and other associations are working on to geotag results with built-in GPS fa- due to uncorrected vision was US$ 202 the ground to promote the use of pota- cilitates record-keeping for field work- billion annually! ble solar-powered high-brightness LED ers. Other examinations possible with lanterns in regions where there is little a smartphone include retina screening, Looking at this objectively, it may seem or no other reliable source of light. depth of field tests, colour vision testing, hard to understand – after all, eyeglass- and visual acuity. Beyond testing vision, es are a 13th century (!) optical technol- A low power LED lighting system can adaptations to turn smartphones into ogy, and techniques for their inexpen- give children in developing regions microscopes are allowing for detection sive mass production have existed for

36 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN decades. But it is also easy to see how In concluding, it is perhaps worth re- S. T. Smith, K. D. Frick, B. A. Holden, T. R. bottlenecks can arise with testing, pre- calling that when the laser was invented Fricke & K. S. Naidoo Bulletin of the World scription and distribution. A number in 1960, it was described as a “solution Health Organization Volume 87, Number 6, of NGOs and industries are therefore looking for a problem.” Today, howev- 431-437 (2009) working on complementary approaches er, lasers are part of the everyday lives Solar Energy Perspectives. Organisation for to solve these problems. One approach of billions of people living in affluent Economic Co-operation and Development and uses fluid filled lenses where a user can areas of the world, from driving the International Energy Agency, OECD Publish- self-adjust the eyeglasses, allowing a undersea global telecommunications ing (2011) very convenient way to select the ap- network to the daily tech of barcode Technology, Broadband and Education, Ad- propriate correction. Another idea scanning at the supermarket. The last vancing the Education for All Agenda, A report uses low cost prefabricated lenses and decades of research in advanced pho- by the Broadband Commission Working Group a compact bending machine to create tonics has created many new technolo- on Education, ITU & UNESCO, January frames from spring steel; this approach gies that provide practical solutions to 2013 www.broadbandcommission.org can also encourage the establishment problems in developing countries, but a The State of Broadband 2014: Broadband for of sustainable businesses producing and bottleneck has arisen because the scien- All. A report by the Broadband Commission, selling these glasses in local communi- tists and engineers working on the tech- ITU & UNESCO, September 2014 www. ties. nologies are very often simply not aware broadbandcommission.org of what these problems are. On the Water Quality other side of the coin, it is often the case Author Biographies Water is essential to human health. De- that political decision-makers as well as John Dudley (@johnmdudley) is Professor at spite impressive gains made over the those working in developing regions are the University of Franche-Comte in Besancon, last decades, billions worldwide still suf- just not aware that these solutions may France. He has published over 500 contribu- fer from health problems due to the lack exist. The International Year of Light tions in journals & conference proceedings, and of clean water. Although much asks the scientific community to work to delivered over 120 invited talks at major progress has been made in the conferences. He regularly speaks on use of conventional treatment topics including: his own research processes, there is a continu- in nonlinear optics; global research ous need for the development trends in photonics; extreme events in of new and complementary nature; public outreach & education; technologies to produce high career development. He is Fellow of quality water, especially in de- OSA, the IEEE and the European veloping areas. Photonics tech- Optical Society. He served as the nologies can significantly help President of the European Physi- in this regard by improving cal Society for a two year term from both water quality assessment April 2013-March 2015, and cur- and access to clean sources of rently chairs the Steering Committee water. For instance, low-cost of the International Year of Light water treatment systems pow- & Light-based Technologies 2015 ered by solar panels can de- (IYL2015). compose organic pollutants in water, and solar-powered well Jorge Rivero González (@jorgegriv- pumping has proven to be a ero) is a science communicator work- sustainable, low-cost solution to provide The message from Ban Ki-Moon being read at the ing at the European Physical Society (EPS) as drinking and irrigation water in off-grid Opening Ceremony of the International Year of the EPS IYL 2015 Outreach Officer. He is locations in drought-prone regions. Re- Light at UNESCO HQ in Paris on 19 January also editor of the IYL2015 blog. Before that he search is also ongoing into the develop- 2015 (Credit: Dan Curticapaen) spent four years living in Munich while he was ment of LED-based potable systems for doing his PhD in Astrophysics at the Univer- point of use purification. bridge this gap in knowledge and un- sity Observatory Munich. Since 2009 he is a derstanding, and it is our hope that this member of the GalileoMobile project, a science Conclusion article takes a positive forward step in education programmeme that brings astronomy Light-based technologies are pervasive achieving this. closer to young people around the world, and in the everyday lives of people living has given him the possibility to share the won- in affluent areas of the world, but it is Further Reading ders of astronomy with children in Bolivia, our hope that this series of examples il- Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Con- Peru and Brazil in 2009 and 2014. lustrates the many applications that can tribution of Working Groups I, II and III to have a real impact on sustainable devel- the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergov- Joseph Niemela (@joeniemela) is a senior opment. It is appropriate here to quote ernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core researcher at the Abdus Salam International from the message of Ban Ki-Moon in Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in his message to the Opening Ceremony (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland (2014). Trieste (Italy). Niemela conducts research in of the International Year of Light held Celebrating Light, 50 Ways Light-based fluid dynamics and low-temperature physics, in Paris on 19-20 January 2015: “As Technologies Enrich Our World, SPIE Press heads the ICTP Office of External Activities, we strive to end poverty and promote (2015) organizes the annual ICTP Winter College shared prosperity, light technologies can International Year of Light and Light-based on Optics, and serves as the global secretariat offer practical solutions to global chal- Technologies www.light2015.org for IYL2015. He has a PhD in physics from lenges.” Potential lost productivity resulting from the University of Oregon (USA). global burden of uncorrected refractive error, T.

37 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN SOLAR LED SOLUTIONS CAN END LIGHT POVERTY IN

Harry Verhaar, AFRICAHead of Global Public & Government Affairs Philips Lighting, High Tech Campus Eindhoven, The Netherlands

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light. This global initiative brings together a broad-based consortium of stakeholders – including scientific societies and unions, educational institutions, technology platforms, non-profit organizations and private-sector partners.

38 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ts aim? To raise awareness of to provide a reliable energy supply working in the evening, safer and the power of light-based tech- – and thus lighting – to all their cit- more practical. The Philips Life- nologies in solving global chal- izens. In many countries, however, Light Home lighting system even lenges in energy, education, ag- electrical grids are not viable due includes a USB port for solar-pow- riculture, public infrastructure and to the geographic and financial ered phone charging, thereby of- Ihealth. constraints of linking hundreds fering the dual benefit of light and of remote communities. And yet, connectivity. Over 1.2 billion people around the that is no reason for us to throw in world – one in five – are trapped the towel: innovative solutions are “Today an estimated 560 million in light poverty as they do not have available, here and now. Africans live without electricity,’’ access to electric light. In Africa, says Mary Kuria, General Man- 65% of the population lives off the Solar-powered LED lighting tech- ager, Philips Lighting East Af- grid. Like food and water, light is a nology, for example, can provide rica. “For these people night-time fundamental necessity that no one light at a fraction of the cost of means either darkness or the flick- should be denied. Without artificial running kerosene lamps, without ering light of a candle or kerosene light, life grinds to a halt at sunset. any of the health, safety or envi- lamp. However the disadvantages Communal life stops, children are ronmental dangers – or the need of kerosene lanterns are many, in- unable to study, and businesses are for major investment in infrastruc- cluding safety, health risks and high forced to close. ture. A single solar-powered LED costs. And the light output of these Most of those affected resort to lantern uses zero energy and can lanterns is so low as to make vis- kerosene lamps and candles to fill a room with clean, electric light ibility for practical activities almost light their homes and businesses. But these very basic light sources claim the lives of 1.5 million peo- ple every year through respiratory illnesses and fires – the same num- The time has come for the world to recognize ber killed annually by HIV-related diseases. In Kenya, for example, this inequality and unite to end light poverty 75,000 people, mostly women and and its stranglehold on human development. children, get sick or even die every week as a direct result of inhaling Especially when it could so easily be consigned smoke from kerosene lamps, wood to history by technology readily available today fires and candles. “And all this at a time when, else- where in the world, we’re learn- ing how to print human organs, exploring self-driving cars, and recently landed a spacecraft on the surface of a comet more than 500 for a one-off cost of $10-20, com- impossible. Using the energy of the million kilometers away,” says Eric pared to the $50 annual fuel bill of sun to power lighting solutions can Rondolat, CEO of Philips Light- running a kerosene lamp. make a true difference to people’s ing. “The time has come for the lives.” world to recognize this inequality Reflecting its mission to improve and unite to end light poverty and people’s lives through meaningful Solar-powered technology is also a its stranglehold on human develop- innovation, Philips has expanded feature of Philips’ innovative fan- ment. Especially when it could so its portfolio of solar lighting solu- driven biomass cook stove (Jiko), easily be consigned to history by tions with the launch of Philips which can reduce smoke and car- technology readily available today” LifeLight, a range of 100% ener- bon monoxide emissions by more gy-efficient solar-powered LED than 90% compared to an open Solutions immediately to lighting designed for homes in fire, thus reducing the health risks hand off-grid rural and semi-urban com- of indoor cooking. The electric Light poverty affects huge parts munities. The range was devel- fan is powered by a long-lasting of Africa, Asia and South Ameri- oped by the Nairobi-based Philips rechargeable battery that can ca. In South Sudan, for example, Africa Innovation Hub, a center be charged by connection to the as few as 1.5% of the population for developing innovations specifi- mains or a 10 W solar panel. have access to electric light. The cally “in Africa, for Africa” in the obvious solution might appear to areas of healthcare, lighting and Bringing whole communities be for affected countries to invest healthy living. These lights make to life at night in electrical grids and power plants daily activities, such as studying or On a larger scale, energy-efficient

39 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN LED luminaires and solar panels can be com- global level, that figure stands at 19%. It has bined to produce sustainable lighting in public been calculated that approximately half of a places, again without the need for costly infra- city’s energy bill goes on lighting – for public structure. These Community Light Centers offices, schools and outdoor environments. We (CLCs) – roughly the size of a small football can make significant savings – on average 40% pitch – are relatively inexpensive, easy to install – simply by switching to energy-efficient light- and maintain, and far more reliable than elec- ing technologies. On a global level the potential trical grids, which regularly suffer from outages savings amount to €128 billion in reduced elec- in remote areas. Enabling healthcare services tricity cost and 670 million tonnes of avoided and businesses to operate after sunset, as well CO2 emissions. If fully realized, that would as encouraging sports and other social activi- represent a significant contribution in the fight ties, these centers allow communities to thrive against global climate change.” after dark. By the end of 2015 Philips will have installed 100 of them in rural Africa, where Another advantage of using solar-powered some 500 million people do not have access to LED technology, in this case for street lighting, electric light. is that it can be connected to smart lighting con- trols and software in fully integrated city-wide In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where solutions. This offers substantial benefits such those without electricity spend 20-30% of their as further energy efficiencies (up to 80% com- household income on kerosene to light their pared to conventional lighting), increased safety and greater control of the lighting. For example, if there is no movement on the road, the lights dim or switch off. If there is movement, they switch on. And if there is an emergency situation, Solar-powered LED lighting technology, for the light can be made brighter. example, can provide light at a fraction of the With connected LED lighting, lamp cost of running kerosene lamps, without any of poles have the potential to become a the health, safety or environmental dangers – or form of digital real estate, providing additional functionalities and services the need for major investment in infrastructure. which help to create safer, more effi- cient and more appealing urban en- vironments, promote commerce and tourism, and attract inward invest- ment. Technology like this offers Afri- can countries a very real opportunity homes, Philips has recently completed the in- to leap-frog developed countries in the race to- stallation of solar-powered LED lighting in ward full digital functionality and connectivity. homes, streets, hospitals and Community Light Centers as part of a corporate giving/employee engagement initiative – the Philips Gift of Light Cost no object project. The cost of installing (solar-powered) LED- based public lighting can be recovered quickly Urbanization – opportunity and chal- from the savings on the reduced energy con- lenge sumption. What’s more, there are new perfor- It is not only off-grid rural and semi-urban com- mance-based business models and financing munities that stand to gain from the adoption mechanisms that offer solutions involving little, of (solar-powered) LED lighting technology. if any, up-front cost. Far from it. A century ago around 10% of the world’s population lived in cities. By the start For example, Philips has developed a new con- of the 21st century this figure had risen to over cept to deliver ‘lighting as a service’. Typically, 50%, and by 2050 over two thirds of us will business customers pay only a service fee for be living in cities. We are also seeing this trend the light they actually use, while Philips retains across Africa. Urban growth and transforma- ownership of the fixtures. For the duration of tion on this scale offers tremendous opportuni- the contract, the company installs, maintains ties for economic and social development, but it and upgrades the lighting system as needed. also presents huge challenges, for example with And it re-uses, refurbishes or recycles the equip- regard to energy. ment at end-of-life, thus closing the materials loop. Cities around the world are embracing Energy-efficient connected lighting this capex-neutral, risk-free model. “In Africa, lighting is thought to consume around 15% of the total electricity output of There’s more to light than meets the eye an industrialized economy like South Africa,” Lighting can perform many other functions be- says Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & yond the illumination of offices, shops, streets, Government Affairs at Philips Lighting. “On a etc. For instance, Philips has developed a range

40 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN of products specifically for horticulture. still needed on this subject, but the re- 1.3 billion people out of light poverty These LED lighting fixtures make use sults of the investigations so far provide would not only end this stranglehold on of specific wavelengths of light to stim- proof in concept that LED lamps can economic, social and cultural develop- ulate and steer crop growth, thereby be customized to avoid specific areas of ment, but would also give a huge boost boosting local food productivity. The the spectrum that could have adverse to global GDP,” says Philips Lighting company has also developed a water environmental consequences, while still CEO Eric Rondolat. “Political will, purification solution that treats water providing light for indoor use. combined with entrepreneurial drive, with ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. can snuff out this injustice and create a Huge opportunity for Africa brighter future if cemented by a com-

And in another exciting development, The potential benefits of solar LED mon purpose.” Philips Research in the Netherlands has lighting for Africa extend way beyond been involved in investigations, led by functional illumination. In India, stud- And so, as we celebrate the Interna- Prof. Travis Longcore of the Univer- ies indicate that improved electricity tional Year of Light and everything sity of California, aimed at reducing supply for lighting in Assam correlated that light can do, it is time for govern- the number of insects an LED bulb at- to a 17% increase in literacy rates of ments, cities and businesses to embrace tracts while stilI delivering white light. people over the age of 6. the technology that is already available Many insect species, such as sand flies – and deliver lasting positive change to and mosquitos, are attracted to light. And the economic argument for install- communities currently blighted by light Different insects are sensitive to particu- ing solar-powered LED systems in the poverty across Africa. lar combinations of wavelengths, which worst-affected communities is as com- means that the type of bulb you use can pelling as the humanitarian obligation: actually increase the risk of catching access to light is a catalyst for growth in insect-borne diseases. More research is the areas that need it the most. “Lifting

41 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN DOES AFRICA REALLY WANT YESTERDAY’S FUTURE? Prof. Gabrielle Hecht University of Michigan

Four years after Fukushima, enthusiasm for nuclear power is back, spreading across – and connecting – the African and Asian continents. China, whose nuclear ambitions exceed all others, barely missed a beat: emitting assurances of safety and regulatory upgrades, it quickly resumed construction on what may become the world’s largest nuclear fleet.

n India, local protests delayed the wax eloquent about nuclear power’s po- launch of the Kudankulam plant, tential to create jobs, provide baseload Such scenarios are presented as vi- but the first reactor is now opera- electricity for industrial development, sions of Africa’s techno-future. But the tional and the government has just power homes, drive the economy, and dreams are as old (and tired) as the nu- signed new agreements on nuclear co- ultimately catapult their nation to 21st clear age itself. In his 1953 “Atoms for Ioperation with France and the US. century modernity. Peace” speech to the United Nations, US President Dwight Eisenhower called Desperate for more electricity, many How can nuclear bring all these for experts to apply atomic energy “to African states are eager to follow suit. goodies? the needs of agriculture, medicine, and From South Africa to Niger, from Gha- Through cheap power, proclaim the en- other peaceful activities,” adding that na to Kenya, atomic enthusiasm is gain- thusiasts. Insisting that the most devel- “a special purpose would be to pro- ing momentum. Uranium producers oped countries around the world relied vide abundant electrical energy in the such as Niger and Namibia talk about on atomic energy to achieve their pre- power-starved areas of the world.” The transcending their colonial past by sent modernity, the publicity director following year, the chairman of the US beneficiating their own raw materials. for Kenya’s Nuclear Electricity Board Atomic Energy Commission predicted South Africa sidesteps its apartheid past, quoted 19th century electricity guru that “our children will enjoy in their invokes earlier nuclear achievements, Thomas Edison: “we will make the cost homes electrical energy too cheap to and insists it will build next generation of electricity so cheap that only the rich meter.” reactors. Some non-uranium produc- will burn candles.” An official at Gha- ing countries are even more zealous, na’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum That phrase has become legendary for issuing tenders and signing cooperation went a step further: nuclear energy, he its sheer absurdity. Not a single nucle- agreements with Russia or China (and enthused, “would be so cheap that we ar operator has forgone metering and sometimes both). Across the continent, would not even have to price electric- charging for electricity use – not even in energy ministers and entrepreneurs ity.” France, whose state-run utility provides

42 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 75% of the nation’s electricity. Indeed, a follow “stringent global nuclear regula- is the IAEA is a regulatory body. Yes, 2010 paper in the journal Energy Policy tions.” global media often refer to the agency shows that French nuclear construction as the world’s nuclear policeman or costs actually exhibit a negative learn- History, however, teaches us that it’s not regulator, but this betrays a fundamen- ing curve: unlike other well-established that simple. Enthusiasts talk as though tal misunderstanding of its character. technological systems, the costs of build- nuclear were a first-order infrastructure, The IAEA has neither the funding, nor ing nuclear power plants escalate over a base for other forms of industrial de- the capacity, nor the authority to make time. As recent proclamations show, velopment. But in order to work at all and enforce rules. It can provide techni- however, the “too cheap to meter” idea – let alone as promised – nuclear power cal assistance and advice, but those are has not lost its rhetorical appeal. depends on the smooth interoperability only the first steps in crafting effective of many other infrastructures. These in- regulation. Since its inception in 1957, Of Dreams and Damages clude electric grids (whose transmission the IAEA’s primary mission has been Of course, seven decades into the lines need to be able to handle the 1000 the promotion of civilian atomic energy. atomic age, even the zealots know they MW reactors that Rosatom and other That’s the mission the agency is fulfilling must acknowledge the dangers of their companies are trying to sell), good roads by conducting Integrated Nuclear In- dreams. After all, the world has seen (to support the transportation of huge frastructure Review (INIR) missions in spectacular reactor accidents in the US pieces of equipment), robust regula- Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria this year. (1979), the Soviet Union (1986), and tion (to manage the complex risks), and In the words of IAEA Director Gen- Japan (2011). The first and smallest of strong maintenance systems, among eral Yukiya Amano, the missions “are these took fourteen years and nearly $1 many others. part of the comprehensive package of billion to clean up. Chernobyl costs are assistance which the IAEA provides to notoriously difficult to evaluate and still Consider regulation. It’s not enough help ensure that even the most challeng- accumulating three decades after the ac- to create an agency and make rules. ing issues in introducing nuclear power cident, but $300 billion (in 1990 dollars) Mounting and running adequate regu- can be successfully dealt with.” INIR is a commonly used figure. According latory infrastructures has proved partic- missions aim less at assessing whether to inflation calculators, that’s equivalent ularly challenging, not the least because a country can sustain a nuclear power to around $550 billion in 2015 – higher the experts best qualified to assess safety programme than at midwifing such pro- than the GDP of Nigeria, Africa’s larg- in nuclear plants are those who have gramme into existence. est economy. (Nigeria figures promi- helped to build and operate them. Even nently among the continent’s nuclear leading nuclear countries such as the Atomic enthusiasts rarely discuss the aspirants, having recently signed a co- US, France, and Japan, with large pools problem of liability. Yet this issue is cen- operation agreement for 4 reactors with of scientific and engineering expertise, tral to all cooperation agreements. For Rosatom.) As for Fukushima, no one re- have a “revolving door” problem, as in- example, South Africa’s agreement with ally knows how much Japanese taxpay- dividuals move back and forth between Russia makes absolutely clear that South ers will end up paying for the cleanup. industry and regulatory jobs. The Fuku- Africa would pay for all damages in the Credible, conservative estimates range shima accident is partly attributable to event of an accident. South African from $100 to $250 billion, and most deliberate regulatory negligence (which media outlets expressed outrage when agree that it will take at least four dec- ades. Lesser-known – but still significant – accidents have occurred in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The UK gets the frequency prize, with at least six ac- Yes, global media often refer to the cidents. agency as the world’s nuclear policeman Nuclear promoters aren’t stupid. They know they have a public relations prob- or regulator, but this betrays a fundamental lem. So they pad their triumphalist techno-talk with reassuring promises: misunderstanding of its character. Parliaments will create regulatory au- thorities. Rules will be written, proce- dures followed, plants licensed, dangers monitored. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will help; some even claim that the IAEA will moni- some just call “corruption”) stemming these terms became public. But such li- tor their reactors. The words of one from this very tension. Effective regu- ability clauses are common. India alone highly placed Kenyan official typify this lation requires complex technological attempted to enforce a law that would approach: “Without being bold, man systems, including instrumentation, hold suppliers responsible for damages could have not landed on the moon. We laboratories, a large pool of trained sci- resulting from defective equipment. must emulate what others have done entists and engineers, and much more. This deterred foreign firms from sub- in the past and the present to be where It’s also expensive. And in order to be mitting reactor tenders. Undermining they are. Kenya would successfully im- credible, it must be state funded. its own law, India has devised a complex plement the nuclear energy by borrow- insurance scheme, designed to pay for ing safety from countries which have As for “stringent global nuclear regu- damages from coffers alimented in part used the energy for decades. We will lations,” let’s be clear: there are none. by premiums paid by operators, and in observe the rules.” Kenya would thus There are only recommendations. Nor part by the Indian state itself. Parallel

43 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN public-private liability arrangements we must also ask what is left out of the today’s atomic enthusiasm – we need a prevail everywhere; no private insurer lineage. broader vision of Africa’s nuclear his- has proved willing to underwrite nucle- tory. ar power plants. The IAEA has facilitat- African places have been involved in the ed international conventions that could global history of nuclear things since the How did uranium lose nuclearity? provide supplementary compensation, early 20th century, when the Shinkolob- Let’s revisit the creation of the IAEA but at best these only kick in after states we mine in Katanga furnished Marie in 1957. Because apartheid South Af- themselves pay very substantial damag- Curie with radium for her experiments. rica was a major supplier of uranium es. One way or the other, governments That same mine provided pitchblende to the British and American weapons can expect to disburse crippling sums in (extremely high-grade uranium) for programmes, it was included as one of the event of an accident. the Hiroshima bomb, and continued the 12 countries involved in designing to supply the US military throughout the agency’s governing statute. One im- Africa’s nuclear history the 1950s. Meanwhile, the post-World portant question involved determining Like so many other techno-future War II atomic frenzy sent geologists to which countries would secure perma- dreams, African atomic enthusiasm South Africa and Rhodesia in search nent seats on the IAEA’s Board of Gov- (whether by Africa’s elites or by the of fuel for the UK’s atomic bomb pro- ernors. This was a technopolitical issue, Asian, American, or European corpo- gramme. France also headed south, which involved taking both technical rations seeking business there) bubbles finding significant uranium deposits “advancement” and political geogra- along by ignoring large parts of the continent’s nuclear history. When enthusiasts do invoke the past, they typically limit themselves to a discussion of research reactors, as though this represents the conti- nent’s only real en- gagement with the nu- clear world. Consider this opening to a 2011 IAEA report, authored by members of the Afri- can Regional Coopera- tive Agreement:

“In 2009, Africa passed a milestone of fifty years of involvement with nu- clear technology, dating from the initial critical- ity of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s TRICO I research re- actor at the University of Kinshasa. Egypt and South Africa soon in Madagascar, Gabon, and Niger. In phy into account. Knowing that inter- followed, signaling a continental com- return for allocating a portion of capi- national opposition to apartheid would mitment to providing researchers, sci- tal to host nations (typically 25-30%), prevent its election to the board by the entists, students and industries all across French-owned companies continued to membership at large, South Africa lob- African access to modern nuclear ana- exploit these mines after independence. bied hard to be appointed as the repre- lytical techniques and capabilities.” Throughout the second half of the 20th sentative from the so-called Africa and century, uranium mines in Africa pro- Middle East region. On the strength of In this framing, Africa’s nuclear history vided fuel for weapons and reactors in its uranium production, South Africa began in 1959, when the Kinshasa reac- North America, Europe, and East Asia. won the seat. tor went critical. Nuclear countries are those with reactors – other technologies For much of their history, however, Barely a decade later, however, ura- don’t count. In addition to the three these mines were not treated as fully nium mines lost their nuclear status. countries mentioned in the quote, this nuclear sites. National regulatory agen- The IAEA’s 1968 safeguards document rendition of African nuclearity includes cies – when they existed at all – did little specifically excluded mines and mills only Algeria, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, to monitor radiation exposure among from the classification of “principal and Nigeria. mineworkers. Indeed, for many decades nuclear facility.” The 1972 safeguards the IAEA itself didn’t treat uranium document further excluded uranium Origin stories often have political util- ore and yellowcake as nuclear materials ore from the category of “source mate- ity. This one aims to bolster arguments whose circulation required monitoring. rial.” International authorities thus did in favor of building power reactors on In order to understand why this was the not consider uranium as nuclear until it the continent. But as with any history, case – and how it matters for assessing became feed for enrichment plants or

44 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN fuel for reactors. macy, rather than subjects of corporate struction of Arlit, the mining town built negotiation. to house company employees. Yet Niger Excepting uranium ore and yellowcake consistently ranks at or near the bottom from the category of nuclear things Inspired by the Organization of Petro- of the United Nations Human Develop- meant that mines and yellowcake plants leum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) 70 ment Index. For over a decade, Nigérien were formally excluded from the Nu- percent increase in the price of crude civil society has probed this paradox, clear Non-Proliferation Treaty’s (NPT) oil in 1973, Diori sought similar lever- elucidating the social, economic, health, safeguards and inspection regimes. Ura- age over the price of uranium. In 1974, and environmental dimensions of ura- nium’s nuclearity plummeted because he tried to emulate OPEC’s model with nium mining. In 2003, Aghir In’Man, a several uranium-producing countries— the help of Gabon, France’s other main local NGO started by an employee of including apartheid South Africa—ac- uranium supplier. Niger’s representa- the Somaïr uranium mine, invited sci- tively lobbied for such an exclusion tives argued that “the content of urani- entists from a French NGO to measure starting in the late 1960s. South Africa, um transcended commercialism.” They radiation levels in Arlit. They found ra- for one, now had other nuclear facilities reasoned that if Niger could contribute dioactive scrap metal in market stalls, and didn’t need mines to qualify as a to the exceptional nuclearity of France, where it was being repurposed for cook- “nuclear” nation. then surely France could make excep- ing pots and washbasins. Contaminated tional contributions to the economic de- water flowed from community taps Denuclearization was driven by the de- velopment of Niger—notably, by pay- throughout town. Water used to protect sire to commodify. Freedom from direct ing a price for uranium that reflected its unpaved roads against high desert winds inspections opened the possibility of political, nuclear significance. left uranium residues. As these findings became public, more NGOs formed, In response, the French delegation including a “publish what you pay” or- sought to denuclearize uranium by in- ganization focused on issues of financial sisting on the banality of the market. transparency and accountability. Throughout the Drawing upon IAEA definitions of what did and didn’t count as a nuclear These observers conclude that obstacles second half of the 20th material—and upon various market de- to building regulatory capacity in Niger vices that uranium mining corporations are compounded by widespread corrup- century, uranium mines and international agencies used to con- tion. For decades, they insist, uranium vert uranium into a sellable commod- revenues flowed primarily into fancy in Africa provided ity—the French insisted that the only buildings in Niamey and private bank possible way to determine the value of accounts of government officials. Under fuel for weapons uranium was to treat it like an ordinary these circumstances, could any Nigérien market commodity. state agency maintain the independence and reactors in North required for credible expertise? Niger’s Trilateral discussions were interrupted Centre national de la radioprotection America, Europe, when Diori was ousted by a military (CNRP), a state regulatory body for ra- coup in April 1974. His successor, Seyni diological hazards, was not established and East Asia. Kountché, went for a different sort of until 1998 — three decades after the market arrangement. Kountché negoti- launch of the first uranium mine. Over ated an agreement that entitled Niger a decade later, one of its officials noted to sell—directly and independently—a ruefully that the CNRP still didn’t pos- treating uranium (in yellowcake form) proportion of yellowcake output equal sess instruments that could measure not as an exceptionally nuclear thing to the percentage of its capital holdings radon levels. Anticipating two such that had to be carefully monitored, but in the mining companies. This in turn detectors to arrive soon, he neverthe- rather as a banal commodity like any freed Niger to develop a customer list less expressed faith in the expertise and other—one that could (in principle) be that included Libya, Iraq, and Pakistan, transparency of radiation protection at bought and sold without government or all of which were willing to pay for the the mines. Needless to say, NGOs in Ar- international oversight. This had direct nuclear value of uranium. lit do not share his confidence that two consequences for the pricing and mar- radon detectors suffice to monitor some keting of African uranium. Those customers dried up in the 1980s, of the world’s largest uranium mines. however, as worldwide prices for ura- The price of non-nuclearity nium began to plummet. Large multi- Niger’s history with uranium is not Consider Niger, currently the world’s national mining companies rode out the unique. When communities in eastern fourth largest uranium producer. When storm by stockpiling yellowcake until Gabon learned about the efforts of the he came to power in 1960, Hamani Di- prices rose. Unable to afford storage Nigérien NGOs, they too solicited help ori, Niger’s first postcolonial president, costs, Niger returned full control over mapping out radioactive contamination sought to maximize the benefits of de- sales and pricing to the French compa- in the region around Mounana, where posits discovered by the French in order nies. Disputes resurge regularly, howev- a French-owned company mined ura- to secure his nation’s sovereignty over its er, as successive Nigérien governments nium from 1957 to 1999. A team of natural resources. Diori got two succes- struggle to obtain higher prices for the scientists, doctors and lawyers went to sive French presidents to acknowledge, country’s yellowcake. Mounana in 2006, where they took in- in writing, the special significance of Yesterday’s modernity dependent environmental readings and uranium-related transactions. This ena- Grand promises of modernity accom- interviewed nearly 500 former mine bled him to discuss uranium revenues panied the launch of uranium extrac- employees about their health and work and prices as matters of state diplo- tion in Niger, especially around the con- experience. Most employees reported

45 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN no formal training on radiation or ra- their high radon levels. It would take place to address the health concerns of don-related risks and no feedback on another forty years for Gabonese citi- mineworkers exposed in the past. And their monthly dosimetric readings. The zens to learn that they’d been served across the Rand, mine tailings — rife Gabonese state had done nothing to yesterday’s modernity. with radioactive rubble and other tox- monitor working conditions or occupa- ins — now serve as home to people tional health. One former medical doc- A brief return to South Africa shows displaced by profitable industrial devel- tor testified that company clinicians had that such issues were not confined to opment. In sum, South Africa has not no training in uranium-related occupa- small countries, or to Francophone ar- dealt adequately with its current nucle- tional health and that the company’s ra- eas. As we saw, the apartheid govern- ar legacy. Nevertheless, its government diation protection division consistently ment initially argued for the nuclearity is eager to create new nuclear futures. refused to transmit dosimetric readings of uranium in order to secure a seat to the medical division. Residents dis- on the IAEA’s governing board. That Why Cling to Yesterday’s Future? played a range of symptoms, but their did not mean, however, that uranium The liability costs for radiation ex- illnesses remained undiagnosed and un- counted as a nuclear material for reg- posure while mining uranium in Ni- treated. ulatory purposes within the country. ger, Gabon, and South Africa are tiny South African uranium occurred in the compared to the damages that would In response to the ensuing public rela- same ore matrix as gold. This made it be incurred even by a moderate reac- tions scandals, Areva – France’s nuclear easy to deny its nuclearity, and indeed tor accident, not to mention one on the parastatal – promised to install “health most of the men who worked the urani- scale of Chernobyl or Fukushima. We observatories” in Gabon and Niger. um-rich shafts – whether black or white can hope that operators have learned Two of the French NGOs involved in – did not know that they were extract- enough that those particular scenarios the 2006 investigations agreed to par- ing radioactive ore. Before 1999, South wouldn’t recur. But it would be a serious ticipate in a joint committee that would African mines implemented no special error to conclude that we can prevent name experts to oversee the observato- protections against radiological haz- any reactor accident. This is because ries, define protocols for data collection, ards, despite numerous studies docu- accident prevention isn’t a matter of analyze results, and make proposals to menting extremely high radon levels in abstract knowledge. At a minimum, it improve the environment at the sites. some shafts. requires interlocking, well-maintained But other NGOs were skeptical that the infrastructures, effective regulation, and agreement would result in prompt, ef- The battle to regulate radiation ex- constant technopolitical vigilance. And fective remediation. Even less promising posure in South African mines lasted even that is unlikely to suffice. Thirty was the fact that no residents or workers for decades, spanning the apartheid years ago, sociologist Charles Perrow were included, a striking oversight given and post-apartheid periods. The min- argued that the social and technologi- how little Nigérien and Gabonese work- ing industry fiercely opposed the very cal complexity of nuclear systems pro- ers trusted the state. principle of classifying any mine shaft duced non-linear interactions that were as a “nuclear” workplace. Drawing on impossible to fully predict or prevent. Indeed, the observatories were a far cry the appearance of good recordkeeping Unfortunately, he has been proven right from the remediation and compensa- offered by apartheid-era systems of in- time and time again. tion demanded by local employees. In flux and labor control, mine operators mid-2011, the doctor in charge of ex- argued that the workforce of black min- African countries have been at the fore- amining former workers in Gabon told ers was so transient that no individual front of mobile technologies, showing a radio producer that she couldn’t reach could have received dangerous levels of that widely distributed communica- any conclusions because she didn’t radon exposure. This occluded the fact tions and financial systems are pos- have national databases—most nota- that many men returned yearly, engag- sible without the crippling investment bly, cancer registries—against which to ing in repeat contracts for periods of 20 and maintenance expenses of national compare the health of former workers. years or more. grids. Why not do the same for energy The families of two French employees technologies? It’s time to focus on inno- who had worked in Niger and Gabon In 1994, the year of South Africa’s ac- vation, not emulation. Investing in dis- have been awarded damages by French cession to democracy, a government tributed wind and solar power systems courts. So far, however, no Africans commission was established to investi- would place African countries at the have received compensation. gate the full range of health and safety forefront of a new energy revolution. hazards in South African mines. It es- Given the availability and lower cost Mounana residents did obtain a modest timated that some 10,000 mineworkers of such options, does Africa really want victory in 2011, when Areva agreed to had radiation exposures above interna- yesterday’s future? demolish 200 houses with extremely el- tionally recommended limits. Mining evated radon levels. At the time of their companies argued that remediation construction in the 1970s, these houses would drive up costs and force shaft *Gabrielle Hecht is professor of History at had served as emblems of a new Gabo- closures, putting tens of thousands out the University of Michigan and director of its nese modernity, complete with electric- of work just as they’d finally obtained Programme in Science, Technology, and So- ity and running water. They’d been political freedoms. Companies lost the ciety. She recently served as associate director built using uranium mine tailings – a argument, and in 1999 the National of UM’s African Studies Center. Her 2012 practice also followed in the US in the Nuclear Regulator gained purview over book, Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global 1950s and 1960s during a construction South Africa mines. Uranium Trade was published jointly by MIT boom in Grand Junction, Colorado. In Press and Wits University Press, and won sev- the 1970s, just as the Mounana houses Nevertheless, problems surrounding the eral awards. She is currently beginning a book were going up, the ones in Grand Junc- transparency of monitoring results arise about technology and power in Africa. tion were being torn down because of repeatedly. There are no mechanisms in

46 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 47 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TOWARDS AN AFRICAN NANOFUTURE A REGULATORY APPROACH Prof. Roger Brownsword, King’s College London

The Vision of an African Nanofuture

ow is the vision for example, in Eu- of an African rope with informa- nanofuture to tion technologies be realised? and data protection While nanotechnologies law. Moreover, if Hare spoken about as being the responsibility for ‘relatively low cost’, there setting the regula- needs to be investment in tory framework is both the underlying sci- left to the scientists ence and the technology and technologists itself, and policymakers themselves, this need to be persuaded may make for bet- that the investment rep- ter connection but resents good value for there are obvious money. In some places, questions about the it will be easy to make legitimacy of the the case. For example, in process and the ac- the Ministerial Foreword countability of the to the UK Nanotechnologies regulators. Strategy: Small Technologies, Great Opportunities (2010), These problems are we read that the govern- compounded where ment is determined ‘‘to there are many dif- develop the nanotech- ferent views about nologies industry while the acceptability of protecting the health of a particular technol- consumers and employ- opment of nanotechnologies proves to be cata- ogy. In Europe, the ees and avoiding damage to the envi- strophic? It is at this point that we need regulatory framework for biotechnolo- ronment.’’ The challenge is to make the to think about creating the right kind of gies has been deeply contested by dif- case for an African nanofuture. regulatory environment for an African ferent value constituencies. On the one nanofuture. side, there has been a strong emphasis If policymakers are persuaded that on the potential health care benefits investment in nanotechnologies is pru- Getting the Regulatory Environ- that should flow from a deeper under- dent, then it is equally important that ment Right standing of human genetics; on the the vision of a nanofuture is also so- Regulators, whether they are operating other side, there has been a concern cially acceptable. New technologies as national lawmakers or as industry that this focus on the potential benefits are invariably ‘disruptive’; and there is standard-setters, face formidable chal- will lead to the compromising of hu- no reason to think that the application lenges as new technologies emerge. In man dignity. Similarly, in relation to of nanotechnologies would not have the early days of the development of GM crops and GM food, while on the disruptive effects—for example, there a technology, it might well be unclear one side there has been an emphasis on might be economic and social impacts whether special regulatory measures the potential benefits together with re- (e.g. some jobs might disappear, but oth- will need to be introduced—and, if so, liance on the science that suggests that ers might be created; some disturbance what those measures should be and who the technologies are safe, on the other, to traditional customs, practices and should have the responsibility for their opponents are nervous about safety and values might occur). introduction. At national legislative express concerns about both the dignity level, the difficulty with rapidly emerg- of humans and the dignity of the envi- Even if these disruptive effects are an- ing technologies is that there is no easy ronment. ticipated, their impact should not be way of keeping the law connected to underrated. Moreover, there might the technology and its applications. Al- A Four-Stage Regulatory Ap- be unanticipated effects. What, some though the law might be expressed in proach might ask, if a swarm of malign nano- ways that fit well with the understand- It is constantly said in relation to nano- bots escapes our control leading to the ing of the technology and its applica- technologies that the mistakes made in kind of scenario depicted in Michael tions at the date of enactment, things relation to biotechnology should not be Crichton’s novel, Prey? What if the devel- can rapidly move on—as we have seen, repeated. Nevertheless, avoiding these

48 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN mistakes is far from straightforward. I report is for investment in public dia- to do so only where (assuming that regu- suggest that an African nanofuture poli- logue, this to be taken forward by both lators get it wrong in deciding whether cy might be taken forward by regulators government and industry (7.6, para 49). or not to run the risk) the ensuing nega- in four inclusive stages. At the first stage, Interestingly, the report also argues for tive outcome is the least unacceptable the task is to make sure that the commu- a more strategic look at new technolo- relative to the interests of regulatees. nity is comfortable with the project, that gies, bringing together ‘representatives there is a social licence that authorises of a wide range of stakeholders to look Ideally, the application of this princi- the research, development, and applica- at new and emerging technologies and ple should be guided by the reasonable tion of nanotechnologies. At the second identify at the earliest possible stage views of the public. In the absence of stage, an appropriate precautionary areas where potential health, safety, en- a clear public steer, a plausible assump- strategy for the initial research and de- vironmental, social, ethical and regula- tion is that, whilst a community might velopment of nanotechnologies needs tory issues may arise and advise on how be willing to forego the benefits of a raft to be put in place; and, moreover, there these might be addressed’ (9.7, para of inessential consumer products (nano- needs to be debate about which lines of 32). There is much good sense in these coated tennis balls, golf clubs, and the development would best serve the public remarks—remarks that find several like), it would be reluctant to forego the interest. At the third stage, there need to echoes in the more recent report from benefits that nanotechnologies promise be appropriate ex ante regulatory meas- the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on to generate in such areas as health care ures that determine whether nanoprod- Emerging Biotechnologies: Technology, and environmental improvement. For, ucts, nanomedical devices, and so on, Choice and the Public Good (2012)—and relative to the needs of agents, products are put into circulation; and there need they might offer some helpful pointers of the latter kind are a higher priority. to be ex post monitoring and compen- for structuring the first stage towards an This suggests a spectrum of agent needs satory measures. Finally, the regulatory African nanofuture. with, at one pole, those needs that are scheme of incentives, including patent essential for basic human flourishing law, will need to be fine-tuned so that Initial Precaution and, at the other, those needs that are the regulatory environment supports At the second stage, the regulators need inessential. and encourages those nanotechnolo- to put in place a precautionary approach gies that are most urgently required. We to the initial research and development With regard to products that lie at or can say a little more about each of these of nanotechnologies. Famously, Princi- near the essential end of the spectrum four stages. ple 15 of the Rio Declaration provides: of agent needs, the priority is to encour- ‘Where there are threats of serious or ir- age research and development together Informing, Educating and Debat- reversible damage, lack of full scientific with a responsible approach by produc- ing certainty should not be used as a reason ers so that knowledge as to the type, The first stage is one of informing, edu- for postponing such [precautionary] scale and extent of possible hazards and cating, and debating nanotechnologies. measures.’ Of course, where the un- risks is made known. As for products Although nanotechnologies have been derlying science is well understood and that lie at or near the inessential end of current for some time and although where there are reliable risk assessments the spectrum of agent needs, members there are many nanoproducts in cir- of the particular technologies, there is of the community would want to know culation—for example, in clothes and no need for Africa to reinvent the wheel. which kind of interests are at risk. If sports equipment, in cosmetics and However, where there are new lines of such products might represent a threat surgical dressings—this is still a technol- proposed research and development, to life, regulators should consider ap- ogy that has a relatively low profile. It precaution is required—and, it needs to plying a prohibition; but, where the risk cannot be assumed that everyone will be borne in mind, that some critics will that is believed to be associated with a be familiar with the language of na- argue not simply that the costs of invest- product is less serious, regulators might notechnologies—with nanoparticles, ing in nanotechnologies will exceed the take a more relaxed approach. Judg- nanofibers, nanotubes, Buckyballs, and benefits but that, because of the uncer- ments of precaution cannot be coher- the nanoscale itself—let alone have a tainties surrounding the technology, the ently acted on in isolation; comparative view about whether their development risks might prove to be catastrophic. judgments of proportionality also need and application would be a good thing. to be made. In the United Kingdom, a first step in In the face of this, it seems reasonable public information was taken in a well- to insist that regulators should strive It bears emphasising that scientific and known report in 2004 from the Royal to maintain a responsible and rational technical experts hold no special brief Society and the Royal Academy of En- approach. However, precautionary ap- to speak for the priorities and prefer- gineering, Nanoscience and Nanotech- proaches are frequently accused of be- ences of their communities. As a report nologies: Opportunities and Uncertain- ing irrational because they focus in a prepared for the Washington-based ties. one-eyed way on the need to avoid a Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies particular set of adverse consequences puts it, the public needs to be engaged This was a good starting point but, as at the expense of ignoring the adverse in two capacities: first, as citizens, mem- the report makes clear, public engage- consequences of making a precaution- bers of the public are stakeholders in as- ment on the possible use of the technol- ary intervention (See, e.g., Cass R. Sun- sessing the larger social and ethical risks ogy has a long way to go. Even in the stein, Laws of Fear, Cambridge University associated with nanotechnology; and, UK, the authors of the report found Press, 2005) Clearly, it is irrational to as- secondly, as potential consumers of na- that ‘awareness of nanotechnologies is sess the options in such a one-sided way; notechnology products, members of the currently low’ (7.2.3, para 19); and it that simply will not do. However, where public need to be able to make informed follows that any assessment of public at- there is no way of knowing what the choices (J. Clarence Davies, Managing the titudes is problematic. Accordingly, one risks are, it seems prudent to proceed in Effects of Nanotechnology). of the recommendations made in the small steps (as with contained use) and

49 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Regulating Circulation and Use for the trial. Where clearance is given This takes us to the third stage: the con- for a trial, there remain a number of Possibly, we can find more satisfactory ditions on which nanoproducts and na- detailed questions about the terms on initiatives outside the patent regime. A nodevices should be cleared for circula- which the trial is conducted. Even if number of imaginative ideas are in cir- tion in the consumer marketplace or in we assume that participation must be culation—put forward by, amongst oth- health care. Here, we should distinguish voluntary and on an informed consent ers, Thomas Pogge and James Love— between ex ante and ex post provision. basis, this leaves open questions about including proposals for a Health Impact Ex ante, regulators seek to ensure that the scope and nature of liability to par- Fund (HIF), patent pools, prizes, and consumer products and medical pro- ticipants if there are adverse incidents. a Medical Research and Development cedures are reasonably safe; ex post, For example, does it matter whether Treaty. The difficulties associated with they seek to ensure that consumers and the particular nanomedicine is a high these proposals should not be under- patients who are injured by dangerous or a low priority? What if participants estimated. Even so, if nation states are products or procedures are fairly com- are paid for their participation? Where to honour their human rights commit- pensated; and, in an ideal world, they a nanomedicine goes through the trial ments, the obvious thing is for them try to bring together ex ante and ex post stage successfully, it will be presented for to become more proactive and more provision in a coherent scheme of pro- a further round of regulatory clearance, focused by continuing to fund public tective and corrective regulation. How- this time for application in clinical prac- sector research and development as well ever, even in highly developed regulato- tice. Where regulatory clearance is giv- as the mechanisms for transferring the ry regimes, novel nanotechnologies are en, we can expect that these novel na- benefits to those who are most needy. likely to expose a number of weaknesses nomedicines will not be administered to in existing provision as a result of which patients except on an informed consent Conclusion some fine-tuning and clarification of basis. However, this again leaves many In the news recently, we read that re- the regulation will be necessary. issues of regulatory detail to be settled searchers have discovered that, if car- in particular, concerning the scope and bon nanoballs are added to the insula- (See Albert C. Lin, “Size Matters: Regulating nature of ex post liability. tion plastic used in high-voltage cables, Nanotechnology” (2007) 31 Harvard En- this could result in enormous efficiency vironmental Law Review 349, at 361-374 Incentivisation gains in the power grids of the future; (for the view that US regulatory provisions are Finally, there is the fourth regula- that, by using palladium nanoparticles inadequate); and, generally, Trudy A Phelps, tory stage, that of targeted incentivisa- as a catalyst, harmful nitrate can be re- “The European Approach to Nanoregulation” tion, particularly (but not exclusively) moved from drinking water; and that a in Nigel M de S Cameron and M Ellen Mitch- through the patent regime. On the face chip with nanowires coated with anti- ell (eds), Nanoscale (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, of it, patent law is well intended. How- bodies can be used to extract and ana- 2007) 189.). ever, in practice, patents attract mixed lyse cancerous cells. Developments of reviews. While some defend patents, this kind might well play some part in One policy question is whether nano- arguing that without the monopoly in- an African nanofuture. products should be subjected to some ex centive and protection against infringe- ante regulatory review, or whether they ment there would be significantly less should be simply allowed to circulate investment in innovation, others accuse subject to whatever ex post regulatory patents of denying millions of people in *Prof Roger Brownsword is Professor of Law provision (in contract law, tort law and the developing world access to essential at King’s College London, where he was the product liability law) there is. In most drugs. To this, we can add the familiar founding director of TELOS (a research cen- communities, the default rule will be problems of patent clusters and thick- tre that focuses on technology, ethics, law and that prevention of injury is to be pre- ets, not to mention the activities of pat- society), an honorary professor at the University ferred to compensation for injury; and ent ‘trolls’, all distorting the operation of Sheffield, and a visiting professor at Singa- the logic of this is that ex ante regula- of the intended scheme of incentives. pore Management University. He has published tory controls should be applied to nano- Standing back from these details, the more than a dozen books, including (in the area products. Without the requisite regula- overarching principles are clear. Ac- of regulation and technology) Rights, Regula- tory clearance, nanoproducts should cording to Article 27 of the Universal tion and the Technological Revolution (OUP, not go to market; and, once they are Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): 2008), Regulating Technologies (Hart, 2008) in circulation, there need to be robust (1) Everyone has the right freely to par- (co-edited with Karen Yeung), and Law and the compensation and insurance schemes in ticipate in the cultural life of the com- Technologies of the Twenty-First Century (co- place where products prove to be dan- munity, to enjoy the arts and to share in authored with Morag Goodwin) (CUP, 2012); gerous. scientific advancement and its benefits. and he has more than 200 papers in edited col- (2) Everyone has the right to the protec- lections and law reviews. He is the founding The ex-ante regulatory review track tion of the moral and material interests general editor of the leading European journal, for nanomedicines and nanomedical resulting from any scientific, literary or Law, Innovation and Technology. Professor devices is likely to be more complex. artistic production of which he is the Brownsword has acted as a specialist adviser First, there is the basic research to be author. to parliamentary committees dealing with stem undertaken; secondly, the new nano- cells and hybrid embryos. From 2004-2010, medicines and devices need to be tri- But, how are we to do justice to both he was a member of the Nuffield Council alled in humans; and, thirdly, there limbs of Article 27? With the best regu- on Bioethics; and, currently, he is Chair of needs to be formal approval for clinical latory will, how can the interests of in- the Ethics and Governance Council of UK application. Where researchers have novators be protected (as human rights) Biobank. a nanomedicine that they think might when the benefits of inventions are to be effective and sufficiently safe to try be shared (also as a matter of human in humans, they would need approval rights)?

50 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR WATER TREATMENT IN AFRICA J Catherine Ngila*, Adedeji Adelodun, Richard Nthumbi and Vyom Parashar University of Johannesburg

Today, almost one-fifth of the world’s population lack access to safe drinking water. Although about 71% of the earth is covered by water, 97% of this is salty sea water which is unsuitable for drinking.

nly 3% is fresh water, the launched the water supply and sanita- more affected by lack of access to safe bulk of which is distrib- tion decade of 1981–1990; the UN drinking water compared to urban resi- uted in icecaps and glaciers Declaration on the Millenium Devel- dents. (79%) and as groundwater opment Goals (MDGs) and the World (20%), leaving a mere 0.03% as the Summit for Sustainable Development Many women in sub-Sahara Africa still Oonly readily accessible water for domes- held in Johannesburg in 2002. Most walk long distances to fetch water for tic and agricultural use. Each year, the recently, the UN General Assembly de- domestic consumption. number of people dying from water- clared the period from 2005 to 2015 as related diseases is more than 5 million, the International Decade for Action, In most African countries, waterborne globally. Access to clean water has been Water for Life. diseases are common in communities singled out as the most important global where access to potable water is low. crisis of the 21st century by the World Access to safe drinking-water is essential Traditional methods of water filtration Health Organization (WHO), United to health. It is also a basic human right. are not always effective. With the aid of Nations International Children Educa- It has been shown that investments in local heating systems such as firewood, tion Fund (UNICEF) and the United water supply and sanitation can yield coal and charcoal, the boiling method Nations (UN). net economic benefits, since the reduc- is popularly believed to be the most ef- tions in adverse health effects and health ficient, arguably yielding total decon- Annually, more than one billion peo- care costs outweigh the costs of invest- tamination after a few minutes of con- ple depend on the use of potentially ments in water infrastructure. This is tinuous boiling. harmful sources of water for domestic true for major water supply infrastruc- purposes. The importance of water, ture, as well as for water treatment sys- What is Nanotechnology? sanitation and hygiene for both health tems in the homes. Improvements in ac- Nanotechnology is the manipulation and development has been reflected cess to safe water also tend to favour the of matter on an atomic, molecular, and in the outcomes of a series of interna- very poor, meaning that these type of supramolecular scale. It is a science, tional policy documents. These include investment can be an effective strategy engineering or technology conducted the International Conference on Pri- for poverty alleviation. at the nanoscale, which is about 1 -100 mary Health Care, held in Alma-Ata, nanometers. Nanotechnology refers Kazakhstan (former Soviet Union), in Traditional Methods of Water Pu- to a broad range of tools, techniques 1978; the 1977 World Water Confer- rification in Africa and applications that involve materi- ence in Mar del Plata, Argentina, which In Africa, rural communities are often als of infinitesimal sizes used either for

51 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN biological, chemical or engineering and ter in Africa? Nanosensors, such as those based on physical applications. Nanotechnology titanium oxide nanowires or palladium centers on the design, characterization, Desalination of Sea Water by Nanofiltration nanoparticles are used for analytical de- production and application of materi- and Reverse Osmosis in Florida, USA tection of contaminants in water sam- als, devices and systems by controlling ples. Efficiency, durability and cost are shape and size on the approximate scale the three key factors that influence the ranging from a few to hundreds of na- design of many of these technologies. nometres in diameter (1-100 nm where, 1 nm = 10 Ǻ or 10-9 m). Nanomaterials for water filtration: (a)

Nanomaterials come in form of parti- cles, sheets or wires that have nanosize in at least one dimension. They have some unique physicochemical and sur- face properties that lend themselves to novel uses. This is mainly due to the Nanotechnology in use: showing Four large surface area to mass ratio. The - stage nano-filtration membrane units. large surface area enables effective in- Delivering high-quality water for Dania teraction of components. Examples of Beach, Florida, USA, to meet stringent these interactions include adsorption, disinfectant by-product (DBP) rules. catalysis and pore behaviour. The city of Florida partnered with CDM Smith Company on a new treat- electrospinning setup to produce na- New Technologies for Water Treat- ment process-based expansion. The nofibers using cellulose acetate CA, ment new designed nanofiltration & reverse biopolymers; (b) Packed nanofibers in With the advent of nanotechnology and osmosis plant expected to accommo- water filtration cartridges. its potential applications in water purifi- date at least 20 to 30 years of growth cation, scarcity of safe drinking water in and development. African countries can Types of Water Pollutants Africa could still be a thing of the past. borrow a leaf from Florida USA nano- The three main categories of water Treatment of high volumes of waste- filtration systems contaminants are heavy metals, per- water containing low concentrations sistent organic pollutants, and micro- of pollutants is becoming increasingly Nanotechnology for Water Purifi- organisms. Heavy metals include: lead important as discharge regulations are cation (Pb), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), cad- now more stringent. Most of the past New approaches are continually being mium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and efforts have focused on the removal of examined to supplement traditional chromium (Cr). Persistent organic pol- higher concentrations of pollutants by water purification methods. Nano-en- lutants (POPs) include halogenated sol- employing the more traditional and yet abled technologies are being intensely vents, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), expensive adsorbent/ion-exchange ma- explored to play a significant role in trichloroethene (TCE), trichlorinated terials. water treatment as more attention is be- biphenyl (TCB), dichlorodiphenyl- ing given to the development of filters trichloroethane (DDT) and their me- and media that can take advantage of tabolites. Common microorganism in- the the properties of nano-materials to clude bacteria such as Escherichia coli remove contaminants from water. Wa- (E. coli) and Vibrio cholera (V. cholera). ter purification using nanotechnology exploits nanoscopic materials such as Heavy metals pollution is arguably the carbon nanotubes, electrospun cellulose most researched aspect of water pollu- and chitosan and alumina nanofibers tion from a chemical perspective. The for nanofiltration of water. The water control of heavy metals using floccu- purification technology also utilizes the lation, ion exchange, precipitation or existence of nanoscopic pores in zeolite reverse osmosis have proven expensive. Figure1: filtration membranes, as well as nano- Disposal of the resulting sludge adds to Can we use nanotechnology to treat wa- catalysts and magnetic nanoparticles. environmental degradation. Efficient

52 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN and inexpensive materials for the re- uniform sized pores and more reactive polluted waters. moval of toxic metal ions is a growing membranes. The filters and membranes area of research. Filtration materials (see below) are made from a variety of Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can remove in the nanoscale dimension have been nanomaterials including carbon na- almost all kinds of water contaminants shown to be more effective than macro- notubes (CNTs), nanoporous ceramics including turbidity, oil, bacteria, viruses dimension materials. Membrane filtra- (clays), dendrimers, zeolites, nanofibres and organic contaminants. Although tion has shown promise. and nanosponges. Multi–use filtration their pores are significantly smaller, systems could be developed to detect, CNTs have been shown to have an Membrane filtration for water pu- separate out, and/or detoxify a contam- equal or a faster flow rate as compared rification inant. It is anticipated that in the near to larger pores, possibly because of the Water purification by physical separa- future, such membranes and filters will smooth interior of the nanotubes. Com- tion with the aid of membranes and fil- become commonplace in detecting and paratively, nanofibrous alumina filters ters are the most explored. Membranes removing viruses from water. and other nanofiber materials also- re or filters act as a physical barrier and move negatively charged contaminants selectively reject substances bigger than Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) such as viruses, bacteria, and organic their pores, and so remove harmful pol- Membrane filters and inorganic colloids at a faster rate lutants and retain useful nutrients pre- Nanofiltration membranes made from than conventional filters. While the sent in water. CNTs and cellulose acetate biopoly- current generation of nanofilters may mers are capable of removing water be relatively simple, it is believed that Membrane filters can be divided into pollutants such as metals, organic com- future generations of nanotechnology- two general categories: pounds and microorganisms. based water treatment devices will capi- a)Permeable (micro-filtration and ultra- talize on the properties of these new filtration) nanoscale materials. b)Semi-permeable (nano-filtration and reverse osmosis).

Microfiltration and ultrafiltration pro- cesses are applied when the purpose is to eliminate suspended solid particles whilst nano-filtration and reverse osmo- sis (RO) are processes used to eliminate salts dissolved in water. The impurities that nanotechnology can tackle depend Biopolymer and synthetic poly- on the stage of purification of water to mer membranes filters which the technique is applied. It can Cellulose as one of the most abundant also be used for removal of sediments, biopolymers has been investigated for The process involved in developing chemical effluents, charged particles, use in removal of water pollutants by nanofiltration membranes; (a) chemi- bacteria and other pathogens. Apart utilizing the hydroxyl groups on its sur- cal reaction to produce a polymer; (b) from toxic trace elements, viscous (oily) face. Its performance can be increased impurities can also be separated from by adding functional groups which have water, during purification using nano- a higher complexing capacity. Cellulose technology. nanofibers, produced by electrospin- ning and deacetylation of cellulose Currently, many water treatments in- acetate provide an adsorbent material clude micro– and nanoscale processes, which has a high surface area and high but are not considered as nanotechnol- pore density. For example the cyclodex- ogy as they are produced convention- trin polymers have cavities that capture ally. When produced via nanotechnol- pollutants (see below). When grafted ogy–driven approaches, all aspects with functional groups, the materials of the membrane can be refined and show improved capacity for removal of optimised to include smaller and more heavy metals from waste streams and

53 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN shapes of a polymer with cavities capable of scavenging pollutants; Nanotoxicity Concerns

(c) electrospinning the polymers to produce nanofibers.

Apart from membranes and filters, other nano-engineered materials useful for water purification in- clude (i) nanocatalysts and mag- netic nanoparticles, and (ii) na- nosensors for detecting pollutants in water. There are genuine toxicity concerns with Nanocatalysts are particles with catalytic regards to nanotechnology. Notwithstand- properties that can chemically break down ing its potential applications highlighted POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) and above, like all technologies, nanotechnol- render them harmless. Nanocatalysts have ogy comes with potential risks and uncer- the potential to treat contaminants at very tainties. For example, some researchers low levels, especially where current treat- have found that the level of risks associ- ment techniques are ineffective or very ated with nanomaterials could be higher expensive. Magnetic nanoparticles have relative to those associated with its macro- large surface areas relative to their mass scale counterparts. This is because the and easily bind with chemicals. Their abil- surface area to volume ratio of nanopar- ity to bind with contaminants, such as ar- ticles make them more reactive than the senic or oil, which can be easily removed bulk materials. using magnetic nanoparticles, make nano- materials an appealing solution for water Nanotoxicology- focuses on environmen- treatment. tal exposure, hazard, and risk of applied nanostructured materials. Nanocatalysts for removing pollut- ants in water Water purification based on nanotechnol- Nanotechnology is being used to develop ogy has not yet led to any human health small and potable sensors with enhanced or environmental problems but some re- capabilities for detecting biological and search suggests that further studies into chemical contaminants at very low con- the biological interactions of nanoparti- centration levels in water bodies. The cles should be carried out. For instance, development of low–cost potable na- it has been that fullerenes were found in nosensors has provided minute yet highly the brain of rats after prolonged exposure. efficient detectors for monitoring changes Likewise carbon nanotubes were found to in water quality. This provides real time accumulate in vital organs in fish after information which enables scientists and exposure. Because of lack of adequate civil engineers to accurately administer and authoritative toxicity effects based on required water treatment solutions. prolonged exposure findings, there is need to tread with caution and carry out more Nanosensors for detecting pollutants in research to address these safety concerns. water Summary and Future Outlook Clean water is essential to human health and is a critical feedstock in a variety of key industries. Nano- materials have a number of key physicochemical properties that make them particularly attractive as sorbents for water purification. Generally, nanoparticles have rela- tively large surface areas than bulk particles. Nanomaterials provide unprecedented opportunities to develop more efficient water-pu- rification catalysts and redox active me- dia due to their large surface areas and sizes, shape-dependent optical, electronic and catalytic properties. Nanomaterials are also being used to develop chlorine- free biocides through functionalization with chemical groups that selectively tar-

54 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN get key biochemical constituents of waterborne bacteria and viruses. Nanomaterials can be

Figure 12: Nanofibers packed in cartridges as water puri- fication units can be used by rural communities to deliver high quality water.

Nanotechnology is the next big thing in the technological revolution. Africa should seek to harness applications of this technology to address some of its development chal- lenges, including but not limited to water security. In this respect, the continent should invest in world class research centres and centres of excellence in nanotechnology re- grafted with various chemical groups to increase search, equipped with state-of-the art labs, equipment and their affinity toward a given substance. They can infrastructure. also serve as high capacity/ selectivity and recy- clable ligands for toxic metal ions, radionuclides, organic and inorganic solutes/anions in aqueous Further reading solutions. A.S Daar, F. Salamanca-Buentello, P.A Singer (2005). Har- nessing Nanotechnology to Improve Global Equity. Issues in Sci- In the near future, we anticipate that nanomateri- ence and Technology. Volume XXI (4). http://issues.org/21-4/ als will help solve challenging water purification singer/ problems including: (i) desalination of brackish Climate Environmental Society: Conférence “Water Scarcity in Af- water; (ii) recovery of valuable and toxic metal rica: Issues and Challenges, Paris, France 3 October 2012. ions from membrane concentrates thereby fa- F. Valli, K. Tijoriwala, A. Mahapatra (2010). Nanotechnology cilitating brine disposal; (iii) development of for water purification. International Journal of Nuclear Desalina- chlorine-free biocides; and (iv) the purification of tion 4 (1), 49-57. water contaminated by toxic pollutants such as M.T. Amin, A.A. Alazba, U. Manzoor (2014). A review of re- perchlorate, pharmaceuticals, chiral compounds moval of pollutants from water/waste water using different types and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). We of nanomaterials. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering. envision that nanomaterials will become critical DOI: 10.1155/2014/825910. elements in industrial and public water purifica- N Musee (2011) Nanowastes and the environment: Potential tion systems. We anticipate that the rural com- new waste management paradigm. Environment International 37 munities will have access to low cost cartridges 112–128. to purify water for domestic consumption. The N. Savage and M.S. Diallo (2005). Nanomaterials and water development of smart membranes with biofilm- purification: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Nanoparti- resistant surfaces and embedded sensors/actua- cle Research 7, 331-342. tors that can automatically adjust membrane per- ScienceDaily (2010). Nanotechnology for water purification. Sci- formance and selectivity by the year 2020, is a key ence News. Inderscience Publishers, http://www.sciencedaily. long-term goal of the Desalination and Water Pu- com/releases/2010/07/100728111711.htm rification Roadmap prepared by the US Bureau World Health Organization (2004). Guidelines for drinking- of Reclamation and Sandia National Laborato- water quality. 3rd Edition. Vol.1. Recommendations. ries. We anticipate that nanomaterials will be key components of these technologies. *Prof Catherine Ngila is currently the Head of Applied Chemistry Department at the University of Johannesburg. Her analytical/ The development of visible light-activated titania environmental research work focuses on water pollution monitoring, (TiO2) nanoparticles could have a significant im- developing analytical methodologies for detecting metal pollutants pact on water supplies. Furthermore, silver oxide and other chemical substances including their speciation analysis, (Ag2O) has great potential to degrade bacteria in water. She is currently investigating nanocomposite electrospun and other microorganisms in water. The con- fiber sorbents and nanocomposite membranes for removal of pol- trolled release of titania nanoparticles into surface lutants in contaminated drinking water and wastewater effluents. waters exposed to sunlight, could significantly re- Prof Ngila is a member of various chemical societies including: duce organic carbon load through oxidative pho- American Chemical society Royal Society of Chemistry, South Af- tochemical degradation. rica Chemical Institute and Kenya Chemical Society.

55 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 56 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 57 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN BIG DATA AND THE RISE OF AFRICAN CONSUMERISM Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais Founder, African Innovation Foundation and the Innovation Prize for Africa.

Africa’s economic potential should be great news for every stakeholder, particularly its historically disenfranchised people. Indeed, the high level of investment and subsequent job creation has giv- en rise to a new generation of African consumers with more spending power than ever before.

his presents the tantalizing pros- marketing and research agency, Youth Dyna- pect of a robust, healthy, virtuous mix, claims that 39% of Kenyan youths as- cycle of domestic growth and a pire to own an iPhone and 32% a Blackberry; healthy local supply chain. As do- indicating a thirst for international brands. mestic and regional consumption And, like their western counterparts, young grows, so too is interest from international re- Africans are buying on-line. Ttailers – and where retailers go, so too do ana- Africa’s virtual footprint is rising steadily lytics. The rise of ‘big data’ as a marketing and business development tool remains con- Current statistics show that only 1% of all troversial in the West – so what will happen retail sales in Africa are online, compared in such virgin territory as Africa? How will to around 14% in the UK (Ernst & Young, African governments and citizens respond to November 2014) – but year-on-year growth their data being mined? How will the grow- is high and set to grow exponentially. Accord- ing hunger for material goods affect the con- ing to the latest MasterCard Worldwide On- tinent’s rich cultural identity? line Shopping Survey, internet access grew by The scale of change itself is staggering. Re- 3600% from 2000 – 2012. In Q2 of 2014, search and analysis is being conducted by the continent had 297,885,898 internet us- many parties in order to make sense of what ers (Internetworldstats.com). This represents is happening to the African consumer. A re- 26.5% of the total population. In Nigeria cent report by McKinsey’s Africa Consumer 70.3 million people use the internet, roughly Insights Center entitled ‘The rise of the Afri- 40 per cent of the population, with Egypt can Consumer’ illustrates the dramatic speed and South Africa with 46.2 and 24.0 million of growth: between 2000 and 2010, Africa’s users respectively. Other African countries in private consumption grew by $568 billion. the top ten are Kenya, Morocco, Madagas- The impact of this surge in spending has car, Malawi, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania. been outlined in a recent article in The Afri- can Executive magazine, which suggests that The growth in internet access in Africa is 90,000 small locally owned shops in Kenya creating ever-more space for online retail, have been replaced by around 230 supermar- providing more ways for more consumerism kets. It seems that – perhaps unsurprisingly to reach more people. This phenomenon is - multinational retailers are flocking to the already taking hold: one of the region’s larg- continent; building mega-malls and driving est online retailers, Jumia, has exploded on to prices of big, aspirational brands ever-lower. the market in only eighteen months. It now A piece of research carried out by the African stocks 100,000 separate items at its main

58 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN $568BILLION BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010, AFRICA’S PRIVATE CONSUMPTION GREW BY $568 BILLION THIS TREND IS SLOWLY DISPLACING

Source: McKinsey - The rise of the African Consumer’ LOCAL MSMES AND INCREASING YOUTH DEMAND FOR INTERNATIONAL BRANDS

EXAMPLE OF IMPACT IN KENYA 90,000 39% 32% SMALL LOCALLY OWNED SHOPS OF KENYAN YOUTHS OF KENYAN YOUTHS HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY AROUND ASPIRE TO OWN AN ASPIRE TO OWN AN 230 SUPERMARKETS IPHONE BLACKBERRY

Source: The African Executive Source: Youth Dynamix

AFRICAN CONSUMERS ARE STARTING TO AT PRESENT ONLY 1% OF ALL RETAIL SALES IN AFRICA ARE ONLINE BUT YEARONYEAR GROWTH IS SHOP ONLINE HIGH AND SET TO GROW EXPONENTIALLY Source: Ernst & Young

AFRICA TOP 10 INTERNET COUNTRIES 2014 Q2

NIGERIA 70.3 AFRICA’S EGYPT 46.2

VIRTUAL SOUTH AFRICA 24.9 FOOTPRINT KENYA 21.3 IS GETTING STRONGER MOROCCO 20.2

MADAGASCAR 17.3

THIS LEADS TO MALAWI 12.2 INCREASED EXPOSURE MALI 11.9 TO DATA MINING BY PROFITDRIVEN SUDAN 9.3 MULTINATIONALS TANZANIA 7.6 MILLIONS OF USERS 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Source: Internet World Stats - www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm 297,885,898 Internet users in Africa estimated for June 30, 2014 Copyright © 2014, Miniwatts Marketing Group

INCREASED EXPOSURE TO DATA MINING CALLS FOR MEASURES TO PROTECT THE AFRICAN CONSUMER

INFORMED PROTECTION OF INCREASED CONSUMERISM CULTURAL IDENTITY REGULATION FOR ETHICAL DATA MINING

© Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais 59 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN www.jeanclaudebastosdemorais.com warehouse, boasts seven others and has selling to customers. They are already manufacturing industries. Several dec- a delivery fleet of over 200 vehicles. gaining a much clearer understanding ades of globalization in the west have of what we look at and why; where we led to a resurgence of buying locally These two ingredients – online shop- are travelling and what our budget is because those countries – the UK for ping and mass online activity – not for a hotel or car rental; what interests example – have seen their home-grown only present Africa with the challenge we have from the books we read to the industries fall victim to cheaper goods of adapting to a western-style con- shoes we wear and movies we go to see. from abroad. It is now a badge of pride sumerism but it presents them with These data processing systems bring to- to ‘buy British’. African citizens have the new issue of privacy. Whether it is gether vast quantities of data, forming an opportunity to leapfrog domestic online shopping, using social media or algorithms that allow companies to un- decline by making informed choices. browsing the internet; Africans are now derstand us intimately. Africans have the ability to learn from equally as vulnerable to big data as the the mistakes of the West and arm them- rest of the world. African policymak- selves with the knowledge that big ers and citizens need to examine and data may be leading them towards understand what big data is and what economic decline. it is being used for. At the very least, understanding the issue enables gov- Africa is perhaps even more vulner- ernments and citizens to start to make able than western nations. Many decisions about how they navigate cy- African countries do not have strong berspace. Education has to be at the manufacturing industries – but it so heart of it. Big data is manna desperately needs them. Africa so keenly needs to nurture domestic in- The Importance of Informed from heaven for novation. The retail boom presents Consumerism three main problems: firstly, an influx For several years western countries multinationals of international retailers threatens and citizens have debated the pros to wipe out small local traders who and cons of data-mining. Human and, as virgin cannot compete on cost. Secondly, rights activists hold governments and the purchasing of non-African goods big business to account, lobbying for retail territory, could diminish the local supply regulatory protection. Public aware- chain, causing job losses and a con- ness campaigns and media coverage Africa is there for traction in the countries productiv- have made people more aware that ity – not to mention a decline in lo- they can control how their online life the taking. cal manufacturing and an increasing is tracked by disabling cookies or using reliance on imports. Thirdly, online VPNs. For those that care, there are activity gives rise to even more big ways to control who is watching us. In data, persuading African consumers Africa, where the internet revolution to purchase even more international is playing catch up, policymakers also brands. This may create an ever in- need to get up to speed and work hard creasing cycle of blind consumption to make consumers aware that every of global brands to the detriment of page they click, every item they search Big data is manna from heaven for local business. And for Africa, such a for online and every page visited on Fa- multinationals and, as virgin retail ter- scenario could be disastrous. cebook will have direct repercussions on ritory, Africa is there for the taking. The their future online presence. They also danger is that African populations may The cultural dimension is also under need to understand how big data dif- be too caught up in the excitement of threat from the consumer boom and fers from conventional data capture and their retail revolution to notice – or un- big data. Africa is already being flooded what this means for society. derstand – how their data is being used. with aspirational brands and the new Informed consumerism, which includes generation is hungry for technology and Big data itself is a term that most lay- understanding the prevalence of data western goods. If Africa continues to men in any part of the world won’t un- mining, can help African consumers move in the same direction as the ma- derstand. However it is a development hold on to their cultural identity and ture economies, they face the prospect that is already revolutionizing the way avoid outsiders dictating how African of building towns and cities that be- companies target and speak to new and consumers should shop, dine and travel. gin to resemble the high-streets of the existing customers. Big data analyt- Western world – streets lined with the ics is exciting for businesses because it Crucially, it will also help Africans to same fast food outlets, cheap clothes enables them to handle vast volumes of make their own decisions about wheth- and retailers that have spread around data that was previously too random to er to buy African or not – rather than the world taking market share, shutting make sense of. It means that they can blindly chase international brands to down local retailers and changing the form a much more nuanced way of the possible detriment of their own cultural landscape. What follows next

60 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN can be seen in the extraordinary to lend. This is one area where big retail boom in the Middle East. In data can help; to support lend- It is here that Africa has the op- Dubai, Western brands dominate. ers and empower borrowers with portunity to do things differently. Malls and streets are packed full of the ability to manage their credit Governments have an opportunity designer clothing outlets, luxury scores. Western consumers know to embrace big data where it helps watches, jewelry, luxury car sales- that every time they search for a and regulate against it when it rooms or franchised food outlets. loan they are being watched and doesn’t. African governments also What we have seen in the Middle every time they apply for credit it need to educate their citizens so East should act as a stark warn- has an impact on their personal that they each have the ability to ing to Africa – certain parts of the credit score. This helps consumers manage their own online behav- Middle East are playgrounds for to make wiser borrowing decisions ior. It is a difficult balance. Africa

the wealthy who chase material and protects capital markets. needs to continue to attract FDI goods. And it is no coincidence and that means allowing multina- that the Middle East also has the Big data can also help in the area tional brands to access the market; highest rates of obesity and diabe- of healthcare in Africa. If policy- but this means that policymakers tes in the world. makers can work with the private have a special responsibility to health sector, there is the potential protect African firms, aggressively Big data can work for Africa for both parties to make sense of support and help growing Afri- There are however, potential ben- illness and track healthcare be- can companies and create public efits from the big data story. The haviors and decisions. Such data awareness campaigns that cel- financial services industry, for ex- could help the government to ebrate African culture and African ample, continues to underserve identify needs in certain geogra- traditions. It would be very sad in- the continent because of poor phies or quickly identify outbreaks deed if the price of economic suc- data handling. The continent’s na- of disease. Governments can also cess in Africa were to become its tions have varying degrees of ef- use big data to see where there cultural identity – and the whole- ficacy in credit scoring; there is no may be high demand for agricul- sale mining of its citizen’s data for regional credit system and lending tural products, enabling it to steer capitalist gain. to small and medium sized busi- investment funds towards those nesses is hampered by a reluctance areas.

61 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN KCB offers Leadership in Mobile money ecosystem

Innovations continue to take centre stage in the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) How will I withdraw from the account? banking industry, with customers being spoiled for What is KCB MPESA Account? choice. Thanks to ICT, the latest wave is in the form Customers can only make withdrawals from KCB of KCB M-Pesa, a partnership between Safaricom KCB M-PESA Account is a paperless mobile M-PESA Account via M-PESA using the steps: and the country’s largest bank, KCB. As the based bank account that will be offered exclusively • Dial the USSD CODE *844# and Enter the biggest lender by assets, KCB is keen to double its to KCB and M-PESA registered customers. KCB KCB M-PESA Account PIN customer numbers in the next one year, riding on its M-PESA Account will have zero minimum balance new proposition in partnership with Safaricom-KCB and will provide customers with the ability to: • Select “Withdraw” to M-PESA M-Pesa. As at the end of 2014, KCB had 4.1 million • Borrow loans with facility fee ranging from 2% • Enter Amount customers, according to the latest bank reports. In to 4% per month • Confirm payment. particular, KCB’s earnings report indicates that the • Save from as little as KShs.1 and earn interest • Other KCB M-PESA Account lender has a target of hitting 10million customers in of 2% p.a. the next 12 months. • Enter Mobile number • Save for a fixed period of time (Fixed Deposit Account) or Target Savings Account where • Enter Amount The KCB M-Pesa account launched on 10th March you save little by little for a set period and earn • Confirm payment 2015 is already helping KCB in fast tracking the interest from 3% to 6% p.a. adoption of mobile banking and growing its retail • Place standing orders from: How will I qualify for a loan? customer base cost effectively. Under the program, KCB M-Pesa users will have access to loans of • M-PESA to KCB M-PESA Account. Customers will be allocated a loan limit upon between Sh50 and Sh1 million repayable within • M-PESA to Fixed Savings or Target Savings opting into the KCB M-PESA Account. Loan one to six months. Borrowers will repay the loans Account. amounts will be depended on M-PESA history and at interest rates of four, nine and 12 percent over • KCB M-PESA to Fixed or Target Deposit usage of KCB MPESA Account. Not all customers periods of one, three and six months respectively. Account. will qualify for loans immediately.

“In the last one year, KCB has seen its customer • Transfer money in and out of the KCB-M- PESA Account at no charge How do I request for a KCB M-PESA Account transactions with M-Pesa triple to Sh125 billion, loan? while the volume of transactions has grown from Who does the product target? 10,000 a day to 100,000,” said KCB’s Group CEO, • Dial *844# and enter the KCB M-PESA PIN Joshua Oigara at the launch of the new product. The KCB M-PESA Account is intended for all KCB • Select “Loan” then “request loan” and enter amount. “We see the partnership with Safaricom as a game- and M-PESA registered customers who discern to changer in the financial services sector. For us, such save or borrow short-term loans, to enable them • Select the preferred period( 1,3 and 6 months) partnerships are meant to make financial services address various financial causes. • Funds will be transferred to your KCB M-PESA more accessible to the general population. This is Account. a crucial part of our effort to make serious progress What are the requirements to have a KCB in addressing the deep poverty experienced by M-PESA Account? What are the interest rates range? millions of citizens across the East African region • 30 day loan at 4% per month and beyond, many of whom remain outside the To get a KCB M-PESA Account, you will need to: formal financial system,” he said. The growth in • 90 day loan at 3% per month KCB’s mobile transactions over the past year will • Be a registered Safaricom M-PESA customer. • 180 day loan at 2% per month provide the necessary impetus to grow KCB’s • Have an active Safaricom M-PESA account. new M-Pesa loans program, allowing the bank to • Hold any one of the following Kenyan National How to check your loan limit and what expand its loan book among retail customers. To ID, Kenyan Passport, Alien ID, Diplomatic determines it? achieve this ambitious feat, KCB intends to leverage ID(Registered on IPRS), Military ID. on mobile phones and agency banking, enabling Immediately on dialing *844#, one is presented KCB to increase its profitability and turnover, while How do I register for this specific account? with a loan limit. The loan limit is determined by managing the cost of operations. one’s activity levels generated from their history • Dial *844# usage on both their M-PESA/ Safaricom and KCB With the new KCB M-Pesa product, subscribers • Accept Terms and Conditions. M-PESA Account can also place money in fixed deposit accounts • You will receive an SMS with your PIN that earn them interest of between three and six • Dial *844# to access the KCB M-PESA How do I pay back my loan? per cent per annum for periods of between one and Account Menu and the system will prompt • Loan can be paid in full or in installments from 12 months. you to change PIN both KCB M-PESA account and M-PESA. • Dial USSD code *844# and enter KCB M-PESA “Once a customer subscribes to the new product, How do I make a deposit into the account? PIN. their credit worthiness that will inform their loan • Dial *844# and enter the KCB M-PESA • Select “Loan” then “Pay loan.” uptake, will be dependent on their repayment history Account PIN and their amount of savings,” said Bob Collymore, • Select payment from either KCB M-PESA • Select Deposit From M-PESA Safaricom’ s CEO. account or M-PESA. • Enter Amount • Enter Amount to pay. • Confirm transaction.

62 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 63 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN A NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY FOR AFRICA Russell Bishop, Senior Economist, Global Commission on Economy and Climate Dr Firew Bekele Woldeyes, Associate Research Fellow, Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI)

he Global Commission on was also advised by an Economics Ad- Around US$90 trillion is likely to be Economy and Climate was set visory Panel, which again had African invested in infrastructure in the world’s up to examine whether it was representation through Benno Ndulu urban, land use and energy systems. possible to achieve lasting eco- (Governor, Central Bank of Tanzania). How these changes are managed will nomic growth while also tackling the The resounding conclusion of the Bet- shape future patterns of growth, pro- Trisks of climate change. It published its ter Growth, Better Climate was that ductivity and living standards. findings in September 2014 in its inau- countries at all levels of income have the gural publication Better Growth, Better opportunity to build lasting economic The next 15 years of investment will Climate: The New Climate Economy growth at the same time as reducing also determine the future of the world’s report. Seven countries established the the immense risks from climate change. climate system. Climate change caused fully independent Commission and re- This will be made possible by structural by past greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- search for the report was coordinated and technological changes unfolding sions is already having serious economic between eight global research institutes. in the global economy and opportuni- consequences, especially in the more The former President of Mexico Felipe ties for greater economic efficiency. The exposed areas of the world. Without Calderón chairs the Commission and capital for the necessary investments is stronger action to peak and then reduce the commissioners are former heads of available, and the potential for innova- global emissions in the next 10-15 years, government and finance ministers, and tion is vast. What is needed is strong it is near certain that average global leaders from economics, business and political leadership and credible, con- warming will exceed 2°C, the level the finance. Africa is represented on the sistent policies. international community has agreed Commission through Luísa Diogo (for- not to cross. On current trends, warm- mer Prime Minister of Mozambique), The next 15 years will be critical, as ing could exceed 4°C by the end of the Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (former Finance the global economy undergoes a deep century, with extreme and potentially Minister of Nigeria), and Trevor Ma- structural transformation. It will not be irreversible impacts. Any delay in re- nuel (former Finance Minister of South “business as usual”. The global econo- ducing emissions makes it progressively Africa). In addition, Ethiopia acts as a my will grow by more than half, a billion more expensive to shift towards a low- commissioning country and the Ethio- more people will come to live in cities, carbon economy by building up GHG pian Development Research Institute and rapid technological advance will concentrations and locking in the stock is a research partner. The Commission continue to change businesses and lives. of high-carbon assets.

64 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN of wind and solar power, could lead indicators, risk models and reporting African countries will also change sub- renewable and other low-carbon requirements. stantially over the next 15 years. The energy sources to account for more • Enter into a strong, lasting and eq- continent’s future economic growth than half of all new electricity gener- uitable international climate agree- does not have to copy the high-carbon, ation over the next 15 years. Greater ment to increase the confidence unevenly distributed model historically investment in energy efficiency – in needed for domestic policy reform, taken by other parts of the world. There businesses, buildings and transport – provide the support needed by de- is now huge potential for African coun- has huge potential to cut and man- veloping countries and send a strong tries to act in their self-interest by invest- age demand. In developing coun- market signal to investors. ing in greater efficiency, structural trans- tries, decentralised renewables can • Phase out subsidies for fossil fuels formation and technological change in help provide electricity for the more and agricultural inputs and incen- three key systems of the economy: cities, than one billion people without ac- tives for urban sprawl to drive more land use and energy. cess. efficient use of resources and release public funds for other uses, including • Cities are engines of economic Across all these systems, three “driv- programmes to benefit those on low growth. They generate around 80% ers of change” need to be harnessed incomes. of global economic output, and to overcome market, policy and in- • Introduce strong, predictable carbon around 70% of global energy use stitutional barriers to low-carbon prices as part of good fiscal reform and energy-related GHG emissions. growth. These include improving ac- and good business practice, sending How the world’s largest and fastest- tion in three areas (i) raising resource strong signals across the economy. growing cities develop will be critical efficiency, (ii) providing investment • Substantially reduce capital costs to the future path of the global econ- for infrastructure and (iii) stimulat- for low-carbon infrastructure invest- omy and climate. But much urban ing innovation in technologies, busi- ments by expanding access to insti- growth today is unplanned and un- ness models and social practices. For tutional capital and lowering its costs structured, with significant econom- example resource productivity can for low-carbon assets. ic, social and environmental costs. As be improved by removing fossil fuel • Scale up innovation in key low-car- pioneering cities across the world are subsidies. While global subsidies for bon and climate-resilient technolo- demonstrating, more compact and clean energy only amount to around gies, tripling public investment in connected urban development, built US$100 billion, subsidies to pol- clean energy R&D and removing around mass public transport, can luting fossil fuels are now estimated barriers to entrepreneurship and create cities that are economically at around US$600 billion per year. creativity. dynamic and healthier and have Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies can • Make connected and compact cities lower emissions. Such an approach improve growth and release resourc- the preferred form of urban devel- to urbanisation could reduce urban es that can be reallocated to benefit opment, by encouraging better man- infrastructure capital requirements people on low incomes. But African aged urban growth and prioritizing by more than US$3 trillion over the countries are showing leadership investments in efficient and safe mass next 15 years. – phasing out fossil fuel subsidies transit systems. • Land use productivity will determine has been successfully demonstrated • Stop deforestation of natural forests whether the world can feed a popula- in Ghana, Kenya, and Namibia by 2030 by strengthening the incen- tion projected to grow to over eight through progressive policy reform. tives for long-term investment and billion by 2030 while sustaining nat- forest protection, and increasing in- ural environments. Food production Well-designed policies in these fields ternational funding to around US$5 can be increased, forests protected can make growth and climate objectives billion per year, progressively linked and land use emissions cut by rais- mutually reinforcing in both the short to performance. ing crop and livestock productivity and medium term. In the long term, if • Restore at least 500 million hectares through new technologies and com- climate change is not tackled, growth of lost or degraded forests and agri- prehensive approaches to soil and itself will be at risk. In addition, better cultural lands by 2030, strengthening water management. Restoring just growth provides benefits of greater en- rural incomes and food security. 12% of the world’s degraded agri- ergy security, less traffic congestion, im- • Accelerate the shift away from pol- cultural land could feed 200 million proved quality of life, stronger resilience luting coal-fired power generation, people by 2030, while also strength- to climate change and environmental phasing out new unabated coal ening climate resilience and reduc- protection, and reduced poverty. plants in developed economies im- ing emissions. Slowing down and mediately and in middle-income ultimately halting deforestation can To achieve better growth and reduced countries by 2025. be achieved if strong international climate risk requires global leadership, support is combined with strong do- including from Africa. The report pro- The first six recommendations provide mestic commitment to forest protec- poses a 10-point Global Action Plan of the conditions necessary for a strong tion and rural income development. key recommendations. This asks deci- and credible framework to foster low- sion-makers to: carbon and climate-resilient investment • Energy systems power growth in all • Accelerate low-carbon transforma- and growth. The last four point to vi- economies. We are on the cusp of a tion by integrating climate into core tal opportunities for change which can clean energy future. Coal is riskier economic decision-making pro- drive future growth and lower climate and more expensive than it used to cesses. This is needed at all levels of risk in cities, land use and energy sys- be, with growing import dependence government and business, through tems. and rising air pollution. Rapidly fall- systematic changes to policy and pro- ing clean energy costs, particularly ject assessment tools, performance The Commission will publish its second

65 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN report in July 7th entitled Seizing the year Growth and Transformation Plan Review by the Wold Bank indicates Opportunity: Partnerships for a Better (GTP)) with a national spatial structure that urbanisation will reach 30% Growth, Better Climate. This will ex- to benefit from the urban dividend and before 2030. The capital city Addis plore the role of international collabo- avoid the lock-in effects from poorly Ababa is currently the only Metrop- ration in delivering economic growth managed urbanisation. This approach olis city, attracting population from and reducing climate risk will be of use to other low-income coun- all parts of the country and acting as tries as they grapple with similar issues. an economic and political hub. How- Unlocking the power of Ethiopian The analysis highlights the need to ever, the expected rate of urbanisa- cities explicitly link Ethiopia’s economic, tion can lead to the emergence of One of the areas that are important for environmental and spatial strategies. secondary cities that would reduce building a New Climate Economy in This involves identification of strate- the primacy of Addis Ababa as the Africa is harnessing the power of future gic growth corridors linked to targeted major urban centre. African cities. Today a little over half of economic functions, the number and • Urban demand model. Provided the world population lives in cities and hierarchy of urban centres, and the in- that the economy is expected to it is expected that the number of people frastructure demands that support this grow rapidly (around 9% per year) living in urban areas is going to increase including power, water, information and associated fast urbanisation will rapidly. Most of the increase is expected and transportation. follow, there is a need to identify the to take place in developing countries. possible “hotspots” for urbanisa- The expected scale of urbanization A 5 step spatial economic framework tion. Using Geographical Informa- presents an opportunity that can play a The spatial framework proposed in the tion Systems (GIS) and secondary vital role not only in improving growth study works through five stages of anal- data sources, the analysis provides a but also for the environment and quality ysis and planning that can be repeated spatial analysis of the suitability of of life in general. Ethiopia, relative to in line with successive planning cycles the country for urban development. more developed countries, is currently (i.e. Ethiopia’s next 5 year economic The suitability for urban develop- at a low level of urbanisation, as one in planning periods GTP II, the GTP III). ment is derived from the existing five people live in urban areas. As the urban structure, physical constraints Ethiopian economy grows, so will the • Objectives and situation analysis. and likely economic activity. Urban rate of urbanization, which presents a The starting point to assess future areas do not emerge overnight and vast challenge to policymakers. In light urbanisation needs is a strong under- will be influenced by the pre-existing of this, the Ethiopian Development Re- standing of context. The analysis national urban system. The second search Institute and the Global Green undertook an assessment of the cur- consideration examines the presence Growth Institute in collaboration with rent macroeconomic context within of physical constraints such as the the Global Commission on Economy which urbanisation is taking place in availability of sufficient water sup- and Climate has recently carried out Ethiopia, including a review of ex- ply (both surface and groundwater) a study to strategically align economic isting development goals, economic to meet population and industrial planning, urban development, and en- growth and urbanisation patterns needs. It also looks into vulnerability vironmental issues in Ethiopia. This and urban policy. The Government to natural hazards to account for the study “Unlocking the Power of Ethio- of Ethiopia has outlined a vision to risk of issues such as earthquakes. pian Cities” was published in February achieve lower middle income coun- Lastly, the economic opportunities 2015. try (LMIC) status by 2025. in terms of proximity to resources such as mineral and agricultural pro- The report outlines a new “spatial In present terms, this would re- duction and access to transport sys- framework” for assessing and maximis- flect an increase in today’s GDP tem have been taken into account. ing the contribution that cities can make to $1,045 per capita. Experience In total, the analysis was conducted to achieving economic, social and envi- around the world indicates that such through 35 different GIS layers (from ronmental objectives, including outlin- rapid development would also be ac- topography, groundwater availability ing and assessing a range of alternative companied by rapid urbanisation. At and mineral resources to planned urbanisation pathways. The report sets around 19% currently, urbanisation special economic zones, proposed out an approach where stakeholders in Ethiopia is low, and is much lower rail systems and universities). in Ethiopia can bring together the na- than the sub-Saharan Africa aver- tional development plan (i.e. the five age. The Ethiopian Urbanisation

66 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Benchmarking and scenario devel- ing too few growth poles throughout the Ababa continues to grow but in an opment. country or those that are already well unplanned and reactively managed It is important to learn from the histori- developed may limit the ability to divert way. There is high rural migration cal urbanisation paths of other coun- growth away from Addis. To promote into the city and informal settlements tries to understand possible pathways. regional cities, Ethiopia could consider appear as a consequence. The analysis plots Ethiopia’s options public-private partnerships, investment • Primary city scenario: Addis Ababa for urbanisation against the historical in infrastructure and the establishment continues to grow into a dynamic, experiences of a range of successfully of favourable conditions for foreign in- multi-functional and cosmopolitan urbanising countries to determine les- vestment to drive growth in these new megacity. The GTP is still delivered sons learnt. The study then references urban centres. Rural-urban linkages but largely driven by industry and a selection of comparator countries are also critical. Simultaneous rural de- services based in Addis Ababa, as that have previously urbanised and de- velopment can drive and reinforce the well as foreign investment directed veloped economically from a starting success of urban development and min- into the city and special economic position similar to Ethiopia’s now. The imise regional income/wealth dispari- zones surrounding the city. case studies summarise the characteris- ties. Stimulating economic growth in • Polycentric city network scenario: A tics of that development and the choices new centres has appeared more success- network of regional secondary cit- made to shape this transition and iden- ful than policies seeking to limit growth ies emerges to support Addis Ababa. tify good and bad practice in policy and in large, dynamic and growing cities Addis Ababa retains national politi- decision making and consider how this such as Addis. The development of an cal and administrative duties and re- can provide learning for Ethiopia. The integrated national transport infrastruc- mains the largest urban area in the selection criteria for the comparator ture, particularly to connect growing country but the other cities appear countries relied on the importance of urban areas, is also important. The con- as dynamic and growing cities on the agriculture, a large and growing popu- nectivity of urban centres by high ca- international scene. lation, devolution of power to the sub- pacity road or rail networks encourages • Clustered cities scenario: Large and national level and low urbanisation rate. the efficient and effective movement of dynamic metropolitan areas develop Accordingly, three countries were se- goods and labour. in two clusters: one in central Ethio- lected to provide a range of approaches pia around Addis Ababa and one in and experiences to urban development: Options analysis and preferred the north of the country. South Korea, Colombia and Vietnam. spatial scenario. Using the international benchmarking • Distributed cities scenario: Addis Experience from the case study coun- data and wider experience and litera- Ababa devolves greater power to the tries suggests that a network of cities ture, the report then develops a range regions and regional capitals take on is needed to provide back-up to Addis of quantitative scenarios for Ethiopia’s many of the urban functions that Ababa and reinforce economic growth urbanisation, each of which displays Addis Ababa formerly held. Political and development. The model of a the hallmarks of a particular develop- and administrative functions are de- primary city and supporting cities has ment pattern experienced elsewhere. In livered by regional cities and indus- worked in both the Korean and Co- addition to a Business-as-Usual (BaU) trial and service activity can be found lombian contexts with an example of a scenario, four alternatives for Ethiopia’s in all these cities. Operating relative- larger primary city (Seoul) and smaller urbanisation are presented. These sce- ly independently of each other, there primary city (Bogota). The correct selec- narios are: is limited specialisation with all cities tion and designation of growth poles to • A Business-as-Usual (BaU) scenario: performing similar functions. counterbalance Addis is critical. Select- Here the analysis suggests Addis

67 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Each of these scenarios is analysed scenario which brings the best of each demand and suitability. This prevents against 16 performance areas that reference scenario and combines it with overdevelopment of less suitable areas are nested under four main drivers of the national constitutional, cultural and and is a balanced model of expansion. growth. Each is an attribute of the spa- policy context. A total of eight cluster development ar- tial plan that can be compared between eas are identified with high potential. scenarios (e.g. low carbon, competi- The preferred scenario is constructed These clusters are diverse in economic tiveness or rural-urban linkages). This by balancing the strengths of each rationale and function. Because not all analysis helps to display the relative of the test scenarios and is based on development clusters are needed today, trade-offs and choices around urbani- multiple urban centres clustered (poly- nor would their parallel development sation that Ethiopia will have to make. clustered) into planned development be affordable, further analysis is needed Learning from these reference scenari- areas and corridors, but only to the on the most effective sequencing of eco- os, the report creates a preferred hybrid extent that there is underlying urban nomic clusters and corridors.

68 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN • Implementation planning. Urban ment planning requires governance, tural transformation of economies will issues are the responsibility of the finance and deep capacity, so these pull millions out of poverty and ensure Ethiopian Ministry of Urban Devel- issues require further attention. The a base for continued prosperity. At the opment, Housing, and Construction. report is seen as a first step for Ethio- same time there will be huge advance- However, implementing effective pia to link urban, economic and en- ments in energy infrastructure, agricul- and well-designed cities goes well vironmental issues at an early stage tural productivity and development of beyond the mandate of one minis- of development. The Government’s cities. Driven by national interests, Afri- try, and requires cross-sector plan- progressive outlook seeks to harness can countries can choose a low-carbon, ning involving multiple stakehold- opportunities and avoid many of the resource efficient, and climate resilient ers. This needs to take place across disadvantages that rapid unplanned development pathway. The Global the authorities responsible for key urbanization can create. Commission on Economy and Climate infrastructure – including energy, has identified actions that can be taken water and transport, but also agri- Conclusion across all income levels to achieve better culture, trade and logistics, industry, All African countries are grappling with growth while simultaneously reducing the emerging private sector and mi- the challenge of how to improve the climate risk. The challenge is on the im- cro, small and medium enterprises. welfare of their people. In the next 15 plementation of these actions. This coordination was not a focus of years, the continent should experience the report but any effective govern- rapid growth. In many countries, struc-

69 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ‘SMART CITY’ APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Nicholas You

WHEN AND HOW DID CITIES BECOME “NOT SMART”?

The idea behind ‘smart city’ approaches has been in existence for a long time. Planners, utopians and visionaries have, throughout ancient and modern history, proposed holistic visions of what should or could constitute economically productive and socially harmonious societies.

any of these ideas and revolution, the great depression and the social services. While cities continued to ideals were formulated in world wars across much of industrial- plan, mostly in the form of long-term Europe starting in 17th ized Europe, Japan and North America master plans, the day-to-day running century during the First led to an overarching concern by the of the city became the realm of “silos” Industrial Revolution. Their propo- early 20th century with social equity each specializing in a given field, each Mnents ranged from artists, architects, and environmental health. This gave developing its own norms and stand- engineers, scientists to philosophers. rise to two policy streams that dominate ards, contract procedures and procure- They had considerable influence on contemporary urban planning and de- ment processes. These ‘silos’ would be contemporary urban planning which velopment to this day: social or afforda- further reinforced with the advent of distinguishes itself from previous plan- ble housing and infrastructure, especial- computerization as each department ning praxis by attempting to address ly roads, drainage, water and sanitation. tended to choose a different hardware concomitantly social, economic and and software system. The end result was aesthetic concerns within a cohesive At the risk of oversimplification, urban twofold: (i) further compartmentaliza- spatial or physical layout or design. planning practice in the so-called devel- tion, and (ii) incompatible systems mak- Modern urban planning, or its British oped world, for a variety of political and ing the sharing of data and information version known as “town and country administrative reasons became far re- difficult at best. planning” and its French concept of moved from the day-to-day running of “urbanism” were rooted in and con- a city. Slowly but surely city administra- Towards a new urban develop- ceived as multi-disciplinary approaches tions were divided into sectors, namely ment paradigm? to societal development. The social and housing, infrastructure and mobility, During the last decade or so, the grow- environmental ravages of the industrial water and sanitation, energy, health and ing necessity for making cities more liv-

70 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN able and sustainable so as to become and often for different jurisdictional across city departments. Since the fa- more competitive has compelled many areas, for different contract durations cility went on-line, employing some of municipal and metropolitan adminis- and with very narrowly defined perfor- the latest information communication trations to re-examine their internal mance indicators. technology and weather forecasting sys- modus operandi and to search for new tems, there have been no deaths caused business and governance models and Few, if any, cities have achieved the op- by landslides. Traffic emergency time new partners to help bridge the ‘silos’. timal degree of integration, but many response has been reduced significantly This necessity arises from several dis- are trying and the literature abounds as citizens are alerted about traffic snarl crete but inter-related issues. with references to “smart city” and ups and accidents and redirected to “big data” approaches to solving urban least congested routes. Data gathered One important issue is that operating a problems and to help meet challenges for the Centre also enables the identi- city according to “silos” is very waste- that are looming on the horizon. The fication of neighbourhoods with higher ful. Single-purpose urban management purpose of this article is to help unpack dengue fever infection rates, allowing practice results not only in duplication these approaches by looking at recent for health services to implement preven- of effort, but also in competing de- “best practices” in the implementation tative measures in a timely manner. In mands for renewable as well as non-re- of “smart city” solutions. These peer- planning the facility, Rio officials visited newable resources such as energy, water, reviewed practices are drawn from the ‘Alert Centres’ in Madrid, Seoul and land and eco-systems. One compelling Guangzhou International Award for New York. Rio has also since forged co- example is the way contemporary cit- Urban Innovation – a biennial award operation with Johannesburg as it plans ies consume fresh water. The average co-sponsored by UCLG and Metropo- a similar system. urban denizen requires less than 5 litres lis devoted to recognizing outstanding of potable water per day to drink and initiatives in striving for urban sustain- Hangzhou China: Eighty percent of cook. Yet the average urban denizen ability. More specifically, the solutions the nearly 9 million residents and com- that has access to piped water supply reviewed in this paper originate from muters living and working in Hangzhou and so-called modern sanitation flushes different regions and contexts in the China identified traffic congestion as in excess of 75 litres of potable water hopes of drawing some useful obser- one of the top priority issues. This led down the toilet every day and uses an- vations regarding what smart city ap- the City to launch China’s first public other 90 to 150 litres of drinkable wa- proaches can do for a city and its in- bicycle project. This bike sharing sys- ter to wash clothes, bodies, homes and habitants, and what constitutes ideal tem serves some 280,000 users daily and offices, dishes and cars, and to water conditions for such approaches. works in tandem with the city’s exten- plants. Simple economics would dictate sive bus system to provide users of the that it would be far more cost effective Putting people first bus and metro systems with a last mile to give each urban denizen 25 litres of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is a city of more solution. In the centre of the city, bike bottled water per week for drinking and than 6.5 million people with a complex docking stations are less than 400 me- cooking purposes and to have our piped geography and strong social and demo- ters apart and located in close proximity water system consist of clean but less graphic pressures. Lying in the tropical to bus and metro stops. than drinkable quality recycled water. storm belt, Rio has been hit hard by Given the energy and resource costs of repeated Atlantic storms pounding the Run by the Hangzhou Public Bicycle extracting, treating, transporting and city. This especially affects the mostly Development Company, the system uses piping water of drinkable standards low income settlements commonly re- data analytics and crowd sourcing from to our major metropolises, the current ferred to as favelas that are located on mobile phone applications as two key consumption pattern of water seems the high slopes surrounding the me- instruments. Data is shared across all un-smart. tropolis and are prone to devastating departments dealing with traffic man- landslides. Following a vicious storm agement and public transport. Users Another important issue is the realiza- in 2010, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro can phone in their request for bikes and tion that truly sustainable and resilient convened a special task force with one there is a free hotline support. The busi- urban development requires very close single objective: to come up with plans est stations are staffed by people who collaboration across sectors and depart- to ensure no more deaths from land- provide a wide array of assistance and ments. A case in point is that all urban slides. This led to the establishment of information. User feedback pertain- public services consume energy, land an Emergency Centre that brought to- ing to use and usability of the system, and water. Effective resource efficiency gether, for the first time, data gathering monitoring of real time trends, issues, would dictate that all these services and and information sharing between de- problems and suggestions is managed the people and businesses that use them partments that heretofore never worked by a local university. This has led to a operate in tandem and use a coherent together: departments for planning, unique management system that is de- set of performance benchmarks. In meteorology, sub-soil analysis, mapping, signed to overcome the most frequent reality, as most of us experience on a housing, health, population distribution problem areas of bike sharing systems: periodic basis, the provision of public and density. service points; getting bikes to where services is not only rarely coordinated they are needed when they are needed; but in many instances, public service de- Today, the Centre operates 24 hours a responsive hot-line support; repairs; and partments work in splendid isolation of day. It is staffed by officials from 30 city implementing users’ recommendations one another. The very nature of public departments that continuously share for the continuous improvement of the procurement exacerbates this problem. data and information and solicit infor- system. Concessions for water, gas, electricity, mation from citizens. This Centre has waste collection, public transport, traffic become a global model showing the The system is unique in that it operates management and parking are awarded benefits that can be derived from col- without government subsidies. Other individually by different departments laboration, alignment and data sharing than the initial start-up capital, the

71 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN company raises significant private Municipal Council has been col- Nitrogen and phosphorus emis- funds through by selling advertis- lecting food waste as the main sions from treated wastewater ing space on the bike docking sta- substrate for producing biogas have decreased by 60 percent tion kiosks. This bike-sharing pro- which is used for running the and 35 percent respectively since gramme has inspired many other city’s buses and for the produc- 2001. Nitrogen dioxide concen- cities in China and may well mark tion of bio-fertilizer for organic trations in the urban environment an ironic turning point in bicycle food production. The Environ- have fallen from 29 to 8µg/m3 use in China’s recent history – mental and Quality Programme since the late 1980s. The number from the country with the most for Vallastaden was approved in of kilometers driven per vehicle/ bicycle users 30 years ago to the 2013.Vallastaden is conceived as year has decreased from 13,000 country with most cars and traffic an eco-village where everything to 12,000 km over 10 years while jams today. is within easy reach and social in- there has been a 50 percent in- teraction is stimulated by making crease in new “green car” reg- Future-proofing cities it simple to move around on foot istrations. 56 percent of all the Linköping, Sweden is a city of or by bicycle. Finally, the former electricity used is produced local- 150,000 that has a bold goal: to industrial area of Östra Valla has ly from renewable sources helping become an absolutely carbon been earmarked for sustainable to achieve a 25 percent reduction neutral city by 2025. Creating a redevelopment. It is a business in CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2010. In the words of the mayor of Linköping, the City Council’s road to these impressive results came about as a result of The next 15 years will be critical, as the broad-based collaboration and global economy undergoes a deep structural partnerships with residents, em- ployers, universities, the private transformation. It will not be “business as usual”. sector, other cities and national and international networks, all The global economy will grow by more than half, sharing their data and informa- a billion more people will come to live in cities, tion across sectors and helping the city monitor its progress in and rapid technological advance will continue to achieving its goal.

change businesses and lives. The City of Gwangju, Korea has taken a different and highly innovative approach to climate change mitigation. Five years carbon-neutral municipality is a incubator for small and medium- ago, it initiated a programme never-ending process. Linköping sized enterprises and serves as a to engage citizens in voluntary Municipality and companies platform for entrepreneurship carbon-saving steps. Gwangju’s operating in the region have as- and innovation, and a testing Carbon Bank System currently sumed a leading role in formulat- ground for sustainable solutions involves 330,000 households, rep- ing policies, goals and guidelines. in environmental technology. resenting 62 percent of the city’s They have also led by example in population of 1.48 million. The using renewable fuels in vehicles; Since 2009, energy consumption Carbon Bank System calculates specifying energy and climate in municipal premises has fallen reduced amounts of carbon di- criteria for procuring goods and by 5 percent. It is estimated that oxide through voluntary energy- services; developing green IT so- by 2029 it will have fallen by 15 saving efforts by households and lutions and communicating cli- percent. New buildings use ap- turns them into points. The Car- mate and environmental issues to proximately 25 percent less en- bon Bank involves the active par- employees and residents. Munici- ergy than prescribed by national ticipation of the Korea Electric pal property companies are also guidelines. In 2012, primary en- Power Corporation, the Gwangju making existing schools, homes, ergy use in the district-heating Metropolitan Waterworks Au- care homes, offices, sports and system was 373 GWh compared thority and Hae Yang City Gas. cultural facilities more energy ef- with a figure of 1287 GWh for All three provide data to the sys- ficient. People living and working final energy consumption. An tem based on participating house- in Linköping are given continu- investment of 1 billion Swedish holds’ consumption. Gwangju ous information owners about kronor in a new CHP plant that City calculates the reduction in energy use. comes online in 2016 will further greenhouse gas emissions and Three main areas of focus of reduce the use of fossil fuels. An- turns the amount into points. the initiative are energy, sustain- nual per capita waste has fallen These points are then credited to able living and local economic from 305 to 208 kilos since 1992. the electricity, gas, and water bills development. Since 2012, the of the participating households.

72 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN planted, 40 streets retrofitted to fers financial savings in ongoing This innovation has two effects: improve permeability, and one of maintenance costs estimated to be it provides citizens with a tangi- the world’s first in-road storm wa- one tenth of traditional WSUD ble means of seeing their actions ter harvesting system started. costs by shifting from a predomi- reflected in terms of CO2 reduc- nantly manual labour component tions (the common good) and on The Darling Street Storm Water to a mechanized cleaning system. their utility bills (personal ben- Harvesting Scheme is one of the Secondly, the social benefits in- efit). It also represents a major flagship projects of this initiative. clude increased landscape amen- step in terms of public policy by It is a world first in combining ity, greater community awareness tying together water, electricity a number of known storm wa- and confidence in WSUD tech- and gas. This bridging of “silos” ter treatment technologies into nological solutions, and mitiga- is perhaps one of the most impor- a single space efficient and cost tion of the Urban Heat Island ef- tant hurdles to be overcome when effective approach in the treat- fect. The environmental benefits striving for low-carbon urban ment and reuse of storm water. include substantial improvements management and development. The scheme uses underground in storm water quality and thus Through such an integrated sys- elements to reduce the surface reduced demand on Melbourne’s tem, the city can analyze and evaluate how different actions in different areas affect the total equation of GHG emissions and what areas need greater focus to continue to progress towards low- ering the carbon footprint of the city. Since inception of the pro- gramme in 2008 GHG emissions have decreased each year, most recently by 135,000 tons.

Between 1995 and 2009, the city of Melbourne, Australia and its population of just over 4 million people suffered extreme hot weather resulting in severe drought, water shortages and heat waves that killed several hundred people. The immediate response of the city was to plan a 90 percent reduction in potable water use. This included cutting footprint by 90 percent. This is water storages for irrigation, im- irrigation support to the city’s ur- important as land use in a ma- proved water supply to parks and ban forests and a plan to remove ture urban setting can lead to gardens, and reduced flow of 40 percent of the city’s trees. very high costs of and time-con- run-off into waterways. Ironically, this solution underesti- suming legal procedures for land Due to the success of the Rain- mated the value of green spaces acquisition. By concentrating the water Harvesting System in and ecosystem support services treatment into a central location, Darling Street, the City of Mel- that are critical to climate change the capital and operational cost bourne is delivering two more mitigation. Realizing the need for have also been greatly reduced storm water harvesting schemes a more strategic long-term strat- from the typical rain-gardens ap- following the Darling Street ap- egy, in 2010 the city appointed proach. It also allows for reuse to proach namely at Fitzroy Gar- a new Urban Landscape Team. occur by including a bio-filtration dens and at Birrarung Marr. The team produced an integrated system. These will be the first of a suit of open space and urban forest strat- harvesting schemes envisaged for egy. Since 2010, forty million dol- The system has provided eco- the municipality. These and other lars have been invested in related nomic, social and environmental initiatives have been possible due initiatives including urban forests benefits. Firstly, the economic to two factors. The first factor and shrubbery; green space and benefits of this project include was a four year citizen’s engage- rain water harvesting; permeable a more cost effective method for ment programme that sought to paving and protection of water- achieving storm water quality educate and mobilise citizens to ways; and wetlands. The goal is targets that is up to 75 percent not only support innovation in to cool the city by 4 degrees Cel- cheaper than traditional Water climate adaptation but to become sius and thus lower energy use for Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) its chief protagonists. The sec- cooling. 15,000 trees have been approaches. The project also of- ond was the close collaboration

73 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN and sharing of a single objective across ably produced by the end of 2015. The • Achieving the 20% energy reduction departments dealing with water, waste IBA Hamburg Model and the Climate target as part of 3e Houses water, storm water drainage, parks and Protection Renewable Wilhemsburg’s • Decrease in energy consumption by gardens, planning and infrastructure. strategy has made the City of Hamburg schools and council offices as part of While the city of Melbourne provides one of the frontrunners when it comes the ‘smart spaces’ project. the bulk of the funding, regional and to socially inclusive and environmental- • Increased awareness and engage- federal tiers of governments have also ly sound urban development. The IBA ment with climate change issues via contributed. Other partners include the is sharing the knowledge universities of Melbourne and Victoria generated with other for related research; and the media for partner Cities and is cur- public awareness. rently scaling up the Wil- hemsburg pilot to other People, partnerships and envi- parts of the city. ronmental goals In 2005 the City of Hamburg, Germa- Smart City Bristol U.K. ny decided to embark on a socially-in- is a collaborative pro- clusive approach to zero-carbon urban gramme between the development. A pilot project was es- public sector, business tablished for the redevelopment of the and community. The Wilhelmsburg neighbourhood of the main aim is to use smart City by hosting the International Build- technologies to help meet ing and the International Garden Show the ambitious city target (IBA). An “IBA Partnership” was estab- to reduce CO2 emissions lished which brought together private by 40 percent by 2020 companies and the local community. As from a 2005 baseline, as a result, over 70 projects were developed well as other social and around 3 themes including cities and economic objectives for climate change. its more than 430,000 inhabitants. The pro- Wilhemsburg has 55,000 inhabitants gramme was launched living on an island in the Elbe. It is par- in 2011 and focusses on ticularly vulnerable to flooding. It is also ‘Smart Energy, Smart an ethnically diverse and low income Transport and Smart community with a physical environment Data’. It includes pilot projects such as smart city projects in general. affected by industrial and transport in- smart metering, smart grid, electric ve- frastructure. The projects are based on hicles and open data, alongside perma- Bristol is already the most energy and maximizing the use of local energy re- nent initiatives such as a Traffic Control waste-efficient major UK city, and it is sources (i.e. energy savings and energy Centre and a Freight Consolidation planning to meet future needs by man- efficiency) and harnessing technology Centre. aging resources even more efficiently. opportunity to accelerate local econom- Smart City Bristol has contributed to ic development. The aim is achieve 100 A distinctive trait of Smart Bristol lies in the image of Bristol as a centre for in- percent local renewable energy supply the city’s collaboration with companies novation and a leader in adoption of by 2025 and 100 percent renewable (notably, micro-electronic, environmen- ‘smart’ solutions to city-level problems. heat by 2050, making the Elbe island tal technology and creative/digital com- According to the Mayor of Bristol, the carbon neutral. panies) who are working with commu- key to Bristol’s success lies in the empow- nities to make them smart. Smart City erment of its citizens. Citizens played a The IBA is also a unique in its govern- Bristol is about putting its more than major role in choosing the technologi- ance structure as it is incorporated as a 430,000 people at the heart of a smart cal solutions according to their priori- limited liability company. It thus has a city rather than technology. It is how ties. This requires first and foremost a certain amount of independence from people interact with technology that commitment to “educate” the public so classic administrative hierarchies and helps inform behavioural change and that they are properly informed of the can act more like a private enterprise. help the City to achieve its aims. Smart issues and their policy implications. It Additionally, IBA organized an offi- City Bristol is also evolutionary, in that also requires that the city administration cial “IBA-partnership” with about 150 it builds upon the lessons learned from empower its citizens and trust its citizens companies and institutions and it has previous projects to inform new ones. to make important but nonetheless in- included the inhabitants in numerous formed decisions. workshops and fora. Less bureaucracy Accomplishments thus far include: and political interference allowed the • Securing an additional £7m in fund- Conclusion IBA to set ambitious targets and to ing for Green Capital activity. New technology and new ways to col- mobilize partners. Already scheduled • Becoming one of the inaugural 100 lect and analyse data can contribute projects will ensure that 54 percent of Resilient Cities, a pioneering initia- significantly to making our urban in- heat production and 14 percent of the tive funded by the Rockefeller Foun- frastructure and services more effective overall energy demand will be renew- dation. and efficient. For the first time in history,

74 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN we can begin to envisage city planning ing new meaning to the concept of periods. and management as a truly holistic en- public-private partnerships. All three deavour by using data and information cases represent a radical departure from These and other examples show that a from a myriad of sources and across de- conventional regulatory and control “smart city” is made up of three forms partments and jurisdictions for problem functions. Melbourne has succeeded in of ‘intelligence’: human intelligence identification and solving. What -tran bringing together different departments through an empowered user or consum- spires, however, from the above case and three tiers of government to focus er; collective intelligence through new studies is that the key ingredients to a on a single objective – ‘cooling the city’ forms of collaboration and partner- Meeting this objective meant ships that help break down traditional a combined approach to en- silos; and digital or machine intelligence ergy and water, the former through the use of new information- to lower the heat sink effect intensive technologies and applications. and the latter to overcome The challenge for many emerging econ- drought and help green the omy cities lies in removing the barriers city. This involved a reversal that prevent “smart city” approaches of an initial policy of cut- from becoming reality. The first bar- ting down trees, as one of rier is to putting people at the centre of the single biggest consum- problem identification and solving. This ers of water, to planting means engaging citizens in all aspects more trees to help cool the of project planning, design and imple- city. Meeting this objective, mentation. The “smart city” requires however, meant new ap- first and foremost a well-informed and proaches to water planning engaged citizenry. and management and the full integration of water Removing the second barrier requires management within parks cities to unleash the potential of entre- and gardens, land-use plan- preneurs to create new applications that ning, infrastructure design will render the use of infrastructure and and technology. The case services more effective and more effi- of Gwangju represents an cient. Local government need a regula- equally radical departure tory space in which networks of users from traditional public-pri- and service providers have free and vate partnerships. While the unhindered access to information and three ‘silos’ of gas, electrici- data and are allowed to come up with successful smart city are people, part- ty and water are still operating indepen- original solutions to city problems. Doz- nerships and participation. dently, a commercial bank acts on their ens of cities around the world which behalf to provide a unified approach to have removed the barriers of access to The Emergency Centre in Rio de Ja- billing. The bank helps the three utili- information and eased regulatory re- neiro almost looks like something out ties to present their bills in such a way gimes have witnessed the quasi-sponta- of a sci-fi movie as a wall of screens that the consumer can see the collective neous development of applications that display real time information and their impact on CO2 emissions of their in- change the way people use and provide analysis from hundreds of sources. But dividual and household efforts to save public services, manage traffic and mo- what makes this Centre an unparalleled water, gas and electricity. This effort is, bility, improve safety and security, gen- success is its DNA, namely a single ob- in turn, translated into a personal ben- erate their own energy, and reduce the jective of saving lives. The Centre now efit in terms of reduced monthly utility transaction costs for everything from deals with dozens of day-to-day opera- bills. water, electricity, gas, and waste man- tions of the city, but it has remained agement. people-centred and user-focused. The The City of Hamburg also provides a same goes for the Hangzhou bike-shar- new approach to public-private part- The last barrier is the governance bar- ing system. In the case of Bristol, the nership with the establishment of a lim- rier that separates local government city has gone out of its way to empower ited liability company to plan, design administration and bureaucracy from its citizens to make decisions regarding and implement an urban regeneration both its citizens and from businesses which solutions and technologies are project for an entire district which is that prevent new business models from best suited to meet their current and fu- home to a sizeable low-income popula- emerging, new ways of doing old things, ture needs. This goes well beyond sim- tion. This business model is far from be- and new forms of partnerships. Local ply informing citizens or inviting them ing the outsourcing of planning and de- governments need to review their roles to voice their opinions in town hall sign or providing development rights for and responsibilities. They might want to meetings and the like. It is putting citi- a real-estate operation; it represents an transition from a command and control, zens in the driver’s seat in city planning. integrated approach to fiscal planning, monopolistic service provider to a true land use planning, housing, infrastruc- facilitator that enables people and busi- Partnerships are a critical factor for ture and services. The set up not only nesses to find innovative ways of im- success of smart city planning. In the leverages resources from public, private proving quality of life and livelihoods. cases of Melbourne, Hamburg and and civil society sectors, it also ensures Gwangju, city administrations are giv- policy continuity over several electoral

75 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN EAST AFRICAN CITIES EMBRACE CCTVS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

Eric E. Otenyo, PhD Public Administration Politics & International Affairs Northern Arizona University

The rise of terrorist groups such as Al Shabaab and organized criminal gangs has result- ed in terrible loss of life and property in East Africa. For Kenyans in particular, internal security has become a major public policy concern following recent terrorist attacks (e.g. Westgate Mall in September 2013, Mpeketoni, in June 2014, and Garissa University Col- lege in 2015).

l Shabaab has also carried out good number of central business dis- to national security. Based upon LTE attacks in Uganda and has tricts. Many developed economies also security communications network, the threatened attacks against a have installed cameras or systems that CCTVs would not be run on Safari- numberA of East African countries. Part- recognize vehicle number (license) com’s commercial network. ly in response to terrorism and other or- plates and monitor traffic movements ganized crimes, East African countries in busy places. The main purpose of Kenya spent about Kenya Shillings 15 are exploring ‘smart’ ways of dealing installing CCTVs in major cities is to billion for installation and purchase of with threats to internal security. Among enable real–time monitoring of events at least 2,000 cameras in selected cities. the tools major cities (Nairobi, Kampa- at key installations and premises. Many Nairobi and Mombasa cities kicked off la, Kigali, Dar es Salaam) have resorted CCTC systems are linked directly to the role out of the CCTV project. The to are Closed Circuit Television Cam- and or management by the police and Nairobi CCTV control room was set up eras (CCTV) and related IP –based sur- other security services. at a government facility in the middle of veillance cameras. CCTV is the generic the city. It has 80 screens and 51 cam- term used for a wide range of video Following growing threats to public eras. A back up system is to be manned surveillance technologies. While tradi- safety and security, Kenya has invested by the Nairobi County government. tional CCTV systems produce images in CCTVs in key cities and towns. The that can be monitored using multiple main contract for the provision of the Uganda screens, IP-based digital devices store CCTV system was awarded to Safa- The first generation of sophisticated data which can be saved to discs and ricom, a company partly owned by the public CCTV cameras was installed other storage devices and/or transmit- British telecommunication giant, Voda- on selected routes in Kampala in 2007 ted to different computer networks. The fone. Safaricom experts were contracted - in time for the November Meeting key difference is that CCTVs are about to set up a National Integrated Public of the Commonwealth Heads of State cameras connected in closed loops with Safety, Communication and Surveil- (CHOGM). More recently, CCTV images transmitted to a central site. lance System. It is reported that Safa- cameras were installed in Kampala East African countries are moving away ricom subcontracted Huawei, a China– Metropolitan Area following an order from analogue videotapes that have based telecommunication corporation from President Yoweri Museveni. The limited storage capabilities and are in- to install part of the system. The pro- Uganda government highlighted the creasingly integrating their surveillance curement system has been a subject of fact that in the case of the April 15, systems with their emerging IT infra- controversy on the account of lack of 2013 terrorist bombing of the Boston structure. So far, the degree of ambition transparency. Marathon, the first source of informa- and sophistication varies among these tion was from CCTVs. The govern- countries. Safaricom claims that the Integrated ment also cited the July 2005 terrorist Public Safety, Communication and Sur- attacks in London, observing that police Kenya veillance System is an intelligent secu- were able to trace the culprits with the In developed countries, surveillance rity solution. It would support law en- help of CCTV footage. The Ministry cameras are common in most business forcement to effectively coordinate and of Internal Affairs and the Uganda Po- premises, malls, casinos, banks, and a deploy resources in response to threats lice contracted a Chinese firm to pro-

76 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN cure and install surveillance systems on capabilities can help in fighting crimes tor not only in East Africa but globally. streets and nine major routes ostensibly that occur in the dark or poorly lit areas. Arguably, the legal framework for the to combat terrorism and crime. Robust CCTV cameras have advanced protection of civil liberties and for the zooming and tracking elements and implementation of surveillance plat- Rwanda are also capable of transmitting images forms such as CCTVs in African cities Rwanda’s ICT platforms are among the over the internet for onward transmis- is weaker compared to that in many best in Africa. The country has integrat- sion to multiple analysts. This can make established democracies. For countries ed its traffic control system with its sur- it easier to have an integrated national still struggling to establish democratic veillance cameras. The country has also security and response system. Some societies, some worry that these plat- linked its CCTV cameras to its ATM CCTV cameras can be operated by forms can be abused or rather used to Bank machines. Through an ATM motion activated sensors, most of which curtail personal freedoms and liberty. monitoring system, alerts can be trig- will, if prompted, easily recognize and gered when damages and theft occur. match facial features. A robust legal framework is needed to The system is capable of sending alerts strike the right balance between security in the case of power vault failure, theft However, CCTVs are not a substitute and privacy concerns. It is not clear that or breaches to software. Images capture for police patrols, or for the provision many East African countries have such facial features of culprits, amounts of of streetlights in urban centers. CCTVs robust frameworks. Such a framework money stolen, and card holders accept- rank behind physical police presence would include clear guidelines on who ing cash. and well-lighted streets in deterring holds and or has access to CCTV foot- crime. It would be a mistake for policy age, under what conditions and for how Tanzania makers in East Africa to treat CCTVs long. It would also include regulations The private sector embraced CCTVs as the primary or major tool for com- on the security of the platforms and the earlier than the public sector. But when bating crime. CCTVs should be used data they hold and on mechanisms for the government embraced surveillance to complement other security methods sharing the data. technology, its plan was among the most and tactics. CCTV cameras and associ- impressive in the region. The govern- ated technologies such as red-light cam- There are also administrative challeng- ment sought to boost its security cre- eras, aerial cameras, public surveillance, es. System analysts and administrators dentials through installation of CCTV dashboard and body cameras work best must have the capacity to utilize the cameras in various areas. Among the if law enforcement have the necessary data generated from the CCTVs. Video targets were the country’s roadways and administrative capacity to administer analytics can be a complex exercise. In transportation hubs. Tanzania’s con- and utilize them. That capacity includes a single year, more than 50,000 hours cern for monitoring the highways had ethical management in contracting and of recordings are possible. Yet, the vol- more to do with tackling road accidents servicing, data analysis, archiving, re- ume and variety of data collected must than perceived threats from terrorism. trieval, and reporting. be properly managed and processed. CCTV cameras were also installed in This requires effective organizational eight major cities including Dodoma, CCTVs are components of technol- management that is often lacking in Moshi, Mwanza, Mbeya, Zanzibar, ogy transfer, which require substan- many public institutions in Africa. With Tanga, Arusha and Dar es Salaam. tial retooling to fit local administrative CCTVs generating billions of terabytes The leadership of Dar es Salaam be- cultures. Without these competencies, of data, there must be effective and se- came increasingly attracted to the idea data generated from CCTVs might not cure means to collect, store and process of CCTVs after the terrorist bombing count where it matters most (i.e. in judi- this data, if and when needed. With- of the US embassy in 1998. cial litigation). out appropriate management and skills in video analytics and organizational The Tanzania Intelligence Service and Privacy and the emerging surveil- management, data will not be helpful to cabinet approved the installation of lance societies street-level and anti-crime policy imple- CCTV cameras in the city’s Central As East Africans seek to harness menters. Business District (CBD), and along CCTVs for improved security and pub- Kilwa, Old Bagamoyo and Morogoro lic safety, concerns about privacy and Lack of professionalism has been iden- Roads. The second phase targets the the emergence of a surveillance society tified in the procurement, installation, cities of Arusha and Mwanza. are increasingly voiced. In Kenya, some administration and use of the CCTVs members of parliament questioned the in all the four East African countries. The Ministry of Home Affairs argued effectiveness of the CCTV surveillance Emerging evidence suggests that in that installation of CCTV cameras platform when Kabete MP was killed in much of East Africa, so far CCTVs would help curb crime. In May 2014, the central business district of Nairobi have been primarily used in a reactive Minister Chikawe told parliament that and the CCTV appeared to be of no fashion: mostly forensic rather than the government would privatize the sec- immediate assistance to the police in pre-emptive purposes. Arguably, effec- tor to enhance efficiency. The Tanzania tracking down his killers. Doubtful law- tive forensics work can also serve a pre- project involves the ministries of Works, makers felt that the CCTV system was emptive function, but CCTVs can be Transportation, Urban Planning as well not worth the money that had been in- harnessed as a proactive, crime preven- as local governments and individual cit- vested in it. tion tool. For example, it is possible to izens. The Ministry of Home Affairs is use CCTVs creatively to fight corrup- the lead agency. Others have been more concerned tion although this does not yet appear about the privacy implications of the to be an explicit function of any of the Pros and Cons of CCTVs CCTV platforms. Surveillance cam- CCTV platforms in the four East Afri- The attraction to CCTVs is under- eras add to the increasing collection of can countries. standable. Cameras with night vision person data by public and private sec-

77 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN RISK ASSESSMENT, HAZARD MITIGATION, AND DISASTER RESPONSE IN AFRICA Giday WoldeGabriel, PhD Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow Earth Environmental Sciences Division Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM, USA

Background

frica’s economic develop- of climate change are factored in. Natural hazards in Africa ment is expected to take The major natural hazards in Sub-Sa- place within the context of The continent is highly vulnerable to hara Africa in the past have been hydro ecological challenges (e.g. natural and human-induced disasters. meteorological (e.g., drought, cyclones, environmental pollution and degrada- According to the World Bank, Sub- flooding) and geological and tectonic tion,A natural and human induced haz- Sahara Africa has been subjected to (volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) ards, impacts of climate change). Africa more than 1000 natural disasters during in origin. Different parts of the conti- can ill afford the costly and antiquated the last four decades. These disasters nent are potentially at risk from differ- development approach of the past: are expected to significantly increase ent types of natural hazards although ‘economic growth first, environmen- in intensity and occurrence (http:// some regions face multiple risks. tal clean-up later’. The environmental go.worldbank.org/UO0ESIRF10). problems in India and China (e.g. severe Major urban centres in the economi- • Hydro meteorological: The Sahel re- air and water pollution, among others) cally fast-growing countries of Africa gion is a narrow strip of land along should serve as a useful lesson for Afri- are approaching or have exceeded their the southern margin of the Sahara ca’s development planners and thinkers. ‘carrying capacities’ as a result of a Desert from Dakar to the Red Sea. It number of population growth, chronic is prone to protracted droughts and The African landscape has been sub- poverty and growing rural-urban mi- sporadic dust storms (Map 1). The jected to human-induced, long-term gration. The result is significant envi- major decadal severe droughts and environmental deterioration. In both ronmental stress, which is manifested in famine in eastern Africa (e.g., Ethio- rural and urban areas, slash and burn different ways in different places. The pia, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, etc.) in practices and deforestation have caused impacts of climate change will amplify 1974, 1984, 1994, 2002, and in 2011 depletion of the rich top soil, among this environmental stress, with poten- affected millions of people, livestock other ills. Further degradation of the tially significant implications for Africa’s and the environment. African ecosystem or ‘natural capital’ is economic development, political stabil- • Volcanism and earthquakes along likely to constrain the much desired eco- ity, social order and peace. the eastern Africa Rift system: The nomic growth, even before the impacts eastern Africa Rift extends from the

78 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Afar Depression of Djibouti, Eritrea, tions of lavas and ashes from the (Map 1). The most recent tsunami and Ethiopia in the north to Kenya, Afar Rift of Ethiopia and Eritrea generated by the Sumatra, Indone- Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, Bu- pose constant threats to population sia earthquake of December 2004, rundi, Tanzania, and Malawi in the centers and to the environment. greatly impacted the region. Moreo- Lakes Region of eastern-central Af- ver, most North African countries lo- rica, and to Mozambique and South • Volcanoes, earthquakes and tsu- cated along the Nubia Plate bound- Africa in the southeastern part of the namis: Coastal lowlands along the ary are prone to earthquakes and continent (Map 1). The Nyiragongo eastern continental margin of Af- tsunami hazards. eruption in 2002 partially destroyed rica from Somalia to South Africa the town of Goma in the DRC and and nearby islands (i.e., Madagascar, displaced more than 350,000 people. Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion, and The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Seychelles) in the western part of Tanzania and several recent erup- the Indian Ocean are always at risk

79 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Map 1. The map shows the major urban centres of Africa and the regional locations of potential natural hazard occurrences. The major natural and human-induced hazards that have and are likely to impact most, if not all nations in Africa are as follows.

I. NATURAL PHENOMENA: HAZARDS AND DISASTERS

Processes Hazards 1. Geological/tectonic Volcanoes Poisonous gases (SO2, CO2, H2S, CH4, etc.) Earthquakes Landslides Tsunamis Lahars/debris flow/flooding 2. Hydro meteorological Hurricanes/cyclones/tornados Floods Extreme heat and heat waves Droughts/famine Wildfires Dust storms 3. Biological hazards Epidemics/pandemic Pest infestation

II. HUMAN-INDUCED HAZARDS AND DIS- ASTERS CIRCUMSTANCES

1. Atmospheric (Anthropogenic impacts) Air pollution Gas flaring 2. Water (surface and groundwater) con- Mine waste tamination Municipal/sewer Irrigation outflow Industrial/manufacturing waste water 3. Fires Forest lands, slash and burn 4. Land Toxic-waste dump/expired chemicals Solid waste and sewage Mining dump and erosion Deforestation, erosion, dust storm 5. Societal conflicts and terrorism Armed conflicts, genocide, mass migration, failed states, etc. Biological threats Chemical threats 6. Technological hazards Hazardous materials

80 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Hazard mitigation and response in Africa

The International Council for Science vanced early warning sensors and asters in Africa’ - was carried out at a Regional Office for Africa (ICSU-ROA) monitoring systems. workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2009, has prepared a science plan for mitigat- • Promote awareness of natural and an ‘Advanced Workshop on Evaluating, ing major natural and human-induced human-induced hazards and disas- Monitoring, and Communicating Vol- hazards and disasters in Sub-Sahara Af- ters and support policy and institu- canic and Seismic Hazards in East Af- rica (http://www.icsu.org/africa). The tional building for DRM. rica’ was held at the Abdus Salam Inter- plan focuses on assessing and managing • Provide resources to mitigate and re- national Center for Theoretical Physics geological hazards through the use of duce risk factors. (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. More than 80 remote sensing. It also focuses on hydro- • Expedite preparedness with con- scientists and students from 30 countries meteorological hazards and disasters tingency planning, including cata- in Africa, Asia, North and South Ameri- with special emphasis on the Sahel re- strophic risk financing tools. ca, and Europe attended. About half of gion. The plan also focuses on flood • Rehearse emergency responses and the participants were from Africa. management in major river basins. readiness with respect to provision of assistance during post-disaster The meeting was full of promise and The World Bank has established a dis- events. energy. Participants developed action aster risk management (DRM) team for plans to tackle volcanic, seismic, and Sub-Sahara Africa based on the Hyogo Independent initiatives other natural hazards in Africa. The Framework for Action (HFA). The HFA In addition to the international efforts workshop ended with an ambitious ac- is a global framework for disaster risk re- described above, a number of scientists tion plan to support immediate and duction and management. The Bank’s from Africa, Europe, and the United long-term needs of African geoscien- initiative builds on the African Union’s States have embarked on concerted ef- tists, especially in research, infrastruc- Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk forts through collaborative research, ture, and education. The meeting Management ratified in 2004. This re- training and mentoring to increase recommended the creation of regional gional strategy seeks to: natural hazards preparedness in Africa. data centers, Sub-Saharan volcano and • Enhance risk and vulnerability as- In 2002, a comprehensive assessment earthquake observatories, and the es- sessment across sectors using ad- - ‘Geoenvironmental Hazards and Dis- tablishment of a geohazard PhD and

81 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN MS programme at an African Uni- What should African countries basic-preparedness.pdf). However, versity. do? the basic guidelines are universally • Each country should formulate a applicable: Addis Ababa University (AAU) in nationwide plan and strategy that Ethiopia was selected to be the hub empowers local experts - national • Developing emergency plans, for the geohazard PhD programme. geological surveys agencies, uni- • Collecting and assembling disas- By 2012, the AAU team had devel- versities, and emergency services ter supply kits, oped a curriculum for the Geohaz- - to develop databases of all po- • Learning where to seek shelter ard PhD Programme. It was a robust tential natural and human-caused from hazards, and well-integrated interdisciplinary hazards at the local, district, pro- • Identifying rural/urban commu- programme. Unfortunately, due to vincial, and national levels. nity warning systems and evacua- lack of adequate resources, the pro- • At the regional level, countries tion routes, gramme failed to take off although that are likely to be affected by • Knowing relevant information the initiative had a lot of potential. similar hazards and disasters from community and school It would have complemented ongo- should coordinate and integrate plans, ing international efforts (e.g. ICSU- their resources. Regional eco- • Learning what to do for specific AOR, the World Bank Africa DRM nomic, developmental, and secu- hazards, and initiatives). The need for it is as strong rity organizations could play key • Practicing and maintaining emer- today as it was in 2009. Missed op- roles in facilitating such collabora- gency plans, portunities like this should not deter tion. • Establishing communication net- African professionals and friends of • At the continental level, the De- works (i.e., mobile phone, social Africa from renewing efforts to estab- partment of Human Resources, media, radio, TV, etc.). lish regional or national centres for Science, and Technology of the disaster risk mitigation and prepar- African Union should play a vital If Africa is to achieve sustainable edness. role as a coordinator of the vari- growth and development, it will need ous national and regional and in- to develop and implement an effec- Disaster risk reduction and manage- ternational efforts in this area. tive hazards and disaster risk and ment is critical to the future of eco- mitigation strategy. Ultimately, effec- nomic development in Africa. Natu- The most important long-term op- tive implementation of such a strat- ral hazard mitigation seeks to reduce tion is to establish at least two Africa- egy will rely on skilled local expertise. the risks of catastrophic impacts based higher-education (i.e. PhD) It is time for the continent to invest in through careful planning, effective centres to provide hydro meteorologi- building capacity in this area. regulation of land use, and building cal and geological hazard studies and procedures especially in large met- training. One of these centres could Dr. Giday WoldeGabriel is an Ethiopian- ropolitan areas. Poor land use plan- replace the failed geohazards PhD American geologist at Los Alamos National ning, especially in urban areas and Programme at Addis Ababa Uni- Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. He is bad development decisions are likely versity. The broad interdisciplinary also co-leader and chief geologist of the to lead to catastrophic destruction of prospectus that was prepared for Middle Awash project, a multidisciplinary life and property. the geohazard programme could be international research endeavor based at the modified to include courses related University of California, Berkeley, whose In any case, there will be natural and to volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, objective is to conduct geological and paleo- man-made hazards and disasters in and tsunamis within the eastern Afri- environmental investigations and the eluci- the future. Heightened awareness can rift, the Cameroon Line, the is- dation of human origins and evolution in through education at local, regional, lands and coastal lowlands along the the Afar Rift of northeastern Ethiopia. The and national levels and advocacy for western parts of the Indian Ocean, international research team is responsible for safer and sustainable developments and North Africa. The Sahel region the most significant discoveries of about half can make a huge difference in dis- of West Africa would be an ideal lo- of the known early hominid species—fossils aster risk management. In the long- cation for training future experts in ranging in age from the recent past to about term, the successes of the national, hydrometeorology and related haz- 6 million years and providing temporal, regional, and continental initiatives ards. These two programmes would spatial, and paleo-environmental contexts will depend on whether African lay the foundation for long-term ca- for these paleobiological records. The Mid- countries can train, recruit, and re- pacity building in hazards and disas- dle Awash project team is responsible for the tain skilled experts on natural hazard ter risk mitigation and management discovery and dating of the most complete and disaster risk assessment and miti- in Africa. skeletal remains of Ardipithecus ramidus at gation. Political commitment and 4.4 million years ago, which was published action plans are required to develop The worldwide web provides a wealth in a special issue of Science in October functional institutions that are capa- of information on all kinds of natural 2009. His areas of specialization include ble of assessing potential threats from and human-induced hazards and dis- field geology, rift tectonics, volcanology, ge- natural and human induced hazards. aster management. These are mostly ochronology, paleo-environmental, and te- prepared by the developed world phra studies. (www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/

82 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN CLIMATE RELEVANT INNOVATION- SYSTEM BUILDERS (CRIBS)

Dr David Ockwell, Deputy Director (Research), ESRC STEPS Centre, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geography University of Sussex, UK Dr Robert Byrne, Lecturer, SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit), STEPS Centre and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Business, Management and Economics University of Sussex

For developing countries, the promise of access to new climate technologies (includ- ing low carbon energy technologies and technologies for adapting to climate change) has always been a key motivation for engaging with UN climate negotiations.

ub-Saharan Africa is a region that enhance access to, and develop- and Network (CTCN) under the UN- whose aggregate greenhouse ment of, new climate technologies is FCCC Technology Mechanism. gas emissions are minimal highly significant. but whose potential growth in In an earlier edition of the African emissions through ambitious economic In this short article, based on grounded Technopolitan, Professor Stefan Schep- Sdevelopment plans, and whose vulner- research with partners in Africa, India ers wrote about the value of building ability to the impacts of current and fu- and China, we articulate a concrete pol- “Innovation Ecosystems” in African ture climate change, are significant. The icy proposal for extending the existing countries as the key means through region also has an urgent need to deal United Nations Framework Convention which to boost science, technology and with the low levels of access to modern on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Tech- innovation and ultimately economic energy services, an issue faced by two in nology Mechanism to make it work for growth and broader human develop- every three people in the region – and Africa. The proposal has the potential ment across Africa. CRIBs, as a policy an issue that access to low carbon en- to make a real, long term difference to mechanism, is designed to do just this. ergy technologies has a high potential African countries’ access to, and devel- Rather than “Innovation Ecosystems” to address (as highlighted by the UN’s opment of, climate technologies. We we refer instead to “National Systems of Sustainable Energy for All initiative). propose the implementation of CRIBs Innovation” – an accepted term in the (Climate Relevant Innovation-system scientific literature and one which can For these reasons, the potential support Builders) – centres based on the ground explain the economic success of many that UN climate policy could provide to in African countries as an extension to different countries across multiple dif- African countries in funding initiatives the existing Climate Technology Centre ferent socio-cultural and environmental

83 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN contexts in both the Global North ing of the problem as one requiring innovation occurs, and the strength and South. ‘hardware financing’. Climate tech- and nature of the relationships be- nologies are more expensive than tween them. Our hope is that African negotia- conventional technologies, so market tors will take this CRIBs proposal mechanisms – e.g. the Clean Devel- The idea of nurturing the NSIs and run with it as one of their key opment Mechanism (CDM), Global would begin to address the problem demands at the forthcoming UN cli- Environment Facility (GEF) funded that hardware financing can’t fix. It mate negotiations in Paris in Decem- efforts – help pay for technologies could underpin more sustained and ber 2015. which might not otherwise be afford- widespread transfer and develop- able. ment of climate technologies. As One of the most powerful boosts such, it provides a powerful new fo- to addressing climate technology But these approaches ignore the most cus for international policy. transfer and development under the important prerequisite for countries UNFCCC came in October 2014 to be able to absorb new technolo- A change in thinking: from at a meeting convened by the Tech- gies: technological capabilities. gardens to gardeners nology Executive Committee (TEC) Innovation System Builders, key ac- on strengthening National Systems Sowing seeds tors (individuals or institutions) who of Innovation in developing coun- Technological capabilities are like link actors and institutions up across tries. This briefing suggests some key soil in a garden. Without initial ef- niches of climate technology activity, points for how the UNFCCC archi- forts to nurture the soil’s fertility, are pointed to in the above litera- tecture could be extended in order scattering seeds (bits of technology tures. These are the gardeners who, to strengthen National Systems of hardware) is unlikely to lead to a wanting their garden to prosper, pre- Innovation in order to achieve more flourishing garden (technological pare fertile ground for leaps ahead transformative rates of climate tech- change and development). Moreo- in technological capability develop- nology transfer and development via ver, commercial gardening contrac- ment. Policy efforts could seek to the development of CRIBs. tors (technology investors) are un- fulfil the role of Innovation System likely to invest effort in sowing seeds Builders. Our key policy recommenda- in unfertile gardens in the first place. tions are for: By convening the NSIs workshop, • Long term funding to establish Hardware financing mechanisms, the TEC – responsible for overseeing and run CRIBs under the UNFC- therefore, serve to reinforce the implementation of the UNFCCC’s CC as an extension to the CTCN comparative advantages of different Technology Mechanism – has sig- • Support to help countries design countries. The majority of invest- nalled its interest in this powerful and establish CRIBs under the ment from the CDM, for example, way forward for UN climate policy. UNFCCC went to countries with comparatively • CRIBs to be demand-driven by high levels of existing technological What happens now? Parties capabilities such as China (60%) and The TEC will further consider NSIs • CRIBs to be housed within ex- India (11%). Africa as a whole only in 2015, according to its 2014/15 isting institutions in developing received 3% and sub-Saharan Africa work plan. Nurturing NSIs will take countries even less. The CDM also tended to effort and capacity, more in some • CRIBs to feed requests to the fund established, close-to-market countries and regions than others. CTCN via National Designated technologies rather than nurturing Looking at the coverage of existing Entities (NDEs) the development and uptake of new mechanisms under the UNFCCC technologies. (mostly via the CTCN) and related The problem with current initiatives – including the World policy: Hardware financing How National Systems of In- Bank’s Climate Innovation Centres It has long been recognised under novation can help (CICs) and the various Development the UNFCCC that the Convention So how do countries develop the Bank initiatives funded by the GEF should provide developing countries technological capabilities they need – we have a clear picture of where with support to mitigate and adapt to attract technology transfer and the gaps are. to climate change, and to develop development? The key, according to along low carbon, climate resilient decades of research in the field of Table 1 illustrates the coverage of trajectories. One of the ways the Innovation Studies and more recent existing mechanisms against the key UNFCCC is supposed to help this to work on Socio-Technical Transi- policy goals which should direct ef- happen is by supporting the transfer tions, is to focus on nurturing Na- forts at innovation system building. It and development of climate tech- tional Systems of Innovation (NSIs). disaggregates between national and nologies (technologies for climate international networking and adds change mitigation and adaptation). NSIs can be understood as the gar- an additional row to signify whether However activities under the Con- dens within which the fertile soil is NSI building is an explicit part of vention have failed to deliver at any- to be nurtured. They provide the any of their remits at present. From thing like the speed or scale needed. context within which all processes the swathe of yellow we can see that So why hasn’t it worked? of technology development, transfer it would be possible, with incremen- and uptake occur. NSIs encompass tal revisions to the existing remit of Research with our partners in Africa, the network of actors (firms, univer- most of these initiatives, to integrate India and China demonstrates a core sities, research institutes, government NSI building across their activities. reason is the current policy fram- departments, NGOs) within which

84 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Table 1 – Coverage of existing policy mechanisms against key elements of building National Systems of Innovation

Goal CTCN CIC ADB EBRD AfDB IADB Explicit Innovation System P P P P P P Building focus? Build networks (intl.) Y Y Y N Y Y Build networks (national) P Y Y N P Y Share learning P N P N P P Shared visions P N P N P P Support experiments P N P P P P

Key CTCN - Climate Technology Centre and Network; CIC – Climate Innovation Centres; ADB – Asian Development Bank ; EBRD – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; AfDB – African Development Bank Group; IADB – Inter- American Development Bank.

Y • Yes – within existing remit

P • Potential – within, or with incremental changes to, existing remit and institutional structure

N • No – outside remit

How can it work?

What needs to change in order to make the CTCN via the NDE in their coun- framing of international climate tech- this work? Under the UNFCCC, the try. It would also link to, and learn nology policy around nurturing NSIs key delivery mechanism is the CTCN. from, CRIBs in other countries via the – an opportunity for an African driven The TEC could make a recommenda- CTCN. It is a demand-driven model, and self-defined vision for making the tion to the UNFCCC Conference of with countries expressing their desire UNFCCC work for them. Decades of the Parties (COP) for a new approach to establish a CRIB which would then empirical research support the idea here. But the CTCN lacks capacity on be facilitated via support under the UN- that this policy framing would have sig- the ground in Africa, and, indeed, in de- FCCC. This demand driven nature is nificantly more impact than one built veloping countries more generally. The critical. It provides African countries around hardware financing approaches. CTCN’s National Designated Entities with the legitimate remit to influence (NDEs) are generally staffed by civil the UNFCCC architecture in ways that We look forward to positive steps for- servants with only a small proportion of facilitate development in directions that ward from the TEC in the months to their time allocated to the NDE role. are self-defined and fluid, learning and come, to the creation of Innovation- evolving as they grow. System Builders, via the establishment The creation of CRIBs is needed. These of CRIBs in developing countries, and would be dedicated institutions on the What is required under the UNFCCC, to a new turn in international policy ground in Africa focusing explicitly on and what African negotiators must de- efforts that works for all countries, not building NSIs, understanding local ca- mand, is that long term funding be just the few who have benefited to date pacities, and identifying opportunities made available to establish and run through mechanisms like the CDM. to connect actors up across projects and CRIBs. Support could also be made programmes and sectors, linking up available to help countries to design and with and understanding technology us- initially establish them. They would also ers, and so on. (Note, this is likely closer benefit from their direct link into the to Professor Ambuj Sagar’s and his col- CTCN, providing for further, in-country For the peer reviewed scientific basis to league’s original vision for what became demand driven support. Ideally, CRIBs the proposal, please refer to our open the CICs, although their vision was for wouldn’t be new institutions, but would access article in the journal Climate centres at a regional rather than nation- be run through existing institutions with Policy http://www.tandfonline.com/ al level – and it was exactly what was appropriate expertise (e.g. universities, doi/full/10.1080/14693062.201 intended in the Sussex Energy Group’s research organisations or NGOs). 5.1052958#.VZEksesk_0c. proposal for the critical UN negotia- tions in Copenhagen in 2009). New opportunity and approach Each CRIB would feed in requests to There is an opportunity here for a new

85 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN USING DATA TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE

By Dr James Kimondo Centre Director, Kenya Forestry Research Institute

Across Africa, accessing timely and accurate data in the land-sector is a challenge. Whether a decision maker wants to track changes in forest, a farmer wants to know what crop to plant, or a national climate change negotiator wants to understand a country’s emissions, all too often they are confronted by data that is fragmented, incomplete or inaccessible.

or the last three years, govern- is the development of applications and optimal conditions for growth; ment officials, academics and supporting data acquisition infrastruc- • Weather data, collected from weather scientists in Kenya have been ture to make this information available stations across Kenya; working with the Clinton Foun- in ways that can help Kenya address • Information about Kenya’s key crops, dation to overcome this problem by other vital socio-economic issues, such including the conditions that change Fbuilding SLEEK (System for Land- as food security, agricultural produc- their growth patterns and how much based Emissions Estimation in Kenya). tivity and land-management. Putting carbon is stored by different crops; This programme is also supported by this data into the hands of Kenyans in and the Government of Australia. formats they can use could have pro- • Land cover maps of Kenya, showing found implications across the country, how land-use has changed over the The programme’s first goal is to build a changing the way Kenya grows it food, past thirty years. national GHG (greenhouse gas) Meas- manages it lands and protects its natural urement, Reporting and Verification resources. To drive SLEEK, an integration tool (MRV) system for the land-sector in called FLINT (Full Lands Integration Kenya. MRV systems are used by coun- How is SLEEK being built? Tool) has been developed by Govern- tries to track their GHG emissions and SLEEK is being delivered by teams of ment of Kenya and experts from the report changes to the United Nations scientists and other experts from a range Clinton Foundation. This tool is able Convention on Climate Change (UN- of institutions organized in Element to analyze data sets to answer policy FCCC). They play an important role in Working Groups. This collaboration questions and guide the policy develop- helping tackle climate change by provid- helps breaks down silos between agen- ment process. It does this by identifying ing vital information about a country’s cies and helps scientists work together in changes in Kenya’s land-sector through GHG emissions. Currently, Kenya does new, innovative ways. The programme remote sensing, and then using models not have a system for estimating emis- is supported by a broader governance to simulate the carbon fluxes as a result sions in the land-sector. Without this, it structure, with administration located of this land-cover change. The tool has is difficult to plan effective policies for in a Programme Management Unit and been built to be generic – which means reducing emissions. Furthermore, a ro- high-level strategic oversight provided that any other country will be able to bust MRV would enable Kenya to max- by a Programme Steering Committee. adopt it, connect their own data and use imize the benefits from international it to meet their own policy goals. programmes that seek to reduce emis- The programme will bring together five sions through reduced deforestation and key data sets: Challenges of building SLEEK implementation of green growth strate- • Soil data, providing essential infor- The road to building SLEEK has not gies. SLEEK will allow Kenya to track mation about soil nutrient and car- been easy. It has taken time, effort and its GHG emissions and removals in the bon levels; perseverance. A number of key les- land-sector and to report this accurately • Forest data showing where for- sons can be generalized from the pro- to the UNFCCC. ests were and are in Kenya, how gramme, and can help inform similar much carbon is sequestered through projects that aim to build long-term The programme’s second key output growth, and information about the data systems.

86 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Data is fragmented the country – working at steady, accom- Make the data matter to people Countries like Kenya have significant modative pace that gave all stakeholders SLEEK has been explicitly designed to stores of data. However, often this data a chance to be involved. help address a range of socio-economic is fragmented and incomplete. Too issues such as food security, agricultural many records are stored on paper, or Fill the gaps productivity and land-management. have not been converted to a standard SLEEK has undertaken extensive efforts This will primarily be done through format that allows the data to be com- to identify the gaps that exist in datasets the development of programmes and pared over time. This is often a result and to put in place programmes to fill applications. Kenya has already recog- of the way various independent pro- these gaps. In many cases, data exists nized that there are a wide range of ap- grammes collect data for their specific but is not in a usable format. For exam- plications that could be developed using purposes. Even when intensive research ple, the programme has digitized over SLEEK data. The Clinton Foundation is undertaken in certain sites, there are 1.7 million climate records at the Kenya has worked with the Government of few ongoing, comparable monitoring Meteorological Service, which were Kenya to scope an initial set of appli- systems developed. This means that previously stored in paper formats. This cations which would have a significant data sets are frequently very lumpy, has greatly expanded Kenya’s digital benefit for Kenya. with inconsistent methods and irregular climate record, improving the service’s timescales. capacity to analyze and understand For example, by bringing together cli- Kenya’s climate. mate data, crop information and maps The policy agenda is crowded of Kenya’s soils there is the capacity and urgent The programme has also strengthened to help provide information about the Kenya, like most developing countries, the capacity of Kenyan scientists to de- best crop to grow in a particular area. confronts a wide range of vexing policy velop and use models that are able to This information can be disseminated challenges, from the provision of high provide insight in crops, soils and forests through SMS, information programmes quality education to responsive health- in Kenya. The programme has devel- or table applications. The data collect- care, inclusive communities and jobs. As oped interfaces that will make it easier ed by SLEEK can also help overcome a result, prioritizing policies to address for scientists to use a key soil model challenges in programmes that haven’t climate change will always struggle in called the Rothamsted Carbon Model succeeded for a lack of reliable data. this environment, as the impacts will be (Roth-C). Previously, scientists had to For example weather index-based crop felt over decades. Equally, building ro- have detailed knowledge of the model’s insurance has been difficult in Kenya bust data-systems within governments operation, however with the new inter- due to a lack of access to weather data. requires long-term decision-making and faces they are able to access the model SLEEK will help provide access to this a significant level of technical invest- much more easily. information through certified weather ment before benefits are realized. maps that are timely, accurate and ac- These user-friendly interfaces will con- cessible. SLEEK can also help connect Data systems are complex tinue to be developed for all key models local databases with national infrastruc- Building data-systems is always a com- used in SLEEK. The development of ture. For example, a proposed forest plex undertaking, and the SLEEK ex- these interfaces has been supported by tracker will help Kenya’s forest manag- perience so far is no different. These the provision of training by some of the ers track deforestation and identify ar- systems require innumerable decisions most well respected research institutions eas for reforestation. Communities will to be made across government depart- in the world, which has brought global also be able to use this tool to help plan ments and institutions and many hur- knowledge to Kenya. Finally, SLEEK their own reforestation projects, and dles to be overcome. SLEEK has ben- has provided significant funding to de- will be able to estimate the income they efited from drawing extensively on the velop new datasets. This is fundamental could generate by selling carbon reduc- experience of other countries. However to filling the gaps in data, and to create tions to others who want to offset their the complexity remains a continuous a comprehensive system that can deliver impact on the environment. challenge. This problem is not unique the results needed by Kenya. to MRV systems – all data systems need These three applications are an indica- to make decisions across a range of in- Improve the return on investment tion of the possibilities that can result stitutions. MRV systems are essential for tackling from the SLEEK data collection pro- climate change. However, as discussed, cess. Continuing to identify and capital- WHAT LESSONS TO CONSIDER they compete with a range of other ize on these datasets will be a key op- IN BUILDING BIG DATA SYS- pressing needs. To overcome this, data portunity for all Ministries within the TEMS LIKE MRV? systems need to over-perform by deliv- Government of Kenya. ering a high rate of return on invest- Building strong foundations with- ment for a wide range of beneficiaries. Making data systems sustainable in a country In SLEEK, this has meant ensuring that SLEEK was born out of a need to track The first step in building any system that the scope of activities is broad enough emissions in Kenya. However, mak- will be sustainable within government is to address challenges across govern- ing the system sustainable required to build strong foundation and aware- ment, well beyond simply providing the reach of the programme to extend ness within the country. SLEEK has emissions estimation results. Harnessing beyond these initial aims. The lesson is been careful not to impose itself on top data to meet development challenges that data-systems in Africa can’t be re- of pre-existing government structures. creates champions across government, stricted to narrow goals – instead, they Instead, the development has respected and fosters the political will to keep a have to address a range of national de- and reinforced existing mandates. This system running long after donor fund- velopment priorities. This lesson applies has been supported by a careful, long- ing has ceased. beyond MRV, and can help inform pro- term engagement with experts across grammes across the developing world.

87 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN E-GOVERNMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN KENYA

Sharon Mirrella Wakhu, PhD Candidate University of Shanghai for Science & Technology (USST)

In October 2012, Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) launched a digital portal. NEMA’s e-EIA system has the potential to yet again rein- force Kenya’s status as one of Africa’s most technologically adventurous countries.

he cornerstone of e-governance technology, the digital age is unlikely to where in the world. Limited capacity to has always been utilization of provide lasting solutions to fundamental manage, utilize and disseminate infor- information and communica- social and economic challenges. mation effectively is one of the major tions Technology (ICT) in the African countries are still largely natural challenges. Others include corruption, delivery of equitable and efficient pub- resource based economies. poor quality EIA reports, inadequate Tlic services as required by citizens and Many are highly susceptible to the EIA review and Environmental Man- organizations. The ‘e’ in e-government negative effects of environmental deg- agement Planning (EMP). refers to the enabling technology and radation. A review of EIA systems con- is not the primary focus – that remains ducted by the United Nations Econom- Innovative and effective use of ICTs, in on ‘government’. The goal is to eradi- ic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in the form of e-environmental govern- cate poverty and disease, improve liter- collaboration with Capacity Linkages ance has the potential to address some acy, protect the environment, enhance for Environmental Assessment in Af- of these challenges. According to the transparency and accountability, em- rica (CLEAA) (UNECA, 2005) revealed UN E-Government Survey of 2014, for power citizens and accelerate economic that while African countries have made the first time, all the 193 UN Member development. Without radical commit- significant efforts to implement EIA States have achieved online presence. ment by governments to leverage the legislation, the institutionalization of 130 countries have made efforts to pro- opportunities presented by enabling EIA has been slower in Africa than else- vide environmental information online,

88 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 23 of which are in Africa. Tunisia, house by the ICT department after in relation to the rest of the re- Mauritius, Egypt, Morocco and an assessment of the requirements gion and the world. The report Seychelles lead the middle income and consultation between environ- is available for download on the economy countries while Ethiopia, mental experts and ICT profession- NEMA website. Other online Kenya and Rwanda are at the fore- als at NEMA. It is an integrated publications and resources are front in the low income economy Government-to-Citizens / Govern- also available such as the NEMA category. A diverse array of digital ment-to-Business / Government- Magazine, EIA regulations, poli- channels including national web- to-Government (G2C/G2B/G2G) cies and procedures, EIA experts sites, Wide Area Network (WAN), model. register with contact details and mobile applications, e-participation samples of approved EIA study features (social media, crowdsourc- The e-EIA system has enabled the reports for reference purposes. ing and Short Message Service – automation of the following ser- SMS) and dedicated Open Govern- vices: The user interface of the NEMA ment Data portals are now actively • Registration of EIA experts: e-EIA system is web based and ac- in use for the provision of services • application for registration as cessible to the public. The back-end and environmental information by an environmental impact assess- application has an inbuilt workflow environmental agencies in Africa. ment/audit expert management system (WfMS), mak- • application for license to practice ing it possible for all applications and Kenya’s e-EIA system as an environmental impact as- submissions to be tracked online. The Kenyan e-EIA system was de- sessment/audit expert Links to related government agen- cies (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya Mete- orological Department, Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing (DRSRS) and the Mines & Without radical commitment by Geological Department can also be governments to leverage the opportunities accessed on the web platform. For payment purposes, information on presented by enabling technology, the the specific bank account to be used is provided on the site. digital age is unlikely to provide lasting To date, NEMA has not undertaken solutions to fundamental social and a comprehensive benefits evaluation exercise so the degree to which the economic challenges. e-EIA system has influenced EIA performance, service quality, op- erational efficiencies and public par- ticipation remains to be established. However, at a glance, it would ap- veloped by the National Environ- Environmental Impact Assess- pear that operations at the agency mental Management Authority ment review: are now modern, traceable and rela- (NEMA) in 2012. It was predicated • submission of environment im- tively more efficient. Productivity on the assumption that the integra- pact assessment project report and accountability of the staff has tion of ICTs in the management • submission of environment im- increased. With more transparent and implementation of the Envi- pact assessment study report procedures, it is hoped that instanc- ronmental Impact Assessment (EIA) • application for variation of envi- es of corruption and unnecessary process has the potential to trans- ronmental impact assessment li- delays will reduce. For project pro- form environmental regulation and cense ponents and EIA experts, perhaps protection. The e-EIA system aims • notification of surrender of en- the biggest gains have been realized to: vironmental impact assessment through the remote submissions and • improve the quality and efficien- license applications system. cy of service delivery • simplify operational procedures Compliance and Enforcement *The author is currently undertaking a • enable access to NEMA services (waste management, noise, PhD in Information Management and throughout the country biodiversity, water quality and Information Systems at the University of • promote productivity through ozone depleting substances): Shanghai for Science and Technology. She tracking and monitoring of pro- • Environmental Licensing is also working as a Senior Manager in gress • Environmental Auditing the International Business Development • minimize administrative and op- • Environmental Inspection Section at SS-GATE, a UNDP Project erational costs • Environmental Incident Man- based in Shanghai that provides technology • enhance public participation and agement and Disaster Prevention implementation support services by lever- consultation through a 24hr dedicated hotline aging extensive networks and resources of • reduce avenues for corruption • Environmental reporting: NEMA international development organizations in through transparency and ac- publishes the annual State of the support of SME/Innovator/Local Com- countability Environment (SoE) report which munity projects implemented under the UN provides updates on various envi- South-South development agenda. The e-EIA system was developed in- ronmental issues affecting Kenya

89 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ADAPTATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN AFRICA Dr. Richard Munang, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Robert Mgendi, UNEP

Africa’s vulnerability to climate change coupled with the region’s socio-economic de- pendence on climate sensitive sectors underpinned by healthy ecosystems means the adaptation imperative for the continent is no longer debatable.

he IPCC 4th assessment re- AR5 as a major developmental concern. The AAGR1 reports that climate port (IPCC AR4) documents change effects on crop yields for key that Africa is among the most WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR SEC- staples in the continent point to mean vulnerable regions to climate TORS DRIVING AFRICA’S yield changes (reductions) by the 2050s change, with wide ranging impacts ECONOMIES? of -17% for wheat, -5% for maize, -15% Timpinging on its key economic sectors for sorghum, and -10% for millet. On Agriculture and fisheries recorded in the IPCC’s 5th assessment In agriculture, climate change is linked precipitation, northern and southern report (IPCC AR5), the 1st Africa Ad- to potential declines in yields of ma- Africa regions are projected to experi- aptation gap report (AAGR1), and jor staples in Africa. The World Bank ence particularly strong declines, with more recently, the 2nd Africa adapta- reports that in SSA, by the 2030s, a projected decrease in annual precipi- tion gap report (AAGR2) released early droughts and heat will leave 40% of tation of 5 – 20%. This while 95% of 2015 among other notable publications. the land now growing maize unable to food in SSA is grown under rain fed Among sectors at risk include health- support the crop, while rising tempera- agriculture. care, water resources, infrastructure, tures could cause major loss of savanna energy, tourism, ecosystems and agri- grasslands, thereby threatening pasto- The AAGR2 mirrors findings of the culture, which employs up to 60% of ral livelihoods. The implication is that IPCC AR5, noting serious implications labour in Africa, yet is 98% rain fed, by 2050, depending on the sub-region, of yield reductions for key staples in the hence vulnerable to climate change. In the proportion of the population under- continent leading up to 2050. For in- addition, climate impacts of flooding nourished is projected to increase by 25 stance under a 20C warming scenario, and sea level rise on rapidly urbanizing – 90% compared to the present. West Africa will experience 7% reduc- African cities is also noted by the IPCC tion in maize yields, the Sahel will expe-

90 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN rience 13% and 11% reductions respectively population lacks access to electricity is un- for maize and millet, Central Africa will ex- dermining efforts to achieve more rapid so- perience 13% reduction in maize yields, and cial and economic development in the con- southern Africa 11% reduction. For a 30C tinent. In addition, about 65% lack access world, the Sahel is projected to suffer 40% to clean energy for cooking. On the business reduction in millet yields, a major staple in front, some 10 million medium-sized en- this region. terprises lack access to electricity. In addi- tion, frequent power shortages cost African In fisheries, climate change is projected to economies 1 – 4% in lost GDP annually. In result in substantial reduction in marine fish Kenya for instance, at least 50 power out- production and decline in fish protein sup- ages occur annually. ply in West Africa by the 2050s. Fisheries are a vital source of food/nutrition security and Human health livelihoods in this region. Economic loss to In healthcare, changes in temperature and this region as a result of reduced catches by precipitation patterns as well as extreme 2050 under a 2°C warming scenario is pro- events such as droughts, floods, storm surges, jected at 21% of annual total landed value and heat waves are projected to undermine baseline to 2000 (from USD 732 million in human health in Africa through increased 2010/11 to USD 577 million, using con- stant 2000 dollars) and a 50% decline in fisheries-related jobs. Côte d’Ivoire, Gha- na, and Togo are projected to suffer the greatest impacts on their landed values In fisheries, climate change is projected with up to 40% declines. to result in substantial reduction in marine Energy sector In the energy sector, climate change has fish production and decline in fish protein been identified as a significant driver of water shortages in hydro-power systems, supply in West Africa by the 2050s. with impacts recorded in high potential areas like Southern Africa, Kenya, Tan- zania (rainfall variability contributing to 64% decline in water levels in Mtera dam which supplies 50% of hydropower in Tan- incidences of physical injury, infectious dis- zania) and the DRC. The AAGR1, AAGR2 eases through shifts in disease vectors as well as well as the IPCC AR5 document that en- as undernourishment. The AAGR1 pro- ergy generation in Africa will be impacted jects that the rate of undernourishment in negatively by climate change induced rain- the Sub-Saharan African population would fall variability as well as temperature in- increase by 25-90% with a warming of 1.2- creases. Most energy production methods 1.9°C by 2050 relative to a 2010 baseline. used in Africa require significant amounts Current trajectory points to a 40C warming of water, either directly, such as hydro- scenario, signaling potentially dire conse- generation or indirectly, as coolants in ther- quences. The gradual shift in temperature mal plants and for other operations. Some and rainfall may also have a significant effect countries, including Zambia, Namibia and on the geographic range of many diseases. Mozambique, rely almost exclusively on hy- For instance, malaria is expected to disap- droelectric sources for their electricity pro- pear from some areas and spread into others duction, whereas the rest of the continent that were previously inhospitable to malaria relies primarily on thermo-electrical sources vectors and pathogens. The IPCC AR5 ob- such as coal, oil or gas. Both these methods serves that climate change is expected to af- require significant amounts of water. As wa- fect the geographic range and incidence of ter levels in rivers continue to decline and malaria, with contractions and expansions, incidences of heat extremes continue to sour and increasing and decreasing incidence. due to climate change, hydroelectric dams The AAGR2 reports with significant confi- and the cooling systems of thermoelectric dence that highland areas, especially in East power plants may experience production Africa, could experience increased malaria disruptions, resulting in disruptions in ener- epidemics due to climate change. In addi- gy supply and constricting economic growth tion, climate change is linked to changes in the continent. in leishmaniasis epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, with spatial spread to peri-urban These impacts would be catastrophic con- areas and to adjacent geographic regions, sidering the continent’s current energy pov- possibly due to changing rainfall patterns. erty situation, where only 219 million out of In addition, studies have linked the chang- 915 million people have access to electricity ing climate to increased incidences of Ebola and the total number without access is ris- through a complex interaction of human, ing. The fact that two-thirds of the region’s environmental and climatic factors.

91 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN and disruption of economic activities the population and economic assets at Water sector such as tourism. Average sea level rise risk of 1 in 100-year return period ex- In the water sector, which also supports is projected higher along Africa’s coast treme water levels by 2030 range be- biodiversity in general as well as the line than the global average. By 2100 tween 30,300 - 110,000 inhabitants and agriculture and energy sectors, climate for an over 40C warming scenario, economic costs range between USD change is expected to cause many Af- while average global rise is projected at 35.6 – 404.1million. rican countries that are already facing approx. 70cm, sea level rise in Africa is water shortages to experience increased projected to reach 80cm. The impacts Additional risks are recorded for the water stress in the coming decades, with of this rise without adaptation efforts key tourism sector, through climate im- reductions in both surface and ground are grim. The AAGR2 records that sea pacts on ecosystems and biodiversity water resources. For a warming of 2 – level rise will put over 10million at risk where shift in ecosystem ranges and loss 40C, much of Sub-Saharan Africa is of flooding in large coastal cities, of of biodiversity is projected to result in projected to experience 60-80% reduc- Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, loss in touristic attractions and conse- tion of surface runoff by 2100, rela- Senegal, Egypt, Morocco among oth- quently, a decline in the number of visi- tive to a baseline of 1961 – 1990. For ers by 2050, not to mention the ensuing tors. In addition, extreme temperatures ground sources in the period are projected could render the period 2041-79, at a 20C summertime and even off- warming scenario, ground- peak seasons less pleasant water recharge rates are pro- thus deterring would be jected to decrease by 30-70 tourist. The AAGR1 re- in North Africa and south- cords that revenue gener- western Africa compared to ated from tourism will be a 1961-90 baseline. directly affected by damage to infrastructure due to seal Impacts in the water sector level rise and flooding and are also projected to im- changes in the length and pinge on agriculture, with quality of climate-depend- projected declines in water ent tourism seasons. available for agriculture at- tributed to climate impacts The Nile Delta of Egypt, on the water sector. It is which is particularly vul- projected that for a warm- nerable to inundation and ing scenario of 3.50C above saltwater intrusion asso- pre-industrial levels, in the ciated with sea level rise, period 2070 – 2099, the provides a classic example total blue and green water of the potential impact (BWGW) available for agri- of sea-level rise on tour- culture in Africa will decline ism. Rising sea levels is by more than 10% relative projected likely to damage to the 1971 – 2000 period. recreational tourism and beach facilities, in addition Tourism, coastal cities to inundating coastal fresh- and infrastructure water lagoons and salinat- Currently, over 25% of Af- ing groundwater resources. rica’s population lives within In Alexandria, a key tourist 100 km of the coast and city, submersion of tourist over 50% lives in low elevation sites is projected to increase coastal zones in urban areas, account- damage to infrastructure and disruption from the current level of 28% to 62% ing for 11.5% of the total urban popu- in food supply to urban areas, exposing with a sea-level rise of 1m, and valuable lation of the continent. Going forward, populations to elevated food prices. cultural sites could be placed at risk by urban population in Africa is projected storm surges. to triple by 2050, increasing by 0.8bil- In eastern Africa, the IPCC AR5 pro- lion. Some cities are projected to swell jects the impact of coastal flooding due Population growth exacerbating by up to 85% of their current size by to sea level rise in Kenya by 2030 to af- climate risks 2030. The impact of climate change fect 10,000 - 86,000 people, with asso- Africa’s rapidly growing population also on urban Africa will incrementally have ciated economic costs ranging between presents an additional challenge. Cur- implications on an increasingly signifi- USD 7 - 58million. In the coastal city rently, SSA’s population stands at ap- cant proportion of the continents popu- of Mombasa, by 2030 the population proximately 856 million. It is estimated lation. and assets at risk of 1 in 100-year return that by 2050, it will more than double to period extreme water levels is estimated approximately 1.7 billion and represent Sea level rise and flooding in cities is to be between 170,700 - 266,300 inhab- roughly half of the additional global projected to result in significant socio- itants, while economic assets, including population. In terms of age, SSA has economic loss for African countries, infrastructure at risk is between USD the youngest population in the world. through displacement of populations in 0.68 – 1.06billion. For neighboring Young people aged 15 – 25 represent coastal cities, damage to infrastructure Tanzania, in its capital Dar-es-Salaam, more than 60% of the continents total

92 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN population. Poverty among these youths an above 40C average global tempera- is rife. More than 70% of the youths live ture rise by 2100. The implication is that Investing in ecosystems and ecosystems on less than USD 2 per day, and youth Africa’s adaptation costs could hit USD based adaptation (EbA) will be key for unemployment is high with 60% youth 100billion annually by 2050. Cumula- Africa because ecosystem services such unemployment in Africa. Going for- tively, the AAGR2 reports that Africa’s as water, hydrologic regulation, soil fer- ward, it is approximated that 350 mil- adaptation costs for the “below 20C” tility, biodiversity, climate change adap- lion young people under the age of 25 and “over 40C” warming scenarios are tation etc. underpin Africa’s economic years will be entering the labor market projected to exceed USD 1trillion by sectors like energy, tourism, agriculture by 2035. the 2060s. It further adds that even with to name but a few, that are vital at effective adaptation, the cost of residual achieving inclusive growth. Africa can This portends more mouths to feed, damage is expected to be double the ad- go a long way in ensuring environmen- more jobs to create and an impera- aptation costs in period 2030-2050. tally sustainable and socially inclusive tive for inclusive sustainable economic economic growth – creating jobs and growth. In addition, the millions of un- Investing in ecosystems – poten- income opportunities thus eradicat- employed youth constitute an impend- tial panacea for climate adapta- ing poverty, ensuring food security for ing threat to stability in the its citizens, ensuring continent, a possibility ac- climate resilience us- knowledged by the African ing environmental Union. The continents cli- resources, all while mate sensitive sectors must simultaneously en- deliver opportunities to em- suring the environ- power these youth. ment is conserved In fisheries, climate - by using affordable The growing population, and accessible eco- while it can be leveraged as change is projected system based means. a demographic dividend if This by making sure appropriately harnessed by African ecosystems creating jobs, also means to result in substantial continue to provide increased pressure and de- these services well mand on ecosystem services reduction in marine fish into the future by underpinning food, water, putting in place de- energy, biodiversity, and production and decline velopment policies other socio-economic inputs and strategies, that and the need to sustainably protect them and manage them for future gen- in fish protein supply sustainably utilize erations. Considering the them to achieve sus- threat of climate change on in West Africa by the tainable industrial these inputs and the need to development. Such create jobs, adaptation and policies should target climate resilient develop- 2050s. all economic sectors, ment policy making is more and especially the than a matter of good com- climate sensitive sec- mon sense for the continent. tors demonstrated as It is an urgent imperative to underpinning eco- guarantee socio-economic nomic growth in the growth well into posterity. continent.

Adaptation policy imperative tion and job creation The agriculture sector deserves special As recorded above, climate change is While the need to adapt to climate mention. It currently employs up to projected to significantly impact Afri- change is a developmental imperative 60% of labor in the continent, includ- ca’s economic growth negatively. Con- for the continent, the prohibitive costs ing women producing up to 80% of the sequently, the need for climate change are alarming. Furthermore, in light of food. This sector occupies a unique po- adaptation being a central component diminishing official development assis- sition to enhance inclusive growth, job of sectoral developmental policy plan- tance (ODA) (as share of total external creation and alleviate hunger and pov- ning and implementation is urgent to financing, declined from 38% in 2000 to erty in the continent, if its full potential safeguard Africa’s future development. 27% in 2014) to the continent, the need is unleashed holistically. for sustainable financing strategies for Cost of adaptation the continent is urgent. One way Africa This can be done by embracing an While the need to invest in climate ad- can ensure sustainable financing for ad- agriculture paradigm, that seeks to op- aptation cannot be overemphasized, the aptation is by looking at adaptation as timize agricultural productivity along costs are astronomical. The AAGR2 ob- a business, not only as a developmental the entire value chain, - from on-farm serves that under the current trajectory, issue per se. Africa needs to invest in productivity by applying ecological ag- mitigation efforts are not in tandem for economic opportunities that climate ad- riculture / ecosystem based approaches a below 20C warming scenario by 2050. aptation presents, and ensure creation that not only increase yields but also Rather, the current track could lead to of incomes and jobs in the process. enhance ecosystem productivity and

93 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN climate resilience of communities to be- By incorporating marketing services as comes. yond farm-gate value addition strategies a value addition strategy in their en- where agribusiness is unleashed through terprise, the improved crop yields and Appling storage as a value addition embracing technology to reduce post- diversity can be leveraged to service a strategy, the hematic bag has demon- harvest losses (PHLs) (PHLs accounted larger market and enhance incomes to strated its effectiveness in West and for USD 48billion worth of food lost these farmers. Central Africa by registering cumula- in the continent in 2010) through stor- tive savings for the region of about age, improve market access for farmers In Uganda, SESACO Foods Company USD 500 million annually. Individual using mobile and other online innova- is leveraging on value addition along entrepreneurs and the youth are also tions, implement food processing, etc. the food supply chain. By this, the com- creating jobs by leveraging ecosystem and in the process create many jobs and pany employs 80, 55 being women, and services. In Ethiopia, a young farmer is increase incomes along this value chain. generates monthly revenues averag- applying irrigation, and in the process, ing USD 39,000. In the same country, produces fruits and vegetables on 25ha, Actualizing this holistic paradigm will AGROWAYS (U) LTD., offers cleaning, and cereals on another 12ha, and em- be the overriding theme of the upcom- drying, grading, and storage services to ploys 50 young persons. In Lesotho, a ing 2nd food security conference to be small holder farmers at affordable pric- young entrepreneur is leveraging live- hosted by UNEP in collaboration with es. Through this value addition, farmers stock production to generate income, ACTS and other partners in July 30-31, are reducing post-harvest loss. create employment, offer training -ser 2015. vices and expand into additional busi- Cameroon’s Mewanko Farm has set- nesses in other sectors African agriculture and agribusiness is up an online marketplace for farm- estimated, could be worth USD 1trillion ers to sell fresh produce in a scheme it In addition to agriculture, the impor- by 2030. An agribusiness private sector hopes will increase the income of 13 tance of ecosystem services to African working alongside government could million people. Altogether, a number countries is manifest in a number of link farmers with consumers and cre- of mobile innovations that link farm- other sectors. In Rwanda, by investing ate many jobs. Further, Foreign Direct ers to potential markets already exist, in ecosystem productivity, the country Investment (FDI) in African agriculture and include MLOUMA in Senegal, has seen an improvement in its tour- is projected to grow from less than USD ESOKO in Ghana, and POULTRY ism sector and energy generation with 10billion in 2010 to more than USD GUIDE in Uganda among others. In increased incomes and jobs created. 45billion in 2020. In addition, growth Nigeria, a fruit processing enterprise, On tourism, Rwanda, by sustainably in this sector can reduce poverty twice REELFRUT, managed to expand to managing its ecosystems, is leverag- as fast as growth in other sectors. Africa 20 retail outlets within three months of ing its unique position as the home of should capitalize on this. establishment. The enterprise processes the mountain gorilla, a major tourist and packages health snacks made from attraction to reap huge economic ben- Opportunities inherent in ecological ag- freshly dried fruits – mangoes and pine- efits. The country’s booming tourism riculture approaches and agribusiness apples. industry, which now accounts for the value chains have been demonstrated in biggest share of national GDP, is driven a number of countries, both by enter- Across West Africa, integrated soil fer- primarily by the country’s iconic gorilla. prises and individual entrepreneurs. In tility management (ISFM) across over After a decline in tourism in the 1990s, taking these opportunities, incomes are 200,000 ha has resulted in yield increas- gorilla visitation has since increased generated and poverty reduced. es of 33-58% over four years, improv- from less than 1200 tourists in 2000 to ing food security and accompanying a record of 7417 visitors in 2004. With In Zambia, farmers increased crop revenue increases of 179% for maize visitors paying USD 375 each to see the yields by 60% by switching from mono- and 50% for cassava and cowpea. Spe- gorillas, these tourists have generated culture practices to intercropping and cifically, ISFM using micro-dosing has over USD 3 million in revenue every other sustainable methods. Through been applied by about 500,000 small year since 2005. This has also contrib- agroforestry, smallholder farmers also holders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ni- uted to the creation of many new jobs produce more diverse crops, which ger, with associated increases in millet associated with the management and means they can potentially serve a and sorghum yields of 44 – 120% along maintenance of the National Park and wider market and earn more incomes. with 50 – 130% increases in family in- its related touristic activities.

94 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN In fisheries, climate change is projected to result in substantial reduction in marine fish production and decline in fish protein supply in West Africa by the 2050s.

ment the guidelines, farmers were able adaptation strategies into the decision In the energy sector, wetland restoration to achieve and sustain tree densities of making level in individual countries and in rural Rwanda has also improved live- at least 1,000 trees in one hectare. Con- their implementation. These policy op- lihoods and created alternative forms sidering each mature tree can give a net tions should address current bottlenecks of employment. Ecosystem restoration profit of TAS 27,840, it implies that in to achieving vertical scale and imple- efforts estimated at USD 149,670 have one hectare the farmer is able to get net mentation of climate adaptation in the resulted in increased water levels which profit of TAS 27,840,000. continent. also led to the construction of a 2.1 MW hydro power station and jobs for rural At the global level, investing in biodiver- Adaptation Implementation in Af- residents with multiplier effects for oth- sity and ecosystems services can yield an rica– Driving Policy Changes and er socio-economic activities. Rwanda estimated return worth over USD 21-72 Going beyond Talk is showing that countries stand to gain trillion every year - comparable to the exponential economic benefits if eco- World Gross National Income of USD (a) Financing and cost – benefit systems are kept healthy and productive 58 trillion in 2008. Africa should not be evaluation left out of this billion, or better trillion Clearly estimate total cost and benefit In Togo the rehabilitation of two dams dollar industry. of implementing EbA and other ad- having a combined storage capacity of aptation strategies at sectoral level and 94,000 m3 of water, has made it pos- Policy options – putting adaptation at establish sources of funds to ensure ac- sible to rehabilitate 30 hectares of land. the center of development policy and tivities to be captured in policy are ac- If the water is used to grow vegetables practice companied by requisite national budg- (Example Tomatoes), it is possible to From the foregoing, it is demonstrable etary allocation. For a start, countries harvest at least two crops in one year. that: can set aside a share of the first rising With potential yields of 30 tons per hec- • Africa needs to climate proof its de- diaspora remittances to specifically fund tare for each harvest, a farmer working velopment for posterity by ensuring adaptation initiatives. Diaspora remit- a holding of one hectare can harvest 60 climate adaptation becomes part and tances are forming a significant propor- tons of tomatoes per year, which nets parcel of sectoral developmental pol- tion of domestic financing in Africa. USD 30,000 at the price of USD 0.5 icy making; Projections to 2016 suggest that remit- per kg of tomatoes. • Africa needs to ensure its de- tances could rise to over USD 41 billion, In Seychelles 40 m3 of water was har- velopment policies ensure invest- up from USD 32 billion or around 2% vested from roof catchments of schools ment into conserving and sustainably of continental GDP in 2013. In addi- and stored in plastic tanks. In one school managing its ecosystems, whose ser- tion, economic growth, fiscal reforms there was a saving on water bills of USD vices constitute a resource base that and improved domestic tax collection 250 per month. This means that in one underpins its key economic sectors; and management is resulting in im- year the school would save USD 3,000. • And related to the above, con- proved revenues for countries. For in- If all the 10 schools covered by the pro- sidering the cost implications of cli- stance, tax revenues in Africa reached ject saved similar amounts in water bills, mate adaptation, Africa should con- USD 527.3billion in 2012. Additional the intervention will save the schools sider policies geared toward defining reforms such as scraping unnecessary from paying USD 30,000 in one year adaptation as a business to guarantee tax expenditures, e.g. oil subsidies and which is a big economic impact. the sustainability of efforts. The aim unnecessary incentives could recoup in the continents adaptation meas- more funds. Case in point, fuel subsidies In Tanzania a project to develop a ures should be to ensure unlocking in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana cost manual of best practices on sustainable of income generation, savings and these economies USD 7.5billion, USD utilization of woodlot forest products job creation opportunities in the var- 600million and USD 276million re- generated huge benefits at the grass ious climate sensitive sectors. spectively in 2011, accounting for 30%, roots, community level. Farmers in The continent needs to ensure its devel- 12%, and 3% of budgets in these three Makete district where the project was opment policies are contextualized to countries respectively. Considering undertaken earn between TAS 20,000 climate change. This calls for policy in- that 65% of subsidies in Africa benefit and 5,000,000 depending on the size terventions that will ensure a structured the richest 40% of households hence of woodlot. By following and imple- vertical up scaling of climate change achieve minimal social justice, phasing

95 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN them out would results in additional stricted information sharing should be require multi-sectorial approaches, gov- revenues that could be dedicated to fi- embraced and accessible media used. ernments, in cooperation, where appro- nance climate adaptation. Apart from online media implied ear- priate, with international organizations, lier, print media tools, including policy should strengthen cross sectoral plan- (b) Researching environment and briefs, working papers, project reports ning and decision making capacity for development interactions and periodic newsletters could also be all climate dependent sectors to ensure There is a need to demonstrate that used to disseminate information. integration of adaptation strategies, climate adaptation matters are tied to including EbA and appropriate coordi- development to give them the neces- (d) Enhancing education and nation mechanisms during implemen- sary impetus in decision making cycles. training tation. Attention should be given to Research Institutions, relevant line min- Countries should ensure that essential breaking silos and moving away from istries and other stakeholders should human resources exist, or be devel- sectoral approaches where they prove intensify efforts to clarify the inter-link- oped, to undertake the integration of counterproductive, and progress to- ages between ecosystems and socio-eco- adaptation strategies, including EbA wards full cross-sectoral coordination nomic development to ensure policy is into socio-economic development at and cooperation. backed by scientific research. Research various stages of the decision-making should be undertaken with the explicit and implementation process. Educa- (g) Invest in youth education objective of influencing policy decisions tionalizing EbA at the institutions of Government, the donor community and providing recommendations on the higher learning across the continent is and academic institutions should also best way forward on implementation. vital. Universities and colleges should put in place appropriate policy meas- consider internal policies that en- (c) Leverage data and knowledge sure curricula of academic dis- management to bridge the Science ciplines that are climate reliant, – policy – action gap e.g. water resources, agriculture, There is a need for environmental lead energy etc. are reviewed to include agencies and think-tanks to improve specific courses on climate adapta- environmental information systems as tion strategies, including EbA and a basis for sound decision making. The how to contextualize them to the IPCC AR5 records that making climate respective developmental sectors. change information more reliable and accessible is one of the most pressing At policy level, systematic train- and cross-cutting adaptation needs in ing of policy makers - government the continent. personnel, planners and managers should be done on a regular basis, Currently, the gap between science and to ensure they are abreast with the policy explains the lack of climate proof latest in climate change and EbA policy making in the continent. Policy- strategies, so they can then include makers need demonstrable evidence it in their sectoral policies. so they can build support for climate change being part of sectoral and de- (e) Promoting public aware- velopmental policy at the national level. ness Creating accessible information dissem- Non-governmental actors, such as ination tools, that dispense timely, accu- CBOs, CSOs, NGOs, the donor rate, reliable and user friendly scientific community, national human rights climate information demonstrating the institutions, the media and the imperative of having adaptation as part international community, should and parcel of sectoral developmental promote awareness in the public at policy will go a long way in bridging large, as well as in specialized circles, of ures that will incentivize youth invest- this gap. the importance of considering adapta- ment in climate change adaptation and tion and socio-economic development EbA related courses at undergraduate Think-tanks, the private sector, research in an integrated manner, and should es- level. This can be through appropriate and educational institutions, NGOs, tablish mechanisms for facilitating a di- policy to govern scholarships offered intergovernmental organizations at rect exchange of information and views to ensure adequate scholarships are national, regional and international with the public. An informed public availed for such courses. This can be levels should work in partnership with will then demand from their leaders at extended to post graduate level. It will African governments to create physical the policy level, that climate adaptation be vital in creating a critical mass of databases at regional and national levels strategies, including EbA be part and informed potential policy makers, who and enhance networking, collaboration parcel of development policy at both can then effect a generational paradigm and information sharing between states. national and sub-national. change on policy toward adaptation Once these are set, information man- and EbA once they assume these posi- agement will have to cover both genera- (f) Strengthen national institu- tions in the future. tion of accurate and actionable content, tional capacity and inter sectori- as well as its dissemination to all levels al corporation and coordination (h) Invest in women in agricul- of application, from public policy to Considering that impacts of climate ture the private sector, NGOs, CBOs, gen- change on ecosystem services are cross Besides agriculture being the biggest eral public in grass roots, where unre- sectorial, and responding to them will employer in Africa, absorbing up to

96 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 60% of labor, women are a significant should be harnessed to facilitate transfer private partnerships that may be pivotal constituency in Africa’s agriculture, of requisite knowledge and technologies in achieving scale, policies creating spe- which is a climate dependent sector. needed for action in various climate de- cial economic zones among others. They produce up to 80% of the food pendent sectors by government, private consumed in the continent. Yet they are sector, educational and research institu- Way Forward disadvantaged in accessing key inputs tions. To actualize this, an appropriate Climate Change adaptation is an urgent and factors of production such as land, policy, that would incentivize transfer imperative that needs to be made a cen- capital, credit, extension services, at of new equipment, material, technical tral pillar of development policy mak- times due to cultural practices. In inte- skills etc. such as zero rating equipment ing in Africa. The continent’s develop- grating adaptation and EbA into policy import for climate adaptation, will be ment is tied to highly climate sensitive in climate dependent sectors such as ag- pivotal. sectors including energy, agriculture, riculture and making it the norm, there tourism among others and these sectors is need to ensure women, who produce (j) Unleash Africa’s off-grid are underpinned by healthy ecosystems. most of the food are appropriately fa- renewables potential to enhance cilitated. Affirmative action policies to energy access and ‘adaptation as With a growing and increasingly youth- ensure their access to training, credit a business’ ful population signifying increasing and assets/land ownership will be vi- Energy is a vital input to socio-econom- pressure on the continent to deliver its tal to enhance their productivity, and ic development. The current low grid development promise, adaptation is an hence productivity of the sector as a electricity coverage in the continent can urgent imperative and should be put in whole. It is also important to recognize be an opportunity to incentivize off-grid the vision of Africa’s development to energy solutions leveraging renewa- ensure that: bles and creating business opportu- • The growing and increasingly youth- nities for “solar-preneurs”. While ful population is empowered through off-grid fossil fuel based solutions job creation in the productive sectors At policy level, such as house hold kerosene light- to facilitate realization of a demo- ing cost households USD 4–15 per graphic dividend. systematic training month, renewables would cost sig- • The continents ecosystems continue nificantly less at USD 2 per month providing services that underpin sec- of policy makers - to run solar lighting systems. Here toral development to safeguard de- government personnel, in lies a business opportunity that velopment well into posterity. ‘solar-preneurs’ are cashing in. As planners and managers an example, in rural Kenya, a ‘solar- Regardless of the great adaptation need should be done on a preneur’ is creating incomes by sell- for the continent, the associated prohib- ing a variety of solar based products. itive cost needs to be addressed. In light regular basis, to ensure A solar lamp costs USD 10, while of declining international financing, they are abreast with the a solar kit including panel, battery, the need for a sustainable approach to wires and light bulbs costs around domestic financing, to fund initiatives is latest in climate change USD 150. Additional examples ex- an area that needs to be given attention. and EbA strategies, so ist across Africa. In Tanzania, solar Considering that policy is the biggest charging kiosks are earning monthly influencer and driver of change, policy they can then include it profits of USD 75-150. In addition measures to ensure climate adaptation in their sectoral policies. to individual entrepreneurs, larger can be vertically up-scaled to become enterprises are also leveraging this part and parcel of development policy. potential, with annual earnings of Building on the proposed policy options up to USD 20million. presented herewith can address inade- quacies in the group areas of financing, This demonstrates that resilience knowledge management, education, in these policies that women smallhold- building efforts at the grass roots can technology transfer, among others. er farmers are involved in agricultural realize income opportunities for com- It is only when climate change adapta- production as well as care work which munities and medium sized enterprises. tion strategies are part of development include activities such as fetching wa- Considering that analysts at the Inter- strategies in key economic sectors in the ter, firewood, child care among others national Energy Association (IEA) be- continent that achieving sustainable which takes a significant proportion of lieve the sun could be the world’s largest development canons can be practical their time. Policies should therefore be source of power by 2050, Africa should for the collective benefit of the African integrated, addressing both care work as be on track to cash in on this eminent people. well as agricultural production. future by putting in place favorable policies to incentivize renewables based *Dr. Richard Munang is the United Nations (i) Technology transfer policy private enterprise. These should include Environment Programme (UNEP) Africa Technology is a vital ingredient in tax based incentives such as zero-rating Regional Climate Change Coordinator. He means of implementing climate adapta- tax on all necessary imported renewable tweets as @mtingem. Mr. Robert Mgendi is tion strategies, including EbA. The do- energy technologies, including relevant the Ecosystem-based Adaptation Programme nor community, NGOs, and CSOs have equipment, tools, spares etc., as well as Officer with the UNEP’s Regional Office for traditionally played a capacity building non-tax incentives such as appropriate Africa Climate Change Programme. The views role to compliment action by govern- policies to standardize technology and expressed here are those of the authors and do ment, research and educational institu- practice in the sector, appropriate policy not necessarily represent those of the institution tions and even private sector. This role to govern partnerships such as public- with which they are affiliated

97 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN

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98 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND SCIENCE IN AFRICA By Dr Álvaro Sobrinho, Angolan businessman and philanthropist, and Chairman of the Planet Earth Institute

Though recent headlines have called into question the ‘Africa rising’ narrative, the continent’s budding reputation as an emerging economic powerhouse remains strong.

t has more than half the CEOs in Africa are highly con- lenges they face - much more world’s fastest growing econ- cerned about the low availabil- needs to be done to increase omies, including Angola, ity of key competencies on the science, technology, engineer- Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda continent. ing and mathematics (STEM) and Nigeria. The latter, Africa’s research capacity on the conti- Ilargest economy, is projected to This problem extends to aca- nent. expand by 4.9 per cent in 2015. demia. According to a 2014 World Bank report, scientific Furthermore, while scientific However, despite Africa’s recent output has nearly doubled in research output has increased, economic growth, there is a sig- sub-Saharan Africa in the last there has not been the same nificant and telling disconnect decade, with the region increas- increase in registered innova- between business communities ing its share of global research tion. Sadly, no African country and scientists on the continent. output from 0.44 per cent in featured in the top 20 countries Technical knowledge is not 2003 to 0.72 per cent in 2012. for patent applications in 2013, keeping pace with economic The report goes onto suggest according to the World Intel- growth, and businesses in Africa that the quality of this research lectual Property Organization regularly complain about the has also improved. However, at (WIPO). Though progress has lack of technically skilled local less than 1 per cent – and given been made, in many African candidates. In fact, the most re- the rapid growth of many Af- countries protection of intellec- cent PwC Annual Global CEO rican economies and the many tual property (IP) is still under- survey found that 90 percent of significant development chal- developed. Weak enforcement

99 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN of IP rights in national court systems, ricula. What’s more, private companies Technology (PASET)’ Regional Forum as well as a lack of education as to how can use their financial resources to help in 2014, in Dakar, Senegal. The World to register ideas, means the majority of universities provide physical resources Bank is facilitating the PASET initiative, the continent’s would-be entrepreneurs to deliver this training. This would al- which seeks to help meet Africa’s skills and innovators are reluctant or unable low companies to reduce the risk of in- needs in Applied Sciences, Engineering to protect their ideas. vesting in workforce training, as well as and Technology (ASET) for the socio- help universities to market themselves as economic transformation of Africa. The problem is not a lack of potential destinations for ambitious students. Myself and the other Champions will or ambition, but a lack of appropri- Businesses should also provide young work alongside African governments, ate competencies. Employers surveyed scientists with financial assistance so that the PASET Steering Committee (com- across 36 African countries as part of they can pursue postgraduate and post- prising three African Ministers from the the African Economic Outlook Report, doctoral training in African universities, Education sector – Ethiopia, Rwanda repeatedly stated that the mismatch in by increasing industry focused schol- and Senegal and the World Bank); and a technical and industrially relevant skills arships and placements. Major global high-level Consultative Advisory Group was more concerning than an overall players including IBM are doing so with (comprising of scientists and academ- lack of skills. Of course, such skills mis- its IBM-Research in Kenya, which has ics). matches highlight the poor quality of established a new resident scientist pro- education across much of sub-Saharan gramme for schools in Kenya and other The Africa Business Champions met Africa, but also crucially, the absence of African countries. The applicants are at the 25th African Union Summit of linkages between the education systems leading scientists and researchers from Heads of State and Government in of the continent and its employers. pre and post-doctoral backgrounds, as South Africa in June 2015. During this Consider the agriculture sector, un- well as from academia, government, or important gathering, we outlined our doubtedly one of Africa’s most impor- industry, and work with IBM research- plans for a number of projects, includ- tant industries. Currently, the sector ers in the physical lab environment. ing support for a new Regional Scholar- contributes 13% of the continent’s Such initiatives allow private companies ship Fund for PhDs, with an ambitious GDP, yet only 2% of African students to build a pipeline of skilled local talent goal of producing 10,000 African PhDs study agriculture at the university. Most and give young Africans the tools they in the next ten years. We want these worryingly, Africa contains 60% of the need to create solutions to the conti- PhDs to be working with local business- world’s uncultivated land suitable for nent’s most pressing development chal- es from the start, with work placements crops, but appears to lack the scientific lenges. and sponsored research, to ensure the expertise to leverage this resource. work undertaken by students is useful Innovative collaborations such as this to local economies and industries. Sci- Why is this? In recent decades, major require open communication between entists need to know and understand international donors and policy makers local education institutions, tasked with business, and young entrepreneurs must have prioritized primary and secondary preparing students adequately for the know the value of science. Projects education. This has detracted from in- workplace, and the private sector, look- like this can help create not just a new vestment in tertiary education in some ing to secure employees with skills that generation of scientists, but a new gen- African countries. Providing higher can help their businesses grow. Cur- eration of scientific leaders, able to turn education in technical fields can be far rently, there is lack of communication ideas, inventions, patents and research more expensive than the social sciences, and mechanisms for dialogue between into jobs, security and prosperity. forcing increasingly impoverished pub- these groups - something that the Planet lic education institutions to cut training Earth Institute is determined to change. We know this can work. I would en- in these areas. At the same time, busi- With the help of our partners, we are courage Africa to seek inspiration from nesses have focused on short-term gains, advocating for a strong business-led the most innovative international mod- considering investment in technical and academic agenda in Africa, focusing on els. As Prof. Juma points out, consider scientific skills as too time consuming, how the private sector can best drive sci- the example of South Korea’s Phang and opting for the ‘easy’ but unsustain- entific and technological development, University of Science and Technology able approach of parachuting in the working directly with governments re- (POSTECH). POSTECH was actually necessary expertise, often from Europe sponsible for creating the right policy the brain child of Prof. Hogil Kim, the and North America, and at great ex- environment, and academia and civil founding president of the university pense. All of this has created a higher society to support sustainable and inclu- and Tae-Joon Park, chair of the Pohang education system that is out of sync sive growth across the continent. Iron and Steel Company (POSCO). with local industry needs, and mostly I have long sought a new approach for While POSCO’s initial goal was to train geared towards producing public sector business in Africa and have recently world-class engineers for its own opera- managers. As Harvard’s Prof. Calestous embarked on an exciting programme tions, POSTECH now has a major role Juma has said, ‘‘today’s African univer- of work with the World Bank. Person- in educational reform in Korea and is sities are factories that churn out civil ally, I will be leading a new group of recognized as a leader in science and servants’.’ ten ‘African Business Champions for engineering education in Asia. Science’, made up of influential figures Given that 11 million young Africans As the leading source of job creation, from industry with a passion for sci- expected to enter the job market each the private sector can and should take ence, technology and innovation on the year for the next decade, businesses can a leading role, helping African countries continent, and who will become a loud have all the scientists, engineers and create high quality STEM graduates voice for the change we want to see. The technicians they need on their doorstep. and researchers. They should partner group was formally outlined in a Call But only if they properly collaborate with local universities to improve the to Action at the ‘Partnership for Skills with and invest in the institutions that quality and relevance of STEM cur- in Applied Sciences, Engineering and train them.

100 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN PROMOTING BASIC SCIENCES IN AFRICA

Prof. George O Amolo, Nicholas W Makau and Joseph Z Mapelu Department of Physics, University of Eldoret Box 1125, Eldoret 30100, Eldoret

asic science is the driving force behind engineering and tech- nology the world over. The two latter disciplines are often re- ferred to as applied sciences. The prev- Balence of strategic national laboratories and institutes has catalyzed manufac- turing industries and economic devel- opment in advanced economies. These Mentees, from left to right: Valid Mwatati, Jus- laboratories/institutes have established tin Omeri, Peris Ngeywo, Benson Kamau and a scientific culture that over generations John Ogot in front of the Administration Block, has churned out a large number of ex- University of Eldoret. pertise in basic sciences. Close collabo- ration between scientific institutes and industry has led to job creation and the formation of spin-off companies.

Many African countries have visionary plans that seek to harness application of science and technology for econom- ic development. Notably, many of these countries are looking for ways to effec- The coordinator (extreme left) of the programme with mentees for 2014 on their first day tively engage their growing youthful population in productive activities. Sec- tors such as agriculture that have tradi- The programme has a second dimen- sion which seeks to attract back home, Dr Emily Aradi and Dr Cecil Ouma during tionally performed well in the past are their PhD graduation ceremonies not creating enough jobs nowadays to students who go to study overseas. The accommodate the growing population. programme aims to attract 2 or 3 stu- dents who have attained their PhDs Harnessing science and technology for abroad, and engaging them in the Conclusion development will require that Africa in- mentorship of the next generation of It takes about a decade to train a stu- vests in training a new generation in ba- graduates. Dr Korir Kiptiemoi (second dent from the BSc to PhD in basic sci- sic and applied sciences. The Scientific from left) being welcomed back home ence. The initiative by the Scientific Mentorship Programme at University to join the programme after his PhD in Mentorship Programme supplements of Eldoret (previously, Chepkoilel Uni- Torino, Italy. efforts of Kenya and other African na- versity College of Moi University) seeks tions to harness science and technology to do just that. The programme was Success stories for development. However, many Af- started 8 years ago and is now managed The programme had humble begin- rican countries have not yet taken the by the Computational Materials Sci- nings. In the beginning, the students necessary bold steps to train manpower ence Group (www.uoeld.ac.ke/cmsg/). were supported by the initiators them- that will sustain the scientific and tech- The goal of the programme is to iden- selves. However, since 2009, the Uni- nological base of their visions for devel- tify brilliant, self-driven undergraduate versity of Eldoret has received support opment. The Mentorship Programme students in basic sciences and encour- from the National Commission for is one model for accelerating Africa’s age them to proceed to graduate school Science, Technology and Innovation capacity building in basic and applied in Kenya or elsewhere. (NACOSTI) in Kenya and the Emerg- sciences. ing Nations Science Foundation (ENSF, The identification process begins by Trieste, Italy). Students who have scouting for potential mentees from the gone through this programme are now 2nd year of undergraduate study and spread across the world. After 8 years, monitoring their academic progress the programme has gone through a full through the final year. By the end of cycle and now has two pioneer men- the 4th and final year, the most likely torship students who recently attained candidates are shortlisted. The formal their PhDs. Some of those who have selection process is based on academic proceeded to PhD are Dr Emily Aradi performance, motivation and gender and Dr Cecil Ouma who recently grad- balancing. uated from the University of the Wit- watersrand and University of Pretoria, respectively.

101 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN KENYAN INNOVATORS DEVELOP THE FIRST LOCAL ANTIMALWARE SOFTWARE

unifu Technologies is an indus- ware Engineer try innovation leader in Kenya. • Elisha kiptukyo – Business Develop- Dr. Cosmas Ochieng, the Executive Di- It has developed more than 30 ment Manager rector of ACTS interviewed Mr. Keith products since it was founded • Emmanuel Yatich – Graphics De- Korir, Bunifu Technologies’ System An- in 2011. Among these is Bunifu Sniper sign alyst and Malware Researcher. BAnti-Malware, reportedly the first Anti- • Winston Komen – Virus Database virus software developed in Kenya. The Administrator CO: Why Bunifu Sniper? Bunifu Sniper Anti-Malware was intro- • Komen Solomon –Social Media KK: Bunifu sniper is one among many duced in the Kenyan market on 16th Manager products that our company has devel- May 2014. • Keith Korir – System Analyst & oped. Our products derive their names Malware Researcher from their ‘functions’. A sniper is a high- Bunifu Technologies is run by a small • Isaac Kiplagat – Software Quality ly trained marksman, with specialized group of young Kenyans: Assurance Manager training in high-precision, surveillance • Wilberforce seguton – Team Leader • Amos Chepchieng – Software Devel- and target acquisition. These are key • Kimutai Kipngetich – Lead Soft- oper traits of our antivirus product, hence

102102 THETHE AFRICAN AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TECHNOPOLITAN the name Bunifu Sniper Antivirus. DNG and beyond. • Anti-piracy Licensing module for pi- CO: How long did it take you to de- racy protection. CO: How would you characterize velop this product? • Automated removable media scan. the future of the software industry KK: It has taken us more than 2 years. • File & Folder Lock & unlock (Utility in Kenya? The team started working on Bunifu Add-on) KK: The future of the industry is Sniper in February 2012, but this was • Registry Scan bright. There are so many talented peo- preceded by the development of various • Heuristic Engine ple in the industry here in Kenya. The modules and utilities including: • Proactive real time surveillance problem is lack of capital. There are so • Bunifu antipiracy module • Clip board paste protection many start-ups in the industry but they • Swochei duplicate file Scanner • Zipped file scan capability come and go very quickly due to lack • Bunifu C# File search DLL (Library) • Zipped file extraction protection of financing. The government could do • Tiondo wireless framework • Fast scan engine more to create enabling conditions. I • Virus activity logs & Graphical Re- also wish we had more angel investors CO: Has the product been inde- porting or venture capitalists over here. Local pendently tested by a third party? innovations and solutions need to be KK: Prior to its launch, Bunifu Sniper CO: System requirements? celebrated and promoted. antivirus underwent months of test- KK: At a minimum: ing and trials internally (i.e. within the • Speed of 1 Ghz CO: What other products do you company) and externally. A computer • 1GB of RAM (2GB Recommended ) offer? science class of 80 students in one of • 1 GB of free memory in Drive KK: the public universities took part in the • A CD/ DVD Drive is required (For • Sikizi DRE system: This is Africa’s testing and debugging process. Several Hardcopy installs) first Direct Recording Electronic institutions and customers have also • Internet Connection (For Activation) system. It provides for instant voting used the product and provided product CO: How much does it retail for, and and tallying of polls through several reviews. Most of the reviews are from where can one buy it? electronic platforms, namely; SMS, technology enthusiasts, Magazines (e.g. KK: The product is available from Android and Desktop. CIO Magazine, Tech Moran and The our website www.bunifusniper.com or • Droid PC: This is Africa’s first re- Kenya Engineer) and software distribut- www.bunifu.co.ke . It is also available in mote desktop utility. It allows seam- ing vendors such as CNet and softonic. hardcopy from authorized dealers and less connectivity between your com- The product has also been profiled in distributors. The product comes in two puter and telephone no matter the the media, including The East African variants: location. Standard and Kiss TV in Kenya. • A single user for 1 PC (retailing at • RoboCrawl: This is a forensics tool Kshs 1000) helping web developers and admin- CO: How much did it cost to pro- • 3 Users for 3 PCs (retailing at Kshs istrators to assess the presence or duce Bunifu Sniper? 1800) absence of vulnerabilities in web & KK: The time and effort of 9 people server applications. working on the same thing for two and CO: Your target customers? • Penetration testing: Assessing vulner- a half years. Factor in office space and KK: Our target customers are PC own- abilities in an organization’s IT infra- running expenses. So yes, we faced a ers, companies and governments. So far, structure. Our pen test team would number of changes: (a) Lack of funding we have had over 2500 downloads from simulate real attack scenarios while for the research and (b) Lack of a fully our e-commerce portal. We have also leaving traces in vulnerable areas. equipped virus testing lab/ unit. Work- registered downloads through software • Red team Assessment: A type of as- ing in Baringo rather than Nairobi had distributing vendors such as CNet and sessment aimed at simulating the its challenges. For one, internet connec- softonic. Most of our hardcopy sales types of attacks carried out by ma- tion in Baringo isn’t great. have been local, but we have an aggres- licious users and criminals when sive expansion strategy for the East Af- targeting an organization’s physical CO: What are the key features and rican market and beyond. infrastructure. strengths of Bunifu Sniper? • Cloud security assessment: helps KK: It comes with a number of unique CO: What do you need to expand organizations to find suitable cloud features: or grow? service providers and packages that • Shared Protection – Ability to scan KK: We have a ready product and a suit their requirements and ensure shared LAN files and folders dedicated team backing it. What we security of the services • Recovery tool– it repairs and restores need to fast track growth is capital. We corrupted files and documents are currently looking for an investment • Immunity tool - for pen drive and partner who will help us grow from a Website: www.bunifu.co.ke system drive vaccination. mid-sized company to a global player • Directory Navigation Guard or servicing the entire African continent

103 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 103 RETHINKING AFRICAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS Prof Gideon B.A Okello* (MD, FRCP, MRCP, MBBS, D.T.M.S&H, CBIOL, MIBIOL (LONDON), FAAS, FTWAS) Professor of Medicine & Senior Consultant Physician Former Director of Medical Services, Kenya Former Dean Faculty of Medicine University of Nairobi.

Historically, healthcare planning and management in sub-Sahara Africa has been informed and driven by the burden of communicable diseases. Non-com- municable diseases have been viewed as a problem for rich countries.

ontrary to this conventional can children. sumption of alcohol and tobacco are opinion, Africa increasingly some of the contributing factors to the faces a ‘double’ disease bur- The WHO data also shows that Africa rise in NCDs in Africa. den of communicable and is undergoing an epidemiological tran- non-communicable diseases (NCDs). sition from communicable to NCD dis- African health care systems are ill- C ease burden. NCDs are not passed from equipped to deal with the NCDs. Few According to the World Health Organi- person to person. The four main types African countries have invested in the zation (WHO) data on Global Burden of NCDs are cancers, diabetes, cardio- healthcare infrastructure and expertise of Diseases, two thirds of deaths from vascular diseases (e.g. heart attacks and necessary for the control and manage- communicable diseases occur in Sub- stroke) and chronic respiratory diseases ment of NCDs. Secondly, the health- Sahara Africa. These include: tuber- (e.g. chronic obstructed pulmonary dis- care costs for NCDs such as cardiovas- culosis, Hiv/Aids, diarrheal diseases, ease and asthma). The WHO projects cular diseases, cancers and diabetes are measles, malaria and lower respiratory that 28 million people in Africa will die often beyond the reach of many people infections, perinatal conditions and nu- from a chronic disease over the next in Africa given the general levels of pov- tritional deficiencies. Twenty percent of 10 years. The WHO also projects the erty in the continent. The NCDs can these deaths occur among children un- rate of increase of deaths from chronic and often drive people into poverty. der five years of age while thirty percent diseases to surpass that from infectious of all deaths occur among ages 15-59. diseases, maternal and perinatal condi- African health care systems are barely Approximately 1 in every 20 adults in tions and nutritional deficiencies more equipped to handle communicable dis- SSA lives with HIV. There were 34 mil- than four-fold over the same period. eases. The inability of health care sys- lion people living with HIV globally in Changing demographics, globalization tems in West Africa to effectively cope 2011, with 69 percent of these in SSA. of unhealthy lifestyles and behavioural with the recent outbreak of the Ebola Malaria killed 600,000 thousand people habits, rapid and informal urbaniza- virus disease exposed weaknesses of in 2010, a majority of them being Afri- tion, physical inactivity, harmful con- these systems. Considering that the con-

104 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN tinent is facing a growing double burden 9 percent of all deaths and kills more • Information, Surveillance and Re- of communicable and non-communica- than one million children in Sub-Saha- search ble diseases, a rethink of Africa’s health- ra Africa. All or most countries outside • Management of Health Services care priority setting, planning and sys- Africa have successfully controlled the • Human Resources tems management is needed. disease through a combination of pre- • Financing The growing burden of both commu- ventive measures and treatment strate- Information and Surveillance nicable diseases and NCDs hinders gies. Africa is hindered by weak and Health information is usually obtained the pursuit of poverty reduction and poor public health systems and infra- from seven major sources: sustainable development, including the structure. • Vital events: - births, deaths etc. attainment of both the UN Millennium DOTS is the cornerstone of TB con- • Health services statistics Development Goals and the proposed trol as it entails diagnosis with positive • Clinical information on patients post-2015 Sustainable Development sputum sample, short-course treatment, • Services provided to the patients Goals. Both communicable and non- regular drug supplies and systematic • Diagnoses of diseases communicable diseases must thus be monitoring to evaluate outcomes for • Public Health Surveillance for dis- viewed as ‘development issues’. every patient. More than 99 percent of eases trends and out breaks all global maternal deaths occur in de- • Census data Africa needs to reassess its current and veloping countries, principally in Africa. • Periodic household surveys future health priorities and to re-design Health spending would have to be more • Resource tracking of human re- its health systems, plans and investments than tripled to provide the basic mater- sources accordingly. The continent will need to nal and child health care package along • Research for generation of new take two sets of interrelated actions: (a) with special intervention related to Neo- knowledge about diseases find ways to harness well proven cost natal survival. effective strategies that have worked Management of Health Services: well elsewhere especially but not exclu- In a nutshell, Africa can significantly In the management of health care, par- sively in the North, and (b) re-orient its reduce its disease burden by effectively ticular attention must be paid to the healthcare systems towards control and harnessing available interventions or quantity, quality and equity of services management of NCDs alongside com- cost effective measures that have worked provided. municable diseases. elsewhere. This however requires com- petent health care systems – staffed Human Resources: Africa has not made the most of exist- with skilled experts, adequately funded, This is investment in the people provid- ing medical interventions, technologies transparently and accountably man- ing health care, such as doctors, nurses, and innovations. Existing interventions aged, and making the most of commu- public health experts, etc. It is key to could prevent up to 63 percent of all nication and information technologies good health care provision. It should be infections in Africa. Examples of avail- (including health management infor- managed well to ensure improved skills, able cost-effective interventions include mation systems). Many of these meas- to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses. ORT (Oral Rehydration Therapy) to re- ures would also work for the control duce deaths from diarrhea in children, of non-communicable diseases includ- Financing: prenatal care and skilled birth attend- ing: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, It is important to mobilize sufficient ance, universal immunization against various cancers and injuries. Ischaemic funds and to use the funds well. These childhood illnesses, DOTS strategy for heart disease, heart failure and strokes are not easy but are critical to good controlling Tuberculosis and free avail- are common and the associated risk fac- health care. In Africa there is the prob- ability of ARVS (Anti-retroviral) drugs tors such as obesity, high blood pressure, lem of inadequate funding of health for HIV/Aids, given the extreme pov- physical inactivity and salt intake and care such as provision of vaccines. Do- erty of many of those affected by HIV/ smoking are also on the increase. Some nors have no obligation to help Africa. Aids. Improved surveillance and track- of the cancers common in Africa in- Finally I must emphasize that these ing of infections to points of origin clude those of cervix, liver and stomach four pillars necessary for a functional would lead to significant improvements and are associated with the preventable good health care system are very weak in controlling the spread of Sexually risk factors namely chronic infection in Africa especially Sub-Sahara region. Transmitted Infections (STIs). with human papilloma virus, Hepatitis There is clearly a need for more funding B and Helicobacter Pylori, respectively. in Africa. Some disease epidemics such Vaccine Preventable Diseases which in- Besides harnessing available technolo- as Ebola, Yellow Fever, and Marburg clude Diphtheria, TB, Tetanus, Pertus- gies, interventions and practices to Fever are found almost exclusively in sis, Polio, Measles, Rubella, Hepatitis combat the rise of both communicable Africa. There is a need for collaboration B, Yellow Fever, Meningococcal disease and non-communicable diseases, the in efforts to eradicate these diseases. To and Japanese encephalitis can all be continent needs to invest in health re- combat the dual disease burden, Afri- eradicated by ensuring that all children search, technology and innovation; dis- can countries need a comprehensive ap- have access to the vaccines. The per- ease surveillance and tracking systems, proach to healthcare. This extends be- centage of children not vaccinated is as improved health management informa- yond the narrow confines of the health high as 20-60% in some African coun- tion systems; human and physical capi- sector to include education, agriculture, tries. In many African countries the vac- tal; and efficient and effective organiza- finance and economic planning and cines are fully donor funded! Imagine tion and management of health care even foreign affairs. what would happen if donor funds sud- systems. denly ‘dried up’! *Prof Okello is the Vice Chair of the ACTS That is, the pillars of a good health care Governing Council and the Chair of the Ex- Malaria remains one of the main causes system in Africa would consist of the ecutive Committee of the ACTS Governing of death in Sub-Sahara Africa. It causes following: Council

105 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN WHY THE AFRICAN UNION SHOULD BE DISBANDED Prof. S.N. SANGMPAM Syracuse University

One enduring project of Pan-Africanists is an All-Africa union as the solution to Africa’s underdevelopment. They view the lack of such a union as one of the major causes of the continent’s underdevelopment predicament. From Nkrumah to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the African Union (AU), their disagreements have been about the means and ways of achieving this goal. In their view, the development of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is inseparable from that of North Africa. I argue that this is not and should not be the case, because SSA socioeconomic outcomes and their caus- es diverge organically from those of North Africa. The AU should be dismantled. SSA should political- ly reconstitute itself, without North Africa, into a self-sustaining, organically integrated Unifederation better suited to address its twin problems of underdevelopment and over-politicization of the state.

106106 THETHE AFRICAN AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TECHNOPOLITAN Introduction and a metaphor for the organization’s ated. The OAU constituted the second lack of usefulness in African Affairs. phase in Africa’s quest for continental he ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011 was grouping. It was a ‘compromise rec- instructive. Although many of The ‘Exceptionalism’ Of SSA and ognition’ of Nkrumah’s rationale and the regimes (Yemen, Bahrain, the Limitations of the African prime reason for the unification project: Syria, and Egypt) used force Union the severe socioeconomic and political against their populations, only Libya With a few exceptions, Africa obtained underdevelopment of Africa and the Tprovoked NATO’s bombardment in its independence in the 1960s - later need to solve it. The third phase in the support of the armed internal opposi- than South America and Asia. Natural- process was the commitment to the idea tion against the Gaddafi regime. (Only ly, South America and Asia founded re- of functional economic cooperation later, due to a different set of geopoliti- gional organizations before Africa did. among African countries. Subregional cal reasons, was Syria subjected to inter- This was the case with the Arab League economic organizations were its pillars. national military pressure). The internal in 1945 and the Organization of Ameri- No fewer than 200 subregional eco- opposition and NATO bombardment in can States (OAS) in 1948. Another re- nomic organizations have been created Libya provoked three noteworthy reac- gional grouping in Asia, the Association in Africa since independence. tions. First, there was spontaneous and of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), relatively uncoordinated support for the was created in 1967, four years after The OAU and its auxiliary subregional Gaddafi regime by the masses in some Africa’s continental organization, OAU, economic organizations had some suc- SSA countries. Second, the AU ex- was founded in 1963. All these regional cess in the decolonization of the conti- tended tepid support to the Gaddafi re- organizations rested on functional inte- nent. Overall, however, they failed as gime and timidly proposed a cease-fire gration that promoted solidarity, eco- an institutional framework for Africa’s between the regime and its foes. Third, nomic cooperation, peace and security, development. Several well-known rea- the AU-proposed cease-fire was rejected and the protection of the sovereignty of sons account for the inadequate perfor- off hand by the Libyan armed opposi- the member states. mance of the OAU and the subregional tion, whose members are supposed to economic institutions. They need not be part of AU. Africa’s type of grouping differs from be rehearsed here but will be referred to the three others in two major respects: below. Worth repeating is the fact that Both the AU’s tepid support and the membership and objectives. Africa’s the OAU and its subregional offshoots opposition’s rejection of the cease-fire grouping was and remains continen- consecrated the principles of national contrasted with Gaddafi’s vocal support tal, encompassing the whole African sovereignty, sanctity of colonial borders, for AU and his bigger financial contri- continent as opposed to subregional and non-interference in other states’ in- bution to the organization in the 2000s. groupings in Asia. And unlike OAS, ternal affairs. Although they were not Gaddafi’s leadership was instrumen- it is entirely made of developing coun- the core reason for its failure (as I will ar- tal in the birth of AU. The first major tries. It has more member states (fifty- gue), these principles undermined at its move toward the union was the Sirte four countries) than any other regional core the political and economic policy Declaration in Libya in 1999. After the grouping in the world. Although Afri- goal around which revolved the Pan Af- Constitutive Act of the African Union ca’s functional integration and coopera- rican project. Deprived of any effective was adopted in Lome (Togo) in 2000, it tion resembles that of South America means of policy implementation, in- was in Sirte again that the establishment and Asia, its specific objectives differ cluding financial contributions by mem- of the Union was proclaimed in 2001 from theirs. Explicitly, Pan Africanists ber states, the OAU could not pursue before the official birth of the Union in have sought to solve the severe socioeco- any consistent and effective policies that South Africa in 2002. Libya’s financial nomic and political underdevelopment would meet its enunciated goals. contribution to AU and SSA countries of Africa. To grasp this difference, one under Gaddafi was quite impressive. In needs to bear in mind that Africa’s flir- Against this backdrop of failure and of addition to its 15 percent share of the tation with continental grouping has the deterioration of the African socioec- AU budget (of about $257 million in had four phases. All four lead back to onomic situation, the AU was launched 2011), Gaddafi’s Libya paid the mem- Kwame Nkrumah, the first president in 2002 to replace the OAU. The AU bership fees for some very poor coun- of Ghana, who passionately called for constituted, thus, the fourth phase in tries that could not afford it. This raised the total unification of the African con- the African quest for continental group- Libya’s contribution to the AU annual tinent. ing. It was in effect Nkrumah’s revenge budget to about one-third of the total. against his peers. Indeed, the socio- By some estimates, Gaddafi’s Libya pro- Nkrumah was so painfully aware of the economic standing of Africa had so vided about $97 billion to SSA in invest- deep political and socioeconomic un- deteriorated in the years after Nkrumah ments and aid. derdevelopment and deprivation of Af- passed away, from the 1970s onward, rica that he looked to the US, the Soviet that there was now the incontrovertible The overall reactions to Gaddafi’s de- and West European models of political recognition of the implacable socioeco- mise in October 2011, however, re- organization for answers. He shunned nomic and political situation that Nk- vealed that, despite Gaddafi’s impact the models of grouping offered by Afri- rumah wrestled with in his days. Most on the pauperized masses in some SSA ca’s fellow Third world regions of South commentaries lauded the advent of the countries because of his financial lar- America and Asia. High premium was AU because of its potential, as a politi- gesse, his investments in AU have not put on solving the severe state of un- cal union, to finally help Africa emerge paid off. It is almost a sure bet that after derdevelopment of Africa. Nkrumah’s as a force that can solve its problem of Gaddafi, there will be no strong support project faced stiff opposition from his severe underdevelopment. The AU’s left for AU in North Africa, let alone in African peers and their foreign backers. Constitutive Act itself stressed the need Libya. The lack of payoff for Gaddafi’s To bridge the gap between Nkrumah to accelerate the socioeconomic devel- support for AU is both a symptom of and the opposition, the OAU was cre- opment of Africa via a common vision

107 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 107 of a united and strong Africa. This racies that promised economic and po- implementation of the political union required strengthened and empowered litical assistance to AU, has not lived up since, in their view, the failure of the common institutions. to the expectations. Personality clashes OAU and the advent of the AU neces- among the main African protagonists sitate such an approach. On the other Thus, through its four phases of conti- of NEPAD, divergent agendas, and the hand, there are those (e.g., South Afri- nental grouping, Africa distinguishes it- inability of Western countries to keep ca) who prefer a step-by-step approach self from South America and Asia. Un- their promises have brought NEPAD to similar to the one followed by the Euro- like these two, it is the only developing a screeching halt. pean Union. They warn against a rush region that has consistently and explic- to political union and hold to national itly in the post-1945 period called for a The 2012 marathon election (four sovereignty. continental political union to deal with rounds) of the new president of AU its predicament. It has done so not only Commission once more revealed the Yet these ‘growing pains’ are not the through an intellectual articulation of split between ‘Francophone’ and ‘An- reasons why I argue that the AU is the the problem as in Nkrumah’s and many glophone’ countries as each camp sup- wrong answer and should be disman- other writings, but also through its art- ists and populace. More is expected of Africa’s grouping efforts because there is a recognition, however vague and intuitive in most cases, of the ex- ceptional socioeconomic ills of Africa. Unfortunately for Pan Africanists, the AU is the wrong answer.

Like any big organization or institu- tion, the AU was bound to experience ‘growing pains.’ Since its launch- ing in 2002, the AU has not had a smooth sailing. It has faced budget shortfalls and it has not been able to put in place some of its agreed-upon institutional organs. Many of the ex- isting ones have not functioned well. In 2004, an audit revealed a case of gross mismanagement and embez- zlement of seven million dollars ear- marked for a ‘Conference of African and Diasporan Intellectuals’ that was supposed to provide the intellectual impetus and cover for the AU. The relation between the president of AU Commission and the 54 African heads of state has been fraught with con- flicts and misunderstandings. A clear manifestation of this was the row and split between the former president of ported its own candidate. In the end, tled. Many of these difficulties are to the Commission, Alpha Oumar Kon- the Anglophones won; the South Af- be expected. In any case, they are sec- are, and the heads of state on the issue rican Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the ondary reasons that are subordinated of democracy in Togo, Central African former wife of President Zuma, was to deeper problems. To better grasp Republic and Mauritania. Konare held elected. More importantly, perhaps, the these deeper problems or reasons, it is steadfastly to the principles of democ- two tactical and policy positions held by worth saying first what they are not. racy, human rights, and the respect of two major views of AU have negatively First, as just stated, I do not call for the the rule of law and constitutions to the impacted it. Although all heads of state dissolution of AU because of the grow- chagrin and annoyance of many heads signatories to the Constitutive Act of ing pains experienced by AU. Second, of state. They either maintained the AU profess their commitment to an-all one oft-mentioned reason for skepti- undemocratic status quo or opposed Africa political union, they hold two dif- cism about building an all-Africa union him on the basis of the ‘African reality.’ ferent views about how to implement is the sheer geographical and demo- The New Partnership for African De- this policy. On the one hand are the ad- graphic size of Africa. Skeptics argue velopment (NEPAD), designed to serve vocates of the fast track approach (e.g., that the AU cannot administratively as the connecting bridge between AU Senegal under Abdoulaye Wade). They manage the whole continent of Africa and Western and industrialized democ- argue for the immediate institutional that lacks infrastructure and efficient

108 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN bureaucracy. However, this reason lacks time of his death, espoused in the early views than were many Nkrumah’s own strength; it is not why the AU should days of his rule an aggressive policy of SSA peers. be dismantled. India and China have land grabbing and regime destabiliza- larger populations than the whole conti- tion toward SSA countries in the name None of the above four reasons explains nent of Africa. Yet both have been able of Arab nationalism. In reaction to this, why the AU should be dismantled be- to administer their territories with some Mobutu, the former dictator of Congo- cause they are all secondary reasons. efficiency. Moreover, the idea of a con- Kinshasa, attempted to take the leader- They are symptoms of and subordi- tinental union was born to precisely ad- ship of ‘Negro Africa’ away from Arabs nated to more systemic and organic dress the issue of lack of infrastructure in an attempt to counter the Arab pen- causes on which SSA and North Africa in Africa. Lack of infrastructure can- etration of SSA. diverge. The AU should be dismantled not, therefore, be a deterrent to conti- because it is an institutional mismatch nental union. In fact, Gaddafi’s wholesale embrace of between SSA and North Africa created a union with SSA came as a reaction to by diverging organic causes. The no- Third, discontinuation of the AU his many failures to create political un- tion of ‘organic causes’ will be defined should not be because of the five issues ions with Arab leaders in North Africa in the next section. In order to do so, generally invoked about the failure of and the Middle East, including with however, some comparative discussion the OAU and its auxiliary subregional Syria. At an Egyptian exhibit in the about SSA socioeconomic outcomes is economic organizations: (1) the low American city of Houston, the Egyptian first in order. level of trade exchange among African representative once proclaimed to the countries; (2) a plethora of subregional chagrin and consternation of African Recently there has been much eupho- organizations that supersede each oth- Americans that the mummies represent- ria about ‘Africa, the next Asia,’ ‘Af- er; (3) unpaid dues by member states; ed Egyptian culture and history and not rica’s robust growth,’ and the ‘decrease (4) political instability and conflicts, and ‘African culture.’ He sought to distance of Africa’s poverty level.’ The claim (5) attachment to national sovereignty ancient Egyptian civilization from SSA. is that SSA socioeconomic differences at the expense of the regional or con- In an attempt to differentiate itself from with North Africa and other regions are tinental organizations, which results in SSA, Morocco once sought member- being erased. The euphoria emanates the failure to apply policy agreements. ship in European Union only to be told from ‘Afro-optimists’ and Sinophiles We know that these five issues implicitly that it was not a European country. By who extol the merits of China’s invest- justified OAU’s replacement by the AU. the way, Morocco ended its member- ments in Africa as the path to SSA de- By replacing the OAU, the AU is sup- ship in OAU/AU long ago over Western velopment. Their optimism flows from posed to solve or to have solved these is- Sahara. Among the North African pop- Africa’s share of foreign direct invest- sues. In reality, however, the AU cannot ulace, the split from SSA is perhaps best ments and the sectoral growth achieved and has not been able to solve the five illustrated by the Libyans who chanted in some SSA countries in recent years issues. The inability of the AU to solve ‘We are native Arabs, not Africans’ (IMF projected about 5.5 percent of them stems from the fact that these is- when Gaddafi announced to them in growth rate in 2012). In 2011, for ex- sues are symptoms of deeper problems. 2000 the creation of the AU. As a Lib- ample, foreign direct investment to Af- Only by explaining and solving these yan respondent, who does not think of rica grew by 27 percent. Most of the deep-rooted problems can we help cure himself as ‘African,’ put it in a survey by growth has been spurred by the export the symptoms. The five symptoms are, BBC News on January 23, 2004, ‘98% of raw materials and minerals, such as therefore, not the reason why I propose of Libyans are against any African Un- oil, copper, cobalt, and agricultural cash the dissolution of AU. ion.’ Africans, he opined, have brought crops. From 2002 to 2007, the share of suffering to Libyans by spreading HIV raw materials in GDP for Africa was 24 Fourth, the reason for dissolving AU is and AIDS. These sentiments are shared percent, by far the leading sector. Ex- not because North Africa is made of by many Egyptians and other North Af- ports of raw materials have stimulated ‘Arabs’ and SSA of ‘Blacks,’ and the ricans, who do not want to be associated growth in other sectors, including gov- masses of North Africa feel more at- with SSA, preferring to proclaim their ernment spending. No surprise that by tached to the Arab world than to ‘Af- ‘Arabness’. Nevertheless, this racial and 2014, China, the most important ben- rica.’ The expected diminishing sup- cultural split is not a reason why I argue eficiary and consumer of raw materials, port for the AU in North Africa after that manage the AU does not meet the had invested more than $100 billion in Gaddafi is not the reason either. To be requirement as an institutional response Africa. A side effect of this has been sure, there is a ‘racial’ and cultural split to North Africa and SSA. After all, China’s involvement in infrastructure between North Africa and SSA. Deny- one finds just as many anecdotes about building in SSA countries. ing it is disingenuous. President Nasser North Africans proclaiming their Afri- of Egypt, a strong Pan Africanist, held can proclivities and connections to SSA. True as all this may be, the Afro-opti- misguided views about SSA that he re- One is reminded of Algeria’s former mists would be well advised to temper garded as the ‘Dark Continent’ to be president Ouari Boumedienne’s retort their euphoria. Africa has experienced civilized and dominated by Egypt. His to the Arabs: ‘If you force me to choose this type of commodity boom in the Pan Arabism trumped his Pan African- between the Arab world and Africa, I past (notably in the late 1960s-early ism. Gaddafi, a visceral proponent of choose Africa.’ And despite his misgiv- 1970s) only to go bust when conditions African unification via the AU at the ings, Nasser was closer to Nkrumah’s changed. Moreover, the reliance on

109 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN commodities and its attendant infra- structure is not historically a novelty The reality is that, although SSA still for Africa either. One needs not be an shares many socioeconomic traits with apologist of colonialism to recognize North Africa, Asia, and South Ameri- that European colonial rule did gener- ca, it stands alone at the bottom of the ate tremendous growth in many of the comparative scale. Its socioeconomic colonies. Belgian Congo, South Africa, indicators lag behind those of North Rhodesia, Kenya, and Egypt are ex- Africa and all other developing regions, amples. In these countries, much of even when the current Arab Spring- the growth was spurred by commodity generated crisis is taken into account. exports, minerals and cash crops. And SSA oft-repeated cases of ‘success’ are expectedly, the level of infrastructure in very small countries (e.g., Botswana or these countries, especially around the Mauritius) with no major impact on areas that produced the raw materials, the overall development of SSA. South was higher than elsewhere. Yet colonial Africa is so beset by Apartheid-era-in- economic growth and its attendant in- duced internal poverty that its economic frastructure did not prevent SSA from attraction to the struggling populations becoming the ‘poorest region’ of the of other SSA countries is fraught with world. The issue here is not colonial dangers of xenophobia and violence exploitation or Chinese exploitation. against these migrant populations. The Rather, Afro-optimists fail to properly data in table 1 tell the story of Afro- account for the reasons why SSA is ‘the realism. poorest region’ and lags behind its fel- low ‘Third World’ peers. They crave for ‘some good news from Africa’ and are eager to toot the horn for just about any shred of positive economic activ- ity. Afro-optimism and Afro-pessimism should give way to ‘Afro-realism.’

YEAR SSA* MNA* SA/EA* SAM* 1960-2003 GDP(in 2000 US $) 511 2140 283 3168 Life Exp 47 64 56 66

Inf Mort 105 78 74 35* Poverty % Change** +20 --- -21/-43 -1 1988-2003 GDP Change** -20 +197 +103 +206 Life Exp Change** -2 Yrs +3 Yrs +4 Yrs/+1 Yrs +2 Yrs 2003- GDP Index (1980=100 98 125 201/259 112 2009 Life Exp 50 69.5 64/71 73 Inf Mort 94.5 34 62/24 22.5 Pol Strife Index (AV) 42.5 35 39/40 33 Peace Index 96 78 75 83 2010 GDP in $ (AV) 2270 3565*** 7530**** 7556 2011 GDP in $ (AV) 2442 4279*** 13611**** 8084 2010 HDI Rank (AV) 141 87*** 86**** 79 2011 HDI Rank (AV) 155 99*** 98**** 84

SSA=Sub-Saharan Africa; MNA=Middle East &North Africa; SA=South Asia; EA=East Asia; SAM=South America. ** Change from previous year. *** North Africa by itself. **** Asia as a whole

110 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN developing regions, and should not de- termine why an all-Africa political union is needed. Assuming that all developing regions are equally successful in fending off imperialism via their regional group- The data clearly show that SSA has ings, there still remains the gap between development, one needs to delve into lagged behind North Africa and all SSA and the three other developing re- the relationship between socioeconomic other developing regions in all the indi- gions. The issue for Africa is not how outcomes, institutions, and politics. The cators since 1960—except Asia’s early continental strength will deter and fend AU is an institution. Institutions involve GDP. Pan Africanists either are una- off Western powers, but rather why SSA some well-defined organizational pat- ware of the reality conveyed by these lags behind North Africa and its peer terns, regular rules and procedures gov- data or simply ignore it. As a result, they developing regions and how to solve this erning the behaviour of groups or col- rely on three erroneous premises. First, lag. Creating a union between SSA and lectivities. Although they suppose some they invoke the geographical contigu- North Africa on the basis of the colonial routinization and stability, institutions ity between North Africa and SSA to shared experience does not answer this are made. They do not just occur out advocate a common union for the two question, and is not the solution. of the blue. They are an outcome of subregions. Certainly, the importance a ‘situation’ that requires or necessitates of territorial contiguity is not to be dis- Third, because political and economic their existence. There are many ‘situa- counted in regional groupings. How- unions (e.g., USA, EU) have been suc- tions’ that can necessitate the existence ever, North Africa’s contiguity to SSA cessful in other regions of the world, Pan of an institution. In most cases, how- is not enough of a reason for a conti- Africanists assume that a similar union ever, POLITICS and its consequences nental union with SSA. Mali, Senegal, will solve the African predicament. A are the main triggers. Politics is a so- or Niger may be geographically closer glaring aspect of this imitation today is ciety-rooted competition over property, to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia than the pairing of EU and AU. Not only is resources, goods, services, values, and— they are to Kenya, Malawi, or Congo- ‘African Union’ an imitation of ‘Euro- as a crucial corollary—political power. Kinshasa; but their GDP per capita pean Union’ in naming, the Constitutive Because of the competition involved, (average $714) are closer to those of the Act and Charter of AU are modeled af- politics generates differential or unequal latter three SSA countries than they are ter EU. So are AU institutional organs. socioeconomic outcomes. Moreover, it to the three North African countries (av- Lost in this imitation is the question of triggers the building of institutions de- erage $4246). Contiguity does not seem whether the problem to be addressed signed to structure the competition, to to close the gap. and solved by the continental institution deal with its effects, and, more impor- in Africa is the same as that addressed by tantly, to solve or respond to the prob- Second, Pan Africanists rely on the ‘Afri- EU. More importantly, is the problem to lems that the collectivities involved in ca as a great power’ assumption, accord- be solved the same in North Africa and the competition face. ing to which, to be heard in the world SSA? and to fend off Western or other forms Herein lies the relationship between of colonial domination, the whole con- Geology, Politics and the SSA- politics and institutions. Politics makes tinent of Africa must be united to create North Africa Divide institutions, including the state. By con- continental strength. In truth, fending To assess the validity of the institutional trast, institutions can only shape and off imperialist encroachment is not ex- solution proposed by Pan Africanists in mold politics in return without being clusively African. It is the goal of all the face of SSA lagging socioeconomic ubiquitous self-made agents or the pro-

111 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN genitor of politics as institutionalists given that politics determines institu- political behavior that reflects the ab- would have it. Therefore, with respect tions and the state itself, the difference sence of compromise in politics. Be- to tackling socioeconomic problems, in politics also explains why political in- cause irresolvable issues are not off institutions that work best are those stitutions and the state in Western coun- the table, basic compromise is hard that meet one major criterion. They tries differ from those in non-Western/ to reach. As a result, politics does not must be tailored to reflect the prevailing Developing countries. This is so even lead to institutional/procedural and brand of politics in society and to re- when these institutions are formally and policy compromise. Hence, the general spond directly to its socioeconomic con- in appearance similar to those of West- tendency toward institutional instabil- sequences. As an All-Africa institution, ern countries. Even routine and regular ity and ‘deviations’ from the Western the AU does not meet this requirement elections do not eliminate these differ- norm. Space prevents a full elaboration with regard to SSA and North Africa. ences as events have shown over and of these points here. But liberal com- The reason is the vast difference in so- over again. promise does not suggest that ‘political cioeconomic outcomes between SSA crises’ do not occur in the West. and North Africa that politics imposes SSA shares over politicization with North Africa, Asia, and South America, but to different degrees and with varia- tions. Variations in their politics and its socioeconomic effects are due to varia- tions in physical, historical, and anthro- pological backgrounds of their respec- tive societies. What are the backgrounds or factors that have shaped SSA varia- tions in politics? Methodologically and logically, SSA lagging socioeconomic in- dicators suggest that they are not caused by a factor SSA shares with the other developing regions. It cannot be the Cold War, imperialism, colonialism, the world capitalist system, neocolonialism, deterioration of the terms of trade, de- pendency on foreign aid, inadequacy of aid, price control/protectionism, or the generic ‘bad governance,’ all factors that all developing regions have in common. These shared factors cannot explain why (only) SSA has diverged from other developing regions. It stands to reason that exceptional factors or backgrounds explain why SSA has diverged in its pol- itics and, hence, in socioeconomic terms from its peers. ‘Exceptional’ means that these factors either exist in all develop- and why it imposes these differential Regardless of their level of economic ing regions, including North Africa, but outcomes. Therefore, in order to pro- development or regime type (democrat- display a very unique feature in SSA, pose an institutional format that solves ic or authoritarian), developing coun- or exist only in SSA and not at all in the SSA predicament, we need to pay tries share a common property, over the other regions. Compared to North attention to politics and its differential politicization. The latter defies liberal Africa (and Asia and South America), socioeconomic effects in North Africa compromise in the political competi- SSA has exceptional physical, histori- and SSA. tion of non-Western countries. It dis- cal, and anthropological backgrounds tinguishes their political outcomes from that shaped its society in a peculiar way, What, then, caused SSA politics and those of Western countries. Their state, with severe implications for its brand of its consequences to diverge from North in contradistinction to the liberal demo- politics. There are four such exception- Africa’s? The definition of politics cratic state in Western countries, is an al factors: (1) geoecology, (2) ethnic dis- provided above suggests that politics is over politicized state. Liberal compro- persal and profusion, (3) slavery, and (4) inseparable from the type of society in mise (and not just any type of compro- low precolonial socioeconomic outputs. which political competition takes place. mise) means that a basic compromise Only a skeletal outline is provided here. Resources, goods, and values, which are about the values, beliefs, and goals the objects of the competition, are so- of the political community has been Geoecology ciety-based. Politics is ultimately tribu- reached, taking off the table irresolvable The geoecology of SSA demarcates tary to and structured by the physical, issues. As a result, political competition itself exceptionally from that of the ecological, anthropological, and histori- leads to institutional/procedural and other regions in a negative way. Partly cal backgrounds of society. This specifi- policy compromise and relative stability. because of its northern boundary im- cation helps explain why politics in non- posed by the Sahara desert and its con- Western or developing countries differs Over politicization is the opposite of sequent almost total confinement within from politics in Western countries. And liberal compromise. It is a pattern of the tropics, SSA maintains a physical/

112 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN geographical unity among its subregions. As a pact of the desert on the populations and their result, the overall tropical climate, soil, vegeta- livelihood. It turns out that such an impact is tion and ecosystems of SSA are more closely far more negligible in North Africa than in SSA. shared by its subregions and countries (except Vast areas of the North African countries affect- the Cape in South Africa) than is the case in ed by the desert are empty. As a result, the ma- Asia and South America. Compared to the two jority of North African populations live in the regions, SSA is the most tropical. It has the few- cities in the northern end of the countries, along est benefits associated with temperate climate, the Mediterranean coast. Or they are concen- monsoon, and with high lands. It has the most trated in the most fertile areas of the countries, rainforest negatives, the most savanna negatives, such as the Nile Valley in Egypt and the Tell re- the most desert impact, the fewest fertile river gion, a hilly region, in Algeria. This means that, banks/valleys, the highest soil limitations for despite the desert, the majority of the North Af- production, the fewest navigable rivers, and the rican population lives in the Mediterranean cli- most landlocked countries (except Central Asia). mate, a transitional climate between dry tropical SSA holds the first and temperate climate. It differs from the SSA rank in all tropical in- predominant climate cluster, and makes North fectious diseases (river Africa’s climate resemble that of Chile in South blindness, bilharzia, America and California in the US. Due to the sleeping sickness, Mediterranean climate, North Africa is much Guinea worm, yellow more productive than the Sahel and other SSA fever, yaw disease, ma- desert-affected countries. Unlike SSA, with its It stands to reason that laria, HIV, Ebola). In record-breaking landlocked territories, all North short, Asia and South African countries have direct access to the sea, exceptional factors America hold a geo- which has economic and commercial implica- ecological advantage tions. or backgrounds over SSA. SSA exceptional geoecology is, thus, over- explain why SSA The overall climatic whelmingly negative and more taxing on people impact on North Af- than in North Africa and other regions. Argu- has diverged in its rica differs sharply ments that take geocology seriously are easily from the impact on and often inaccurately dubbed ‘deterministic.’ politics and, hence, in SSA for two reasons. No sin of determinism has been committed First, the effects of the here. Although there is some direct cause-to- socioeconomic terms desert are mitigated in effect relation between SSA geoecology and its North Africa by mas- socioeconomic outcomes, I do not draw such a from its peers. sive mountain ranges. direct causal relation. Instead, SSA exceptional They soften the nox- geoecology helps us define three intermediate ious effects of the de- exceptional factors (variables) that it generated. sert and shield North The three intermediate factors more directly Africa’s populations cause variations in SSA politics. As already from its taxing impact. mentioned, they are (a) ethnic profusion and the SSA lacks comparable attendant ethnic horizontal relations, (b) slavery, number of mountain and (c) low precolonial socioeconomic outputs. ranges and these ben- efits. Although East Africa has higher moun- Ethnic Dispersal and Profusion tains (e.g., Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount SSA does not have the monopoly on ‘tribes.’ Kenya towering respectively 19,340 feet and North Africa and other developing areas have 17,058 feet), their effects are mostly confined to ‘tribes’ as well. Yet ethnicities in SSA and North specific areas in Kenya, Tanzania and, to an ex- Africa do not shape politics the same way be- tent, Uganda. This is a small area of SSA. East cause of their differential historical and anthro- African Mountains have no positive impact on pological fates. What explains this difference is the Sahel countries. In North Africa, the effects not colonialism as often claimed with much ex- of mountains are also distributed over a rela- aggeration, but the exceptional nature of SSA tively small area; but they are felt by almost all geoecology. Historians agree that the ethnic North African countries. Due to its high eleva- distribution of Africa was more or less set be- tions, North Africa, unlike SSA, is not home to tween the 7th and 11th centuries, although it the disease-causing tsetse fly that attacks cattle continued up to the 19th century. The ethnic and livestock and is the main vector of sleep- distribution involved higher levels of dispersals ing sickness in humans. Although malaria has and migrations of peoples than in most other occurred in North Africa, this has been of the regions because of the geoecological constraints least fatal variety. North Africa does not have they faced. In most cases, poor soil conditions, the SSA specific type of malaria-causing mos- diseases, drought and famine set the limits to quitoes that carry and transmit the very lethal the population density. Quarrels ensued, and pathogen Plasmodium falciparum. the result was new migrations and ethnic splits. The most famous migration in SSA is the Bantu The second reason has to do with the real im- migration. In West Africa, in addition to Bantu

113 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN migration, “changes resulted the dispersal of Luo and Luo- from time to time without suc- from many small, essentially associated groups, such as the ceeding in controlling power. kin-based groups searching for Acholi, Lango, and Alur. The This ethnic verticality differs more advantageous places to famous Shaka-Zulu-driven fundamentally from SSA eth- live. Soil, fertility, water supply, social and political revolution nic horizontality (I return to and distribution of disease, par- that engulfed the Nguni people this concept below). ticularly sleeping sickness and from the late 18th century to river blindness, undoubtedly the mid-19th century and that Thus, geoecology caused a influenced settlement patterns reordered the ethnic composi- higher dispersal, profusion, as much then as they did later. tion and structure of the whole and number of ethnicities in The preferred locations devel- Southern Africa up to Tanza- SSA than in North Africa and oped as population centers, nia in East Africa had its origin the two other developing re- where many of the languages in the ecological imbalance, gions. There are about 4600 within the Atlantic, Mande, drought, and dwindling land ethnic groups in SSA. North Gur, Kwa, Benue-Congo, and resources for herding. Wars Africa (minus Western Sahara Adamawa-Ubangi branches of broke out and made new ethnic and Mauritania), by contrast, Niger-Congo originated.” groups or amalgamated others. counts about 96 groups, most of which are Berber. In other In Central, East and Southern By contrast, the ethnic disper- words, SSA has about 48 times Africa, the very slow move- sal in North Africa was cir- the number of ethnicities of ment of the Bantu from East cumscribed and much more North Africa. It displays an limited by two very ‘anomaly’ when compared to powerful factors. First, other regions. Indeed, SSA the continental dispersal has had historically the low- of populations that fol- est average population density SSA did not hold a monopoly on lowed the Sahara desic- of the three comparative re- cation had reduced the gions (18/sq.km vs 25/sq.km slavery either. Slavery has existed territorial space over in North Africa, 31/sq.km in which North Africans South America, and 70/sq.km in almost all continents. Yet, by could settle. The popu- in Asia); yet it has the high- lation concentration in est number of ethnicities. By any standard, slavery in SSA was cities along the Medi- comparison with North Africa, exceptional because of its three terranean and Atlantic Asia and South America, SSA coasts and in the fertile ethnicity/population ratio is exceptional features. valley did not allow for higher. There are far more eth- a vast ethnic dispersal of nic groups per population clus- people. Second, because ter in SSA than it is the case in the Phoenician, Roman, North Africa and the two other Arab, Ottoman, Portu- regions. This ethnic dispersal guese colonization and and profusion was exacerbated Africa to Southern Africa (6 invasions occurred centuries by slavery, thus further distanc- km/year) and the limited fertil- and even thousands years ago, ing SSA from North Africa. ity of soils explain the dispersal they had created a settlement of populations in small settle- pattern in North Africa that Slavery ments along the way. North- deterred the type of ethnic pro- SSA did not hold a monopoly east arid ecology dictated the fusion that occurred in SSA. on slavery either. Slavery has Cushitic Somali migrations Given the type of colonial rule existed in almost all continents. from southwest Ethiopia and and its longer time span, these Yet, by any standard, slavery northern Kenya. Pastoral- different groups came to co- in SSA was exceptional be- ism and splits in ‘clans’ were exist in a form of settlement cause of its three exceptional outcomes. Geoecology also colonies, in which the invad- features. First, slavery in SSA provoked the Oromo migra- ers reordered the indigenous was the largest intercontinental tions from the south of the Rift Berber social life politically forced migration in modern Valley in search of new graz- and religiously/culturally. The history. It differed from all the ing lands for cattle. The result integrated social order that others by its highest rate of was two types of ethnic disper- emerged out of this reordering mortality and social disloca- sal: those who remained in the became vertical, dominated tion. Second, its impact was south and assimilated Oromo hierarchically by the invaders, not confined to SSA but ex- groups dispersed throughout notably the Arabs. The ‘Arab tended to all the continents, ex- Ethiopia and Kenya. Geocolo- tribe’ imposed its hegemony cept Oceania. In all of them, gy-rooted migrations and con- over all other indigenous Ber- there were sellers and buyers flicts among Western Nilotic ber groups—which explains of SSA slaves. Third, its effects Nuer, Dinka, and Luo explain Berber revolts and resistance have persisted and endured in

114 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN all the continents up to the 21st century the equatorial wet zone. In SSA, ever- selves. This behaviour has deep roots in as attested to by refugees (e.g., Soma- wet and most tropical environment and slavery and is tied up to the tale of the lia ‘Bantu people’ in the US), political the attendant ethnic dispersal could al- white revenants. The wealth obtained debates, and the intractable socioeco- low mostly only fragmentary and small from the slave trade by Arab and Eu- nomic low status of and discriminatory states unable to fend off the encroach- ropean slave traders so impressed the practices against the descendants of ing slavers. Thus, geoecology imparted Africans that they explained it through SSA slaves in all the continents. What, to SSA slavery its exceptional nature the social death of the slaves: When then, explains the exceptional nature of (I do not discount Arab and European slaves were taken to the Americas and slavery in SSA? responsibility). This explains why its ef- the Arab world, they died. And as spir- fects also differ from those of slavery in its, they reappeared as White revenants The answer is SSA exceptional geoecol- other parts of the world. with massive wealth. This tale or myth ogy. Consider the five major reasons derived from the reality of slavery of imputed to SSA itself by historians to Slavery’s major impact on SSA was not, centuries ago has become ‘part of the explain slavery: (1) lack of private prop- as often maintained, the demographic culture.’ The wealth and magic of the erty, (2) the active participation of SSA loss or the fostering of autocratic rule. ‘white man’ are held in higher esteem, precolonial rulers in the slave trades, (3) Although these did occur, their impact and one can accede to it only through better epidemiological resistance to dis- is exaggerated. Instead, slavery had sorcery-sanctioned death of a human eases by SSA slaves, (4) the Ham Curse, three particularly severe internal con- being. Consider here the ritual killings and (5) SSA precolonial states’ weak- sequences for SSA: (1) it reinforced the of Albinos in Tanzania, Uganda, Ken- ness and inability to fend off slavers. All five resulted from SSA harsh geo- ecology. For space reasons, I make only barely skeletal points. In SSA, slaves were used by some individu- als/rulers and by lineages. Why this reliance on slaves? Because of SSA formidable geoecology, a special pre- mium was put on land. This forced the dispersed ethnic groups to opt for communal land ownership. In- digenous slavery compensated, thus, for the lack of private property in land by serving as a source of private wealth for some individuals/rulers; it also served as a source of extra labor power for lineage members to allevi- ate the burden of the lineage and its members within such a forbidding environment. This situation imparted to SSA indigenous slavery its distinct character. Because some individu- als and lineage members depended so higher ethnic dispersal and profusion ya, Burundi and Congo for wealth mak- strongly on this geoecology-induced caused by SSA geoecology in all the ing. Their ‘white-like’ body parts are wide and deep indigenous slavery sys- subregions of SSA; (2) it worsened the representative of ‘white wealth.’ Slavery tem, SSA rulers easily participated in fragility of traditional economic organi- did not create sorcery, but it fortified it. slave trades when goaded by Arabs and zations and the low outputs; and (3) it The death of slaves and of the sorcerer’s Europeans. As for the other three caus- devalued SSA and its people. victim, which turns them into ‘white’ es, suffice it to mention that the epide- and wealth, is the symbolic devaluation miological advantage of African slaves Slavery devalued SSA and its people in of the Africans by Africans themselves and the Ham Curse, which is linked to two major ways. The first way is the in the face of the ‘white man’s’ wealth the black skin color, are direct by-prod- devaluation by outsiders, that is, people and prestige. Because myths become ucts of SSA geoecology that imparted from all the other regions of the world. routine, they acquire structural strength to people of SSA their phenotype and The reasons for this are twofold. The by becoming ‘reality.’ Both the intelli- differential resistance to the parasites slave ideology contained in itself the gentsia and the populace in SSA recog- and disease load. Unfortunately for the venom of the devaluation of the peo- nize the daily empirical manifestations people of SSA, these saviour attributes ple in SSA. In addition, the presence of this situation. A Ghanaian returnee made them vulnerable to slavery and of SSA slaves in Europe, the Americas, best summed it up: ‘Nothing pleases a biblical distortions. Geoecology also North Africa, the Middle East and Asia Ghanaian worker more than to have a explained why ‘strong states’ emerged had established the ‘objective basis’ for white boss. The more abusive the boss, in South and Southeast Asia to fend the denigration of SSA, their land and the better and the more endearing the off slavers but not in SSA. Asian states culture of origin. The second slavery- staff are to them.’ He contrasted this at- emerged in a fertile environment of in- derived type of devaluation is self-de- titude to the aversion of the same Gha- termediate tropical zone as opposed to valuation by the people of SSA them- naian workers and populace to value

115 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN their fellow Ghanaian bosses. Slavery- dispersal and profusion, slavery, and double devaluation of SSA and its peo- derived devaluation of SSA by both low precolonial socioeconomic outputs. ple manifests itself directly in the form outsiders and the people of SSA them- The three have a direct impact on SSA of a higher level of insecurity and in- selves creates a complex of superiority politics. They modify politics by means feriority complex of the SSA political for the outsiders and of inferiority for of three exceptional direct manifesta- leadership than is the case in North Af- the people of SSA. tions. First, ethnic dispersal and pro- rica (and Asia and South America). It fusion manifest themselves directly in adds, unlike in North Africa (Asia and Precolonial Fragile Economic Or- the form of ethnic horizontal relations. South America), an extra layer on top ganizations and Low Outputs Ethnic horizontal relations are exclusive of the colonial devaluation that SSA Harsh geoecology had a negative im- to SSA and are not observed in North shares with all colonized non-European pact on SSA ability to build viable eco- Africa (Asia and South America). They peoples. It has deep modifying implica- nomic organizations. It is no mystery differ from ethnic vertical relations in tions for SSA politics. why food production did not take place North Africa, Asia, and South America. as early as was the case in Asia and the Ethnic vertical relations are pyramidal, Thus, ethnic dispersal and profusion, Nile Valley in Egypt. The paucity of unequal, and dominated by one ‘ethnic’ low precolonial socioeconomic outputs, domesticable native plant species, the group politically, economically, and so- and slavery modify and impact politics much smaller area suitable for indig- cially (e.g., Arabs in North Africa and in SSA through their three direct mani- enous production, and the often stingy the Middle East, Europeans or Mesti- festations: ethnic horizontal relations, climatic zones deterred such an occur- zos in South America, Han Chinese in more extreme form of socioeconomic rence. The very features that made China, Kinhs in Vietnam, Indo-Aryans deprivation and competition, and high- SSA geoecology exceptionally negative in India). Unlike in North Africa, Asia, er level of insecurity for the political required a survival and subsistence type and South America, in SSA European leadership. They explain why the socio- of economic activities at economic consequences the expense of vibrant of politics in SSA differ forms of production. from those of North Ethnic dispersal exacer- Africa (and Asia and bated and codified this South America). The fragile and subsistence three intermediate fac- economy. Geoecology tors and their three and ethnic dispersal de- manifestations form an termined both the rela- organic and systemic tions of production that whole in four specific came to rest on commu- ways. nal ownership of the land and the attendant tech- First, they all relate to nology that remained ru- and bear the imprint dimentary. of SSA exceptional geoecology. Second, For its part, slavery reinforced the frag- or pre-European colonization never suc- the three determine and reinforce each ile traditional economy through gen- ceeded in reordering ethnic vertical re- other: Ethnic dispersal and fragile eralized insecurity that prevailed from lations, except temporarily in Southern precolonial economies prevented the roughly the 16th to the 19th centuries. Africa and Sudan. As a contrasting re- emergence of ‘strong’ states to fend off It also stunted the SSA productive sult, ethnic horizontal relations charac- slavery; slavery, in turn, exacerbated forces, and strengthened ethnic disper- terize SSA. Ethnic horizontal relations ethnic dispersal and the fragility of sal. The dispersal had implications for rest on assumed and built-in equality precolonial economies; ethnic disper- state formation and centralization that among ethnic groups. The expecta- sal codified and put its imprint on tra- impacted negatively the long-term eco- tion is that no single group dominates ditional economies (e.g., collective land nomic development. To be sure, pre- the others by controlling political power ownership and subsistence), which, in colonial economies were not uniform exclusively; power is potentially accessi- turn, reinforce ethnic dispersal by pro- throughout SSA. Trade-led economies ble to all ethnic groups. This assumed voking the overuse and degradation of of West Africa, for instance, fared equality begets demands by each ethnic the land and soils and, hence, the mi- better than elsewhere. Nevertheless, group—however small—to be given (or grations of the populations to new set- compared to North Africa, Asia, and to take) equal chance to control politi- tlements. Third, the three factors are South America, SSA, as a whole, had cal power. This may take the form of found in all SSA subregions. Although depressed socioeconomic outputs by the violent overthrow or rigged or fair elec- the three and the underlying geoecol- time of European colonialism. Coloni- tion, even though the outcome does not ogy may display variations in individual al rule’s economic transformations did necessarily reflect this equality. Second, countries, they impact directly or indi- not alter this gap. By 1960, economic the direct manifestation of low socioec- rectly all SSA countries alike. Fourth, outputs (in GDP) were, on the average, onomic outputs is a more extreme form their three attendant manifestations $16,467 for North Africa and $3, 761 of socioeconomic deprivation and com- (i.e., ethnic horizontal relations, the for SSA. petition in SSA than obtains in North more extreme form of socioeconomic Africa (and Asia and South America). deprivation and competition, and acute Organic Nature of Politics and its The comparative data in Table 1 above form of inferiority complex) are found Modifiers in SSA partly reflect this extreme deprivation. and directly affect politics in roughly Thus, geoecology generated three in- It deeply and differentially shapes the the same way in all SSA countries. Be- termediate exceptional factors: ethnic SSA brand of politics. Third, slavery’s cause of these four traits, the three fac-

116 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN tors and their manifestations constitute al format through which public poli- of politics they share with other SSA the organic causes of SSA politics. As cies are taken to tackle the problems of countries are dealt with. For the mani- such, the organic causes of SSA politics socioeconomic development. In SSA, festations and causes of the SSA predic- are to their variations in individual SSA this viciously Hobbesian character of ament resemble the Greek mythological countries what the trunk of a tree is to politics and its variant of the over politi- hydra, the gigantic monster with nine the branches. Attempts to save one or cized state prevent the state from acting heads, all of which were anchored by several dying branches of an infected as the catalyst for development. The a central immortal head. As one head tree remain ineffective unless one treats cumulative impact of this exceptional was cut off, two grew in its place. Only the infected trunk of the tree. politics on the state explains the gap in by burning out the roots and severing socioeconomic outcomes between SSA the immortal central head from the The organic causes of politics have and North Africa (and other developing body did Heracles destroy the monster. organic consequences as well for SSA. regions) in table1. What, then, is the They make politics in SSA as a whole solution? Whatever country-based solution is pro- exceptional when compared to politics posed to SSA socioeconomic ills will not in North Africa and the other develop- Unifederation as the Organic In- be able to sever the immortal central ing regions. This process is more com- stitutional Solution head of the hydra. It will not treat the plex than can be analyzed here given The socioeconomic consequences of infected trunk of the tree. For example, space constraints. Suffice it to say that politics in SSA are, thus, different from the socioeconomic situation of Congo- because of these organic causes, poli- those of North Africa. Their causes Kinshasa was relatively better than tics, which is by definition conflict-rid- are organically embedded in the SSA that of Rwanda before the 1990s. So den, acquires in SSA a more Hobbesian fabric, and systemically affect all SSA was that of Cote d’Ivoire compared to character than in the other developing subregions and countries, albeit with its neighbors. Today both the Congo regions. Liberal political com- and Cote d’Ivoire (the Congo promise, generally difficult to more so) are ‘basket cases’ be- reach in developing regions, cause failure to solve Rwanda’s is made even more so in SSA. and Cote d’Ivoire’s neighbors’ Because politics makes and problems has re-infected the shapes the state, exceptional Solutions to individual SSA countries Congo and Cote d’Ivoire via politics in SSA makes its state may temporarily impact local variations ethnic political strife. South exceptional as well. Herein Africa may have a stronger lies the difference between and alleviate some aspects of the economy, but failure to solve the SSA variant of the over predicament. But they will not solve the socioeconomic plight of its politicized state and that of neighbors haunts it via deadly North Africa (and of Asia the problem for organic SSA. xenophobia against its ‘fellow and South America). This Africans.’ Kenya may be the explains why in SSA the insti- ‘economic power house’ of tutions of the state have been East Africa, but the Somalia’s more predatory and viciously imbroglio has come to haunt appropriated by some groups Kenya via terrorist attacks. or individuals—often and almost always local variations. Therefore, the design The need to respond to the organic so- tied up to ethnic claims and interests; of the institutional format apt to solve cioeconomic outcomes in SSA and their why extreme forms of political buffoon- SSA socioeconomic predicament needs causes requires that the response be or- ery verging on sadism have occurred to reflect and respond to these organic ganic as well. there (e.g., Idi Amin, Bokasa, Doe, Aba- differential causes and consequences cha); why SSA has brewed more civil of politics. In light of this, the natural On the other hand, the common pitfall wars than any other developing region impulse to let each SSA country fend of the Pan Africanists is to be oblivious in the recent postcolonial period; why for itself and solve its own development of the specifically organic nature of the it has a higher political strife index and problems loses its rationale. This in- SSA predicament and its differences lower peace index than the other devel- cludes the impulse to rely on ‘ethnicity’ from North Africa’s situation. As a re- oping regions; why in the ‘consolidated as the basis for political reorganization sult, they rely wrongly on an all-Africa democracy era,’ SSA has witnessed the in each country. Ethiopia, the first SSA continental solution. The concept of larger number of military coups and country to clearly subscribe to the strat- organic SSA militates against all-Afri- coup attempts (e.g., Mauritania, Guin- egy of reorganizing the polity on the ca institutional solutions that emulate ea, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Niger, basis of ‘ethnicity,’ has not moved away those proposed in other (developed or Mali, Central African Republic, and from the collective fate of other SSA developing) regions. It prevents us from coup attempts in Benin, Malawi, South countries. Solutions to individual SSA likening poorer Eastern Europe’s entry Sudan, Congo-Kinshasa, and Lesotho); countries may temporarily impact local into EU to the AU situation between and why there are more so-called ‘failed variations and alleviate some aspects of SSA and North Africa. Unlike West- states’ in SSA than in the other develop- the predicament. But they will not solve ern Europe, North Africa’s economic ing regions. [As a historically specific, the problem for organic SSA. Like the situation, although better than SSA’s, is concurrent, and multistate ‘revolution,’ treated branches of an infected tree that structurally incapable to bear the bur- the ‘Arab Spring’ and its ramifications cannot survive unless the trunk of the den of SSA. But more importantly, be- in the Middle East and North Africa are tree is treated, the temporarily relieved cause North Africa does not share the not considered here in the comparison.] countries will not extricate themselves organic causes of SSA politics, AU, the from the SSA organic socioeconomic institution designed to solve the effects By definition, the state is the institution- predicament unless the organic causes of this politics, cannot succeed in doing

117 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN so. Therefore, the difference between organic allow the state to structure and mold politics SSA and North Africa requires the administra- positively in return for SSA as a whole. Such tive and political separation of SSA from North a revolutionary transformation of the state, Africa. It cries out for the repudiation of the which makes it the center of decisions for the African Union and for the urgent need to or- whole SSA, requires that the national state lose ganically tackle the predicament for SSA as a its sovereignty. separate whole. Neither the OAU nor the AU offers any theo- The institutional separation of SSA from North retical, comparative, and organic basis to repu- Africa helps to tackle the organic causes of SSA diate national sovereignty. Under the new state socioeconomic lag. This can be accomplished arrangement, by contrast, national sovereignty only through a successor institution to AU that is rendered, on theoretical and comparative best responds to the organic causes and conse- grounds, indefensible by the organic causes quences of SSA exceptionally Hobbesian poli- of SSA politics. In contrast to the European tics. The state, is such successor institution for Union model copied by AU and the generally two reasons. First, the state is the institution loose and functional integrative model that through which public policies are devised to guides most regional integrations, SSA should tackle the problems of socioeconomic develop- rely on a tight integrative model that reflects ment. Second, because the state in SSA is the its organic exceptionalism. A tight integrative direct institutional consequence of the excep- model assumes unique sovereignty of the inte- tionally Hobbesian brand of politics. Through grative state as opposed to multiple sovereign-

it are generated extremely negative socioeco- ties of the constitutive states. It rests on rear- nomic outcomes. To make the SSA socioeco- ranging the SSA political space by dismantling nomic situation positive, the direct institutional the highly ‘negative’ national states to allow response to this brand of politics and its atten- their transformation into a SSA organic state. dant type of state is a different type of state. Let me resort to a neologism to refer to this new Indeed, although the state and its institutions institutional format as a Unifederation. By are made and determined by politics, the state Unifederation I mean a reconfigured and uni- and its institutions mold politics in return. Yet fied political and territorial body. Its local and we now know that the SSA situation rests on subregional entities make no claim to complete a paradox. On the one hand, the causes of sovereignty as in AU and as in other regional exceptional politics and its negative impact on groupings in the world. They do not claim the state and on socioeconomic outcomes are complete but progressively delegated sover- organic and applicable to the whole region of eignty as in EU. Nor is their claim about ‘resid- SSA; on the other hand, the states themselves ual sovereignty,’ which is the source of interpre- are ‘national’ and ‘sovereign.’ The challenge tative frictions between the federal government is to make the state as regionally organic as and the states in the US. Rather, local and sub- the causes of exceptional politics. This would regional entities are decentralized under the

118 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN complete and unified sovereignty of a it is a better institutional solution, the newly constituted SSA multi-territorial Unifederation accommodates glo- state. In most regional groupings, insti- balization better than does AU or in- tutional decisions are either not bind- dividual countries. It uses its unique ing or loosely and selectively binding. sovereignty to dictate the direction and The new institutions attached to the goal of SSA integrated involvement in SSA organic state, by contrast, impose the world markets as opposed to be- sovereign and constraining obligations ing dictated serially by global actors. to all members. It also means that ter- Moreover, the Unifederation allows a ritorial borders separating the previ- more vibrant and open economic and ously sovereign countries loose their political system, a bigger and organi- meaning as a new geo-spatial space is cally integrated geographical space, created. Although Unifederation has and a larger and more skilled popula- much in common with federalism, it tion. These conditions favor globaliza- is historically unique. It maintains tion’s information technology, foreign the decentralization and practical au- investments, international travel, trade, tonomy of its constitutive entities while financial markets and the movement of deriving its unique sovereignty from capital in SSA. the organic nature of the causes of the SSA predicament. The Unifederation As a second payoff, the Unifederation reflects SSA exceptionalism. sets up conditions for democratiza- tion through territorial reorganiza- Payoffs and Feasibility of the tion. By rearranging the geopolitical Unifederation and economic space at the SSA level, As the center of decisions for the whole the unifederal organic state frees the SSA, targeting roughly the same prob- competing groups from their depend- Indeed, lems in all SSA subregions, the Unifed- ence on the national negative and in- eration becomes the means through strumentalist state. The freeing leads although the which a unified and purposeful pol- to broader and multiterritorial political state and its icy can tackle, beyond national varia- coalitions within the unifederal larger tions, the organic factors that modify space. Previously competing ethnic institutions politics negatively in SSA. There are groups at the national state level, who are made and four specific payoffs. First, the unifed- are easily mobilized by the potentially eral organic state provides the political equal access to political power offered determined framework and means to tackle SSA by ethnic horizontal relations, have by politics, socioeconomic lag. Because the low now to contend, at the unifederal lev- socioeconomic outputs are for a major el, with many other groups of similar the state and part due to SSA harsh geoecology, it is strength or coalitions of many groups its institutions almost impossible for individual coun- from all the subregions of SSA. The tries to solve the problem. The unifed- Unifederation deprives ‘tribalist’ pro- mold politics eral organic state remedies this situa- tagonists of the individual country- in return. tion by being the center of decisions for based territorial, economic, and po- the whole SSA. It provides resources litical conditions that make their equal and coordination in the transformation search for political power attractive of the traditional economies. It allows and destructive. Ethnic horizontality- different subregions of SSA to com- built-in equality is very sensitive to any pensate for their specific geoecological semblance of ‘domination’ by any eth- disadvantages by benefiting from the nic group within the confines of the na- geoecological advantages of the other tional state; unifederal broader political subregions. Because of its rearranged coalitions allay these fears. In short, the socioeconomic space, the unifederal Unifederation dilutes the conditions state reduces ethnic dispersal and hori- that invigorate the equal ethnic claims zontal relations; it, thus, transforms the to political power at the national level. traditional forms of economic organi- It renders them inoffensive. This cre- zations. Only within such a rearranged ates a perfect or semi-perfect equilib- space can the much-talked about and rium of political forces. The result is much-needed land reform, improve- a search for compromise, which begets ment in rural agricultural production, democracy. Democratic politics is the and the upgrading of human resources surest breeder of inclusively vibrant so- and skills can succeed in SSA. A suc- cioeconomic institutions. cessful integrated industrialization is possible only with these improvements. Third, because it rearranges the SSA space, democratizes it, and stands as Most studies on globalization cite SSA the center of sovereign decisions, the as the region the least integrated into Unifederation helps eliminate the the current global economy. Because conditions that breed strife, civil wars,

119 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN militarism, and undemocratic behaviors. of the acute insecurity and inferiority It fosters peace. Hence disappears the complex felt by the political leadership. need for costly military assistance or in- Likewise, it deters the superiority com- terventions by the US and other SSA plex of the outsiders. Indeed, Unifed- ‘partners.’ By transforming the socioec- eral broader political coalitions and the onomic fortunes of SSA, the Unifedera- attendant equilibrium of political forces tion improves the standard of living of the deprive the political leadership of its populace, enhances security, and deters three main allies in enacting inferiority the conditions that have emboldened Is- complex-driven policies: They constrain lamists and Al Qaeda in SSA. Moreover, the leader’s freedom of arbitrary actions; the consequent socioeconomic outcomes take away the usually exorbitant power of the Unifederation reduce the need for and influence that superiority complex- US and other foreign powers’ develop- imbued expatriates have over the inse- ment assistance (as was the case with US cure and inferiority complex-stricken assistance to Europe, Japan, and to South political leaders; and render insignificant Korea). The Unifederation helps, thus, the leader’s ethnic support and complic- reach the goal of Pan Africanists—de- ity in allowing this influence to prevail.

AU-driven ‘unification of Af- rica’ is a pipe dream. Not so much because it is difficult to implement as because it will not solve SSA lagging socio- economic outcomes. Similarly, reliance on individual SSA countries’ ability to make them- selves ‘the next Asia’ and the excessive faith of Sinophiles in China’s ability to develop SSA are illusions. China or India will not eliminate the organic causes of SSA socioeconomic lag. Unless people in SSA have resigned to their fate and have accepted at the outset that they will always occupy the last rank compared to all other develop- ing regions, only SSA itself can do so. And the Unifederation is the way. Unifederation is not a pipe dream because it squarely addresses SSA lagging outcomes and their organic causes. It has the chances of terring foreign encroachments—without fundamentally altering SSA status as the resorting to the ill-conceived continental ‘poorest region’ of the world. union with North Africa. There remains, of course, the question Fourth, the Unifederation addresses the of how to actually implement the project. issue of SSA inferiority/superiority com- Proposing today that AU be dismantled plex. SSA extreme form of economic would seem to be pure folly in the face deprivation exacerbates the slavery-de- of the efforts deployed by Pan Africanists rived devaluation of the African self; the for the last 50 years. Actually, it is not a expected socioeconomic payoffs of the folly. AU has performed one major posi- unifederal organic state have the added tive deed that facilitates its own demise benefit of curing the people of SSA of in favor of the Unifederation. And this their complex of inferiority vis-à-vis the is the establishment of constitutional economically better-endowed outsiders. norms in its Constitutive Act that are Beyond this, the Unifederation deters consistent with the two most power- and eliminates the policy consequences ful movements of the post-1991 period:

120 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN globalization and democratization. Indeed, Globalization allows people in SSA to chal- under the aegis of AU, all SSA countries have lenge the ‘tyranny of place’ associated with been sensitized to today’s international demo- the current SSA state. As one of the legacies cratic norms. Sensitization to the democratic of the Westphalia Treaty of 1648, state sover- norms serves, thus, as the necessary transi- eignty is not as sacrosanct as believed. USSR, tional period before the implementation of Czechoslovakia, and East and West Germany the Unifederation. It has provided the masses are examples of altered sovereignty in two op- in SSA with enough incentives and means to posite directions. South Sudan and Eritrea in redirect their efforts democratically toward SSA itself are other examples. implementing the Unifederation. As high as the hurdles faced by the implemen- Relying on the democratic gains of the last tation of the Unifederation seem, they are by 20 years, the implementation should feature far more salutary for SSA than the ‘growing two concomitant strategies. First, at the na- pains’ of AU, which will never eliminate the tional level, where the popular masses fight gap between SSA and the other developing for democracy. Each SSA country organiz- regions. SSA faces two choices. The first is ing elections or other non-electoral actions the status quo and its attendant perpetual should feature political parties and mass or- lowest ranking for SSA. And the second is ganizations that explain to the general populations why SSA lags socioeconomically behind its previously equal fellow ‘Third World’ regions; why the solutions proposed since independence by their national states and leaders Indeed, Unifederal broader have not worked; why China or India are not good sub- political coalitions and the attendant stitutes for SSA own crea- tive energy; and why AU, the organization aimed at equilibrium of political forces deprive solving the problem at the continental level, is ineffec- the political leadership of its three tive when compared to the SSA-based Unifederation. main allies in enacting inferiority Second, at the AU elite level, where the AU edifice was built. The frustrated elite complex-driven policies: and ‘intellectuals,’ who have worked within the AU bu- reaucracy only to decry its ineffectiveness, should join the masses in the fight for the dismantling of AU and its transformation into a SSA Unifederation. Their expert advice and clear the implementation of a salutary intellec- understanding of the causes of their frustra- tual alternative for a positive transformation. tion and of the unavoidable failure of AU The difference between these two options should strengthen the democratic process of can be measured. Ask the best statisticians liquidating AU in favor of the Unifederation. in the world to gather all the available data. We, thus, have both a bottom-up and a top- Let them calculate the human, economic, fi- down strategy of implementing the Unifed- nancial, political and psychological costs of eration project. maintaining the status quo represented by AU and SSA today. Then look at the cost of The implementation process benefits greatly implementing the alternative in the form of from globalization’s lower communication a Unifederation. There is no doubt that the costs and breakdown of trade and cultural cost of the status quo for SSA is exponentially barriers among countries. By challenging the higher than the cost of implementing the sal- national state sovereignty, globalization facili- utary alternative. tates the process of territorial and sovereignty rearrangement dear to the Unifederation.

121 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE UNSUNG HEROISM OF THABO MBEKI Dr Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng Executive Director, ACTS “In our world in which the generation of new knowledge and its application to change the human condition is the engine which moves human society further away from barbarism, do we not have need to recall Africa’s hundreds of thousands of intellectuals back from their places of emigration in Western Europe and North America, to rejoin those who remain still within our shores! I dream of the day when these, the African mathematicians and computer specialists in Washington and New York, the African physicists, engineers, doctors, business managers and economists, will return from London and Manchester and Paris and Brussels to add to the African pool of brain power, to enquire into and find solutions to Africa’s problems and challenges, to open the African door to the world of knowledge, to elevate Africa’s place within the universe of research the information of new knowledge, education and information”.

Thabo Mbeki, 1998

122122 THETHE AFRICAN AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TECHNOPOLITAN It was Day 2 of the International Conference on the Emergence of Africa held in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire (March 19th, 2015). All the pomp and ceremo- ny of the first day was gone: the multi-coloured African flags; the red carpet; the traditional dancers; the uniformed security; the press corps.

either President Alassane despite a solid record of monumental genuinely enjoys rigorous intellectual Ouattara of Cote D’Ivoire accomplishments. For the first 14 years exchange. Here he was, a 72 year old nor President Macky Sall of of post-apartheid South Africa, he had pensioner, formerly the most powerful Senegal, two of the Chief been at the centre of South Africa’s man in Africa, happy to take ‘lessons’ Guests on Day 1 were in attendance. political and economic transformation on the development experiences of NThe UNDP Administrator, Helen – arguably the chief architect of post- South Korea, India, Brazil and Mauri- Clark, a former Prime Minister of New apartheid South Africa’s economic and tius while the people currently in charge Zealand, and another Chief Guest from social contract. For the final 10 years of of Africa’s destiny were nowhere to be Day 1, had also left. apartheid rule, he had led the negotia- seen. tions on the dismantling of apartheid. The Hotel Sofitel Conference Centre, He had spent 28 years in exile, lost a son The fourth most striking thing about the posh venue of this international and a brother in the struggle, survived Thabo Mbeki is his unsung Pan Afri- conference had a decidedly anticlimac- an assassination plot, and watched his canism. Nowhere is this more apparent tic feel to it. Sure, the Prime Minister father spend 24 years in detention. than in his contribution to the ‘New Af- of Cote D’Ivoire was still around, as rican Renaissance’. Yes, he was talking were several high ranking current and In a political movement blessed with about this and getting pummelled mer- former ministers for finance and eco- extraordinary talent, he rose to become cilessly for it by the South African press nomic planning, heads of central banks the trusted aide of two of the ANC’s long before the emergence of the ‘Africa and distinguished academics from the most revered leaders (Oliver Tambo rising’ narrative. While he cannot claim African continent and beyond. The and Nelson Mandela) and proceeded to all the credit for the ‘Africa rising’ nar- charismatic former Prime Minister of beat a formidable cast of political rivals rative, it is hard to deny his role in the Burkina Faso, Tertius Zongo, would be to become Deputy President, en-route continent’s economic and political gov- moderating the day’s first Plenary Ses- to becoming post-apartheid South Af- ernance over the last two decades. His sion. Nevertheless, after the refresh- rica’s second democratically elected leadership on (a) good governance on ingly wonky High Level Panel Discus- leader. the continent (b) African ownership of, sion on Day 1, during which Allasane and solutions to Africa’s problems, (c) Ouattara (on total factor productivity), While his place in history is certainly as- redefinition of African foreign policy Thabo Mbeki (on illicit financial flows sured, his achievements are seldom cele- (towards Afro-centric and non-con- in Africa), and Helen Clark (on inclusive brated. This architect of South Africa’s frontational diplomacy - a rejection of growth and human development) had transition to democratic rule; this au- ‘victimhood’ and Afro-pessimism in fa- stolen the show, Day 2 felt a bit low key. thor of much of post-apartheid South vour of an Afro-centric, proactive, non- This was clearly a day for technocrats: Africa’s economic, political and social confrontational African engagement in a keynote address by a representative policies; this successor and ‘comrade’ international affairs ), and (d) the ‘Afri- of the World Bank, followed by a panel to Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and can Renaissance Coalition’ (Olusegun discussion led by leading scholars on the Govan Mbeki; this 21st century leader Obasanjo of Nigeria, Abdoulaye Wade development experiences of South Ko- of African rebirth; this originator of of Senegal, Pedro Pires of Cape Verde, rea, India, Mauritius and Brazil. NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, Development), was here in Abidjan, less Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and Paul The camera panned across the room than 7 years after leaving office, and is Kagame of Rwanda) combined to cre- and beamed a picture of a familiar hardly noticed by those who study and ate conditions favourable to the emer- looking face, seated nonchalantly deep practice development in Africa. gence of ‘Africa rising’ narrative. in the audience. It was Thabo Mbeki, the former President of South Africa, The camera hadn’t spent more than a I have lived in South Africa and I am looking much younger than his 72 years. few seconds on him. It wasn’t even clear aware that Thabo Mbeki remains a This is one of the striking things about that many of the delegates had recog- controversial figure in that country. Thabo Mbeki. He appears not to have nised his presence. He was seated alone, Many South Africans consider him aged much since 1994 when much of no fawning fans crowding him to ask ‘bookish’ and ‘detached’ or more con- the world got to know him for the first for autographs or ‘selfies’. He also ap- cerned with ‘Pan-African’ rather than time as he took the oath of office as peared very much at ease and not an ‘South African’ problems. Notably, his Deputy President of a democratic, non- inch out of place in this meeting of low focus on African Renaissance seemed racist and non-sexist South Africa. level technocrats. This is the third most to have rubbed many of his compatri- The second most striking thing about striking thing about Thabo Mbeki. His ots the wrong way. In the complex his- Thabo Mbeki is his unsung heroism, es- ‘bookish’ reputation is well deserved. tory of race relations in South Africa, pecially in his native South Africa. This, He is an ideas man, an avid reader who his work on the ‘African Renaissance’

123 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN has been misconstrued in some quarters city of Carthage. Africa cries out for a leading scientists, professional medi- as not being inclusive of South Africa’s new birth, Carthage awaits the restora- cal societies and HIV/Aids organi- ‘non-black races’. This perception is tion of its glory. . . . Tribute is due to zations. misguided but it hasn’t been helped by the great thinkers of our continent who the affirmative action policy with which have been and are trying to move all Mbeki personally questioned the sci- Mbeki is also closely associated: Black of us to understand the intimate inter- entific link between HIV and Aids. He Economic Empowerment (BEE). Criti- connection between the great issues of expressed doubt that HIV caused Aids cism that benefits of the BEE were nar- our day of peace, stability, democracy, and suggested that Aids was caused by rowly targeted at black South Africans human rights, cooperation and develop- socio-economic factors (i.e. poverty) instead of all ‘races’ that had suffered ment. . . . We know as a matter of fact and lifestyle choices. His ministers ques- marginalization under apartheid led to that we have it in ourselves as Africans tioned the efficacy and effectiveness of the revision of the programme in 2007 to change all of this. We must, in action, early anti-retroviral drugs (especially to something called Broad Based BEE. assert our will to do so. We must, in ac- AZT and nevirapine) while indulging Broad Based BEE continues to suffer tion, say that there is no obstacle big in pseudoscientific arguments. At the from much of the original criticism lev- enough to stop us from bringing about 16th Global Aids Conference in To- elled against the original BEE. a new African Renaissance.” Nelson ronto, Canada, the South African De- Mandela partment of Health formally exhibited There are as many legitimate critiques garlic, lemons and beetroot, alongside of the BEE as there are of Pan Afri- For some reason, Thabo Mbeki tends anti-retroviral drugs. canism. Why South Africans should to be judged more harshly than others. single out Mbeki for particularly harsh This is true of three of the most endur- So let’s be clear. On HIV/Aids, Thabo judgement over the ‘sins’ of BEE and ing criticisms levelled against him: his Mbeki failed South Africa and Africa. African Renaissance, is the puzzle. After response to the HIV/Aids epidemic, He should have recognised the magni- all, both African Renaissance and BEE his ‘quiet diplomacy’ on Zimbabwe, tude of the scourge and provided timely were championed by the sainted Nelson and his obsession with ‘African Renais- and clear leadership in combating it. Mandela and no one has ever accused sance’. Let’s examine each in turn. In fact, the ANC recognised the severe him – post-apartheid - of being insuf- implications of the HIV/Aids epidemic ficiently invested in South African prob- Mbeki and HIV/Aids: A damning as early as 1990. That was four years lems or of being insufficiently inclusive and deserved criticism before the party ascended to power. At in his ‘African Renaissance’. While it is The strongest criticism against Thabo the Fourth International Conference true that Thabo Mbeki has given stir- Mbeki rests on his ‘enabling’ of what on Health in Southern Africa, held in ring speeches on African Reinassance can fairly be described as state-led Maputo, Mozambique, then Head of and dedicated much of his life, before, ‘HIV/Aids denialism’ in South Africa the ANC’s armed wing and General during and after his presidency to this during his time as president. The gov- Secretary of the South African Com- cause, it is also true however that no- ernment of Thabo Mbeki’s approach munist Party (SACP), Chris Hani, as- body has made a grander, more heart- to HIV/Aids can be characterized as serted: ‘‘We cannot afford to allow the felt and policy focused speech on South follows: Aids epidemic to ruin the realization of Africa’s role in the ‘new African Renais- • Official questioning of the global our dreams’’ sance’ than the much beloved ‘Madiba’: scientific consensus on the causes of “Where South Africa appears on the HIV/Aids; Thabo Mbeki’s government should have agenda again, let it be because we want • Official reluctance to embrace early done more to combat the disease. South to discuss what its contribution shall be implementation of anti-retroviral Africa had the knowledge and where- to the making of the new African Re- drugs therapy; withal to do so. For a firm believer in naissance. Let it be because we want • Government inaction, interference, African solutions to African problems, to discuss what materials it will sup- pseudoscientific wars, and outright Mbeki failed his own African leadership ply for the rebuilding of the African antagonism towards the country’s test. A leading advocate of harnessing

124124 THETHE AFRICAN AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TECHNOPOLITAN science, technology and innovation for proach to HIV/Aids. theorising and pseudoscience). Perhaps accelerated development in Africa, his Reagan and Mbeki are not alone in a lot was expected of Thabo Mbeki flirtation with HIV/Aids denialism and their failure to lead on HIV/Aids. Many personally. He is a smart man, after all. his indulgence of HIV/Aids deniers is African leaders in the 1980s and 1990s Some tin pot dictator in some banana indefensible. were slow to recognise the gravity of the republic could get away with some cra- epidemic. Some engaged in their own zy, pseudo-scientific ideas. Perhaps the Having said that, one might be tempted pseudo-scientific analysis. For example, ‘bookish’ Mbeki deserved a full blown to think that Mbeki is an anomaly as the idea that the disease was limited to intellectual pushback. He could do real far as global leadership on HIV/Aids gays, was a particularly widespread mis- damage, given his political legitimacy, is concerned. Unfortunately, the his- conception in the continent in the 1980s moral authority and intellectual creden- tory of HIV/Aids is characterized by and early 1990s. tials. Tinpot dictators of banana repub- ‘denialism’, silence and failure of politi- lics are never taken seriously. They can cal leadership. The list of leaders who Curiously, the failures of many of these cause real harm but only by coercion failed in this respect is long and diverse. leaders have either been forgotten or rather than persuasion, and there are Arguably, the Reagan Administration forgiven. Reagan was twice elected pres- limits to what coercion can achieve. Per- takes the cake. ident of the United States and remains suasion, as Mbeki very well knows, can popular to this day. (Mbeki was twice be achieve unbelievable things. Perhaps. The first cases of HIV/Aids in the elected too, although he is not exactly The point is, Mbeki appears to be sub- US were reported in 1981. President the most popular person in South Africa ject to a double standard here. Reagan did not make a formal state- today). Today, 24.7 million people live ment on the disease – despite intense with HIV in sub Saharan Africa – more Mbeki and Zimbabwe pressure from US medical and public than 70 percent of all people living with Mbeki is also subject to a double stand- health agencies - until May 31st 1987. HIV worldwide. Not a single African ard when it comes to the question of By this time, the disease had spread to leader has ever lost his job because of Zimbabwe. It is a complex matter but 113 countries, killed more than 20,000 inaction or inadequate response to the gist of the criticism is relatively in the US alone and infected another HIV/Aids. None is even particularly straightforward. On account of ‘elec- 36,000. That same year, the US im- remembered for their slow or ineffective toral fraud and human rights viola- posed a travel ban on those with HIV/ response to the epidemic. Yet, criticism tions’, the European Union and the US Aids from entering the United States, a of Mbeki’s response to HIV/Aids re- imposed targeted but restrictive sanc- policy that would remain in force un- mains withering and unyielding. tions on Zimbabwe following the 2002 til late 2009, when it was lifted by the presidential election. The idea was that Obama Administration. The effect of As I have said, it is well deserved. My the sanctions would force a change in the travel ban was to stigmatize the concern here relates only to why this the behaviour of the government of disease and to constrain US leadership is true of Mbeki and not the others. Zimbabwe towards improved demo- in this fight. Dozens of other countries Perhaps Mbeki engaged in his pseudo- cratic and economic governance. When would follow the US lead in imposing scientific analysis much later than most this didn’t appear to be happening, an such travel bans. Some of these remain (i.e. when the weight of scientific evi- argument arose that given the degree in effect. dence on the causes of HIV/Aids was of ‘integration’ between Zimbabwean already considerable). Perhaps a lot was and South African economies, the The process for lifting the ban was actu- expected of South Africa, a country only effective sanctions would be those ally initiated in 2008 by a true hero in with a long and proud history of scien- imposed by South Africa. True to his the fight against HIV/Aids: George W. tific excellence, especially in medicine. Afrocentric, proactive, non-confronta- Bush. His PEPFAR (President’s Emer- (It should be noted that the apartheid tional African diplomacy, Mbeki opted gency Plan for AIDS Relief) initiative regime also failed South Africa here, for ‘quite diplomacy’ instead: seeking a has saved many lives and fundamentally wasting valuable time engaging in its peaceful resolution to the crisis by talk- transformed African and global ap- own brand of HIV/Aids conspiracy ing directly to the government of Zim-

125 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 125 This struggle that we face now is more complicated. It is even difficult to see who is an enemy. I think because we are dealing with this complex situation, that’s when we need to raise the level of leadership. Surely we can’t lower the level of leadership.

babwe. That ‘quiet diplomacy’ in Zim- of the elections. We recognise that op- looking Organization of African Unity babwe (and other African countries) has position parties fully participated in (OAU) into a new, relatively vibrant been roundly criticised. the electoral process to the end. We African Union (AU), with a potentially acknowledge that on polling days, no even more dynamic intellectual arm: Arguably, Mbeki bears some level of re- significant irregularities, save in Harare New Partnership for Africa’s Develop- sponsibility for the trajectory of events and Chitungwiza occurred. The count- ment (NEPAD). that took place in Zimbabwe between ing of votes was completed regularly 2002 and 2008. He was the OAU/ and timeously. Notably, the polling oc- Reaching out to parties he might disa- AU Chairman at the time of the con- curred peacefully…However, having gree with in order to extract something troversial 2002 presidential elections in regard to all the circumstances, and in for the ‘greater good’ is an art Thabo Zimbabwe. Many of his critics consider particular the cumulative substantial Mbeki has perfected. Nobody has ever his approach to the 2002 election as the departures from international standards questioned his anti-apartheid creden- embodiment of the failure of the ‘Quiet of free and fair elections found in Zim- tials, yet he opened and successfully Diplomacy Approach’. Their Exhibit babwe during the pre-election period, concluded secret negotiations with that A? The Khampepe Report. these elections, in our view, cannot be regime. To view Mbeki’s quiet diploma- considered to be free and fair’’. cy as tacit approval of some of the ac- On the 14th of November 2014, fol- tions of African leaders would be a fun- lowing a ruling of the Constitutional Critics of Mbeki’s ‘quiet’ diplomacy, in- damental misreading of the politics and Court, the South African government cluding Freedom House, opine that had philosophy of the man. Thabo Mbeki was forced to release the Khampepe the report been made public at the time, has no time for mediocre leadership in Report on the 2002 Elections in Zim- it would have had far reaching conse- Africa. When it comes to political lead- babwe.(http://cdn.mg.co.za/content/ quences on South Africa Zimbabwe re- ership in Africa, he is probably the most documents/2014/11/14/reportonth- lations, with potentially democratic and frustrated man out there. Here he is in e2002presidentialelectionsofzimbabwe. human rights gains for Zimbabwe. 1998, enraged by political mediocrity pdf .The Khampepe Report is a report on the continent: of a Judicial Observer Mission (JOM) Perhaps. Criticisms of Mbeki’s quiet di- ‘‘Africa has no need for the criminals appointed by President Mbeki on 12th plomacy miss several important things. who would acquire political power by February 2002 and sent to monitor the The first and most important is the slaughtering the innocents as do the 2002 presidential elections in Zimba- central role that ‘quiet diplomacy’ has butchers of the people of Richmond bwe, held in March of the same year. It played in Mbeki’s life and his many suc- in KwaZulu-Natal. Nor has she need was written by South Africa’s Constitu- cesses with this approach in South Af- for such as those who, because they tional Court judges Dikgang Moseneke rica and elsewhere. ‘Quiet diplomacy’ is did not accept that power is legitimate and Sisi Khampepe. to Mbeki what ‘Realpolitik’ was to Otto only because it serves the interests of Von Bismarck. Mbeki used ‘quiet diplo- the people, laid Somalia to waste and The terms of reference of the JOM macy’ or secret channels to negotiate deprived its people of a country which were to observe and to report to the the end of apartheid. He used quiet di- gave its citizens a sense of being as well President of South Africa, on whether plomacy to rally the support of interna- as the being to build themselves into a in the period before, during and shortly, tional and domestic businesses against people. Neither has Africa need for the after the elections, the Constitution, the apartheid regime long before many petty gangsters who would be our gov- electoral laws and any other laws of people believed that the system could ernors by theft of elective positions, as Zimbabwe relevant to the elections fall. He had used quiet diplomacy to ral- a result of holding fraudulent elections, could ensure credible and substantially ly international public opinion against or by purchasing positions of author- free and fair elections. The JOM’s chief the apartheid regime. Finally, after he ity through bribery and corruption… conclusion was as follows: became president, Mbeki successfully The call for Africa’s renewal, for an Af- used quiet diplomacy to encourage rican Renaissance is a call to rebellion. ‘‘It was principally the pre-polling, le- good governance and democratization We must rebel against the tyrants and gal and other environment, which in- on the African continent. Notably, he the dictators, those who seek to cor- formed our assessment of the conduct helped transform the old, backward rupt our societies and steal the wealth

126126 THETHE AFRICAN AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN TECHNOPOLITAN that belongs to the people. We must re- the 20th century and the skewed na- can businesses and products litter the bel against the ordinary criminals who ture of the apartheid education system), continent. A South African, a former murder, rape and rob…’’. Thabo Mbe- the idea of an African ‘regeneration’, South African minister for foreign and ki SABC, Gallagher Estate, 13 August ‘revival’ or ‘renaissance’ has been a home affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini- 1998 bedrock ideology of the ANC (African Zuma, is the current chairperson of the National Congress) since its formation. African Union Commission. These are Less than two years ago (December of Successive leaders and leading thinkers no mean accomplishments. Africa has 2013) Thabo Mbeki used the occasion of the ANC have been fierce promoters a complex relationship with ‘big pow- of the memorial for Nelson Mandela (at of this idea. This idea has evoked some ers’. It took enormous skill to integrate Midrand’s Calvary Methodist Church) of the most stirring speeches or writings South Africa smoothly into the rest of not to praise the man he reveres but to from the leadership of the ANC. ANC the continent. The fact that South Afri- call for ‘quality’ leadership in Africa. co-founder and former President, Pixley ca continues to enjoy considerable pres- “This struggle that we face now is more Ka Isaka Seme gave one of the earliest, tige and popularity across the continent complicated. It is even difficult to see most powerful speeches on the subject (despite the recent xenophobic attacks) who is an enemy. I think because we as an undergraduate student at Colum- is a testament not only to the power of are dealing with this complex situation, bia University in 1906. His speech on its moral triumph over apartheid, but that’s when we need to raise the level the ‘Regeneration of Africa’ won him also to the diplomatic skills and vision of leadership. Surely we can’t lower the the George William Curtis Medal, Co- of its post- apartheid leadership, most level of leadership.” lumbia University’s highest oratorical notably, Nelson Mandela and Thabo award. Mbeki. Those who are quick to criticise Mbeki’s quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe and else- As can be seen from this passage from South Africans may owe a lot to Mbeki’s where in Africa might want to reflect on the ‘Regeneration of Africa’, Mbeki’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ and ‘African renais- his historical successes with this strategy speeches and writing on the subject sance’ than they realise. Yes, whether and his personal commitment to ‘Af- mirror Pixley Ka Isaka Seme’s: ‘‘The South Africa should have used its moral rican renaissance’. Of course, simply African people, although not a strictly authority more aggressively to foster because his quiet diplomacy succeeded homogeneous race, possess a common good governance across the continent elsewhere does not mean it is the right fundamental sentiment which is every- remains a legitimate question. On the one for each and every circumstance. where manifest, crystallizing itself into question of HIV/Aids, Thabo Mbeki I am only saying that an appreciation one common controlling idea. Con- clearly failed the continent. His domes- of his overall record with this strategy flicts and strife are rapidly disappearing tic policy record, which we have not re- might help explain his preference for it before the fusing force of this enlight- viewed here, may also have its problems. in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. ened perception of the true intertribal However, after all is said and done, it relation, which relation should subsist seems to me that his work before, during The criticism of Mbeki’s quiet diplo- among a people with a common destiny. and after his presidency, has a number macy with reference to Zimbabwe also Agencies of a social, economic and reli- of transformative elements that should overlooks two critical points. One, alter- gious advance tell of a new spirit which, not only assure his place in African his- native approaches (e.g. sanctions) were acting as a leavening ferment, shall raise tory but might be worth highlighting already being applied – to arguably no the anxious and aspiring mass to the as the continent begins to grapple with effect. Those who championed these level of their ancient glory’’. many of the questions that Mbeki has ‘failed’ approaches are not subject to grappled with for decades. the same level of criticism directed at The idea of the African renaissance Thabo Mbeki. is also to be found in the writings and Thabo Mbeki is a leader of 21st cen- speeches of many of the ANC’s lead- tury Pan Africanism. He is a different Finally, why Mbeki gets a disproportion- ing lights including: Richard Victor kind of Pan African leader: Afro-cen- ate share of the blame for the crisis in Selope Thema, Zachariah Keodirelang tric, democratic, pro-active, pragmatic Zimbabwe is also a puzzle. Yes, he bears Matthews, Ashby Peter Mda, Solomon and non-confrontational. He doesn’t some blame. South Africa is one of Zim- T. Plaatje, John L. Dube and Nelson play the African ‘victimhood’ or ‘pessi- babwe’s most important neighbours. Mandela. Unlike many of these people, mism’ card. This alone constitutes real And yes, he led a number of diplomatic Mbeki did get an opportunity – as Presi- progress in the movement’s journey. A efforts to resolve the crisis there includ- dent of South Africa - to do more than shared colonial experience has been the ing the 2008 Power Sharing Agreement. speech making. As aforementioned, he chief unifying force of the Pan African To the extent that all these are impor- helped foster the creation of both the movement for decades. Mbeki is try- tant and/or problematic, he has his African Union and NEPAD in addi- ing to move the movement towards the share of responsibility. But what about tion to shepherding numerous efforts to creation of a new galvanizing force: the political leaders in Zimbabwe? Other promote good governance on the conti- creation of a newly ‘emergent’ Africa: neighbours of Zimbabwe? SADC? The nent. Perhaps this is why he gets much characterized by economic, social and African Union? The Commonwealth? of the criticism. That would be under- political development as well as scien- The UK? The European Union? standable but still problematic. tific and technological progress. There is one thing that Thabo Mbeki shares Thabo Mbeki is also held to a differ- While his commitment to Africa’s re- with 20th century Pan Africanists such ent standard with respect to his work newal is directed at the overall well- as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana or Haile on ‘African Renaissance’. While it being of the continent, it has been ben- Sellassie of Ethiopia: not being particu- might come as a surprise to modern eficial to South Africa. It helped ease larly adored at home. day South Africans (partly because of South Africa back into the community the banning of the ANC for much of of African nations. Today, South Afri-

127 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 127 POETS’ CORNER

WHEN HUNGER TURNED INTO MADNESS By Evah Wanjiru

When the scorching sun became unforgiving And the parasitic worms in our intestines Began to complain When bile began to burn our duodenums And the fats in our b odies began to disintegrate Our bones clasped so tightly on our scaly skins When we became ten pounds too thin And our eyes turned grey with horror Hunger turned into madness

When our fertile lands turned into a barren hell A vast desert where no one could hear us yell When we danced to the rhythmless tunes Of hot air slapping across our dry faces And we sang to the everlasting songs of tolerance When our hipbones protruded And our ribs became razor sharp Hunger turned into madness

When our steps grew slower and our hearts heavier *EVAH WANJIRU And our dreams were filled with charging lions Evah Wanjiru is a 3rd year When the secretary birds and the vultures Law student at Moi Univer- Began circling high above us with sity, Kenya. She is a poet, an Timeless ancient patience environmental activist and We held on so tightly on to life a champion of social justice. But the ravens could no longer tolerate Get more of her poems and Hunger turned into madness articles on her blog www. evahshirow.wapblog.com When the cries of the vultures grew loud and impatient And hunger became too much to bear We lost consciousness We drifted in the cities where they sat shamelessly Eating and drinking deeply into satisfaction Stuffed their stomachs until there was no room for more And when they heard the vultures had caved in on us they rushed with their cameras to capture As the vultures savagely tore our flesh And ate us alive We died when hunger turned into madness

128 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 128 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN SHADOWS IN THE CHILD’S MEMORIES By Evah Wanjiru and Steve Otieno

There are lonely spaces in the sky; Spaces where I used to prance – deer-like A hunger rumbles the belly of the sands Like the sky was a prairie – evergreen Beneath my feet, Un-robbed of tufts spread lushly, They have become fissured from underfeeding And bloom that I lay in, with emerald succulents And their lips have become parched from thirst, Sticking from the spaces in my teeth, My soles find no comfort In having them licked at the bare-feet of them Here, I would find slumber and I would dream Lest the motherliness of the earth Of un-choked breathing; Becomes too hungry and scalds them, But when I, as an adult take in the air of my age, I yearn for when her sands were feather-cuddle; I am perturbed by a stinging Petal-pebble-cushion, That retch my lungs, My child’s memories are locked away In paintings of the ethereal I, as an adult relish in these memories, Where color is un-ashen and pools run clear, I seek to remember how the rain’s aroma But these paintings are fairy display, Smelt sweetly with every breath, I seek to remember how I could dance in it, There are holes developed in the illuminate of Plodding in the puddles it formed, the sun, I, as an adult relish in these memories, Such that I see specks of yawning I seek to engrave them Whenever its blondeness spreads across the pe- Past the painters’ canvas, riphery Past the dripping oils And covers the panes of my windows, Where the land is though fairy, alive, It has been long since I heard the aves chirp, I relish in these memories, A phantom’s dirge echoes in my ears But I desire to have that childhood restored. And I lay hope that maybe someday, Someday, The painters will have their brushes long enough To place burning embers in them,

There is a haunting silence, A gloom that the winds have embraced, A stubbornness that the zephyr has come to choose That keeps them at bay from ruffling the treetops, My memories as a child remember when Nothing could fuel my glee Like the whistle of these distant traveller s, Or the giggle of the leaves When they were tickled, I would run with them, My tiny feet eager to catch their stride, And my lungs, yearning for their freshness,

129 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 129 PICTORIALS ACTS IN THE WORLD!

ACTS attends the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, New Delhi, February 5-7, 2015. ACTS’ Executive Director Dr Cosmas M.O. Ochieng attended the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, in New Delhi, India. The Summit, convened by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), an ACTS Partner, and the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, focused on ‘Sustainable Development Goals and Dealing with Climate Change’. It was attended by among others: Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland and UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development France, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, Former President Mexico and Chairman, Global Commission and Climate, Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia and President, Asia Society Policy Institute, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Former President Maldives and President, Progressive Party of Maldives, Nobel Laureate, Jose Ramos Horta, Former President East Timor and Chair, High Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, United Nations, Nobel Laureate, Prof Yuan Tseh Lee, President Emeritus and Distinguished Research Fellow, Academia Sinica, Nobel Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi, Founder, Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Chairperson, Global March Against Child Labour, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Former Governor California, Founding Chair, Regions of Climate Action, Ruud Lubbers, Former Prime Minister, The Netherlands, Lord John Prescott, Former Deputy Prime Minister, UK and Laurence Tubiana, Special Representative of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP 21).

Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers Laurent Fabius addressing Special Address at the 15th DSDS delegates at the Summit.

130 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Leadership Panel 1: From MDGs to SDGs and Addressing Climate Change. 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit

ACTS Wins a BID Century International Quality ERA Award! The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) won a BID Century International Quality ERA Award (Gold Category) for its ‘innovation’ in relation to its work on harnessing applications of science, technology and innovation for sustainable development in Africa. The Award was presented to ACTS’ Executive Director, Dr Cosmas M. O. Ochieng at a ceremony in Geneva, on March 22, 2015.

ACTS won the Century International Quality ERA Award in the Gold category in Geneva in the presence of leaders and representatives from 53 countries at the Century International Quality ERA Convention. From left to right: Prof Dr Alfonso C. Casal, Scientific Director of BID, Jose E. Prieto, President and CEO of BID, Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng, Executive Director, ACTS, Craig Miller, President of the QC100 and Norman Ingle, President of the Quality Mix.

131 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ACTS Convenes the 2nd Kenya Climate Science, Technology and Policy Round Table, Nairobi, Kenya ACTS convened the second Kenya Climate Science, Technology and Policy Roundtable at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi on April 26th, 2015. The Roundtable is part of a series of national, multi- stakeholder based dialogues that ACTS is convening to explore how Kenya can harness climate science, technology and policy to build a sustainable, green and climate resilient economy. The Roundtables are generously supported by INASP (International Network for the Advancement of Scientific Publications) through their Vakayiko Grant programme.

Dr Saleemul Huq, Senior Fellow, IIED and Director, Dr Alice Kaudia, Environment Secretary, Minis- International Centre for Climate Change and Devel- try of Environment, Water and Natural Resources opment speaks at the Roundtable. Looking on is Dr (MEWNR) Kenya, addresses participants at the Richard Munang of UNEP. Roundtable

Wangare Kirumba of NEMA answers a question at Prof Shem Wandiga, University of Nairobi/Egerton the roundtable. Next to her is Mourine Cheruiyot of University speaks at the Roundtable. ACTS.

132 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ACTS Co-Convenes the Cartagena Data Festival in Cartagena, Colombia ACTS, together with its Partners (ODI, CEPEI, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WWF, Paris 21, Civicus, DATA Pop Alliance, Africa Gathering, Global Pulse, Data2X0, SocialTIC, GNDR, Colombia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others ) co-convened a ‘data revolution festival’ in Cartagena, Colombia in April 2015.

The conference sought to: • Drive the changes that are needed to advance a data revolution by bringing together the people and organisations whose innovations, resources, expertise and influence can make them happen • Develop concrete solutions and practical tools to produce long term and sustainable progress through a data revolution • Build the ideas, innovations and partnerships needed to monitor the sustainable development goals. A report launched at the conference can be found here: www.developmentprogress.org/datarevolution

Dr Bitange Ndemo, University of Nairobi, speaks at the Cartagena Data Festival, Cartagena, Colombia.

ACTS co-hosts the 9th Conference on Community Based Adaptation in Kenya ACTS, together with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (Kenya), IIED (UK) and the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), co-convened the 9th Conference on Community Based Adaptation at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi in late April 2015. The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya, Prof Judi Wakhungu delivered the Keynote Address. The meeting was also addressed by: Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, Jean- Pascal van Ypersele, Vice Chairman, IPCC, Irish Ambassador to Kenya, Vincent O’Neill and Saleemul Huq, Senior fellow, IIED, and Director, ICCCAD. You can watch Dr Saleemul Huq read the outcome of the Conference or the Nairobi Declaration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v2Hs5B7DQM&app=desktop

Some delegates at the CBA9 Conference, Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya

133 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN A section of ACTS staff in a planning meeting for the CBA9 Conference, April 2015.

ACTS attends the first 3GF-Africa Regional Conference in Nairobi, Kenya ACTS’ Executive Director attended the first 3GF (Global Green Growth Forum) Africa Regional Conference held at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, 13th May, 2015. The conference brought together more than 150 leaders and decision-makers from governments, cities, private sector, international organisations, universities and civil society to explore how to advance inclusive, green growth in Africa. Sustainable consumption, sustainable energy, sustainable water management, financial innovations and growing urbanisation were some of the key issues discussed. The meeting was attended by among others: William Ruto, Deputy President, Kenya, Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary, Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya, Adan Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary, Industrialization, Kenya, David Bahati, Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda, Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, Geert Aagaard Andersen, Danish Ambassador to Kenya, Vimal Shah, Chairman, Kenya Private Sector Alliance / Bidco Oil Refineries, Samuel M. Nyantahe, Chairman, Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Joshua Oigara, Group CEO, KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank).

Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto, is introduced to Dr Alice Kaudia, Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya, on his arrival at the UNEP Headquarters for the 3GF Conference. Introducing them is Prof Judi Wakhungu (Centre), Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya.

134 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ACTS Joins NACOSTI at the 4th Kenya Science, Technology and Innovation Week! The National Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) in Kenya convened the 4th National Science, Technology and Innovation Week (May 11- 15th). ACTS, together with NACOSTI convened a Public Lecture on PhD Training for Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa. The Lecture was given by Prof Mike Stewart, Professor in Neuroscience Department of Life, Health & Chemical Science, The Open University, UK.

Dr Cosmas M.O. Ochieng, ACTS (left), Prof Mike Stewart, Open University (Centre) and Dr Moses Ru- gutt, NACOSTI, during the Public Lecture on Doctoral Training in Science, Technology and Innovation at the 4th National Science, Technology and Innovation Week, at the University of Nairobi

ACTS joins Kenya in raising awareness against wildlife poaching On the World Wildlife Day (March 3) which also coincides with the Africa Environment Day and the Wangari Maathai Day, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya set ablaze more than 15 tonnes of elephant ivory tusks at a ceremony at the Nairobi National Park. The ceremony was hosted by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). It was meant to send a clear signal of Kenya’s commitment to wildlife conservation. ACTS attended the ceremony.

Charles Tonui of ACTS at the Ivory Burning Site, Nairobi Na- tional Park.

135 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Charles Tonui with Dr Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Worldlife Direct and Campaign Leader, ‘Hands off Our Elephants’ Campaign.

ACTS and Partners Launch the Africa Hon. Evans Ondieki, Nairobi County Government, Dr. Sustainability Hub! Dozie Ezigbalike of the UNECA and Dr. Evans Kituyi ACTS together with the African Technology Policy of the IDRC, among others. Studies Network (ATPS), the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Africa Centre (SEI Africa) and the ESRC The participatory workshop defined the agenda with STEPS (Social, Technical and Environmental Pathways which the hub will now engage. They articulated a clear to Sustainability) Centre - partnership between the mandate for the Africa Sustainability Hub to initially Science Policy Research Unit, Sussex University, and pursue three key activities: the Institute for Development Studies, launched a new Africa Sustainability Research Hub in Nairobi, on June 1. A pan-African programme of comparative research 10th, 2015. The Africa Sustainability Research Hub will addressing a range of existing knowledge gaps on make a “huge contribution” to promoting low carbon low carbon energy access. In particular, demand was economic development in Kenya and Africa, according expressed for research that looks beyond the usual to Hon. Henry Rotich, Cabinet Secretary of the focus on engineering and finance to encompass National Treasury, Kenya. The speech was delivered on socio-cultural considerations, the self-defined needs behalf of Hon. Rotich by Prof. Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet of poor people and the politics of low carbon energy Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural transitions. Resources, during the formal launch of the Hub at a workshop on Low Carbon Development in Africa at 2. Training for finance ministries on accessing Crown Plaza Hotel Nairobi, Kenya. The launch was international climate finance. also attended by the High Commissioner of Malawi to Kenya, Dr. Perks Ligoya, Ethiopia’s Ambassador 3. Training for African negotiators on strategies for to Kenya, Dina Mufti, Dr. Julius Kipngetich, Chief engaging with the UN climate negotiations in Paris Operating Officer, Equity Bank, Dr. Ari Hurtala, in December 2015. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, Dr. Participants to the workshop lamented the lack of any Virinder Sharma, DFID East Africa, Dr. Ahmed pan-African platform through which research users Hamdy, African Union, Dr. Mohammed Kyari, African can articulate priority research needs – a role that the Union. Dr. Heinz Kopetz, World Bioenergy Association, workshop had fulfilled for those present and one that Mr. Julius Korir, Industrialisation Secretary, Kenya, they would like to see sustained. As well as conducting

136 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN world class research, the Africa Sustainability Hub will also work to fulfill this role. The Africa Sustainability Hub forms one of six regional hubs that make up the Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium. It is hosted at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in partnership with the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Africa Centre (SEI Africa) and the ESRC STEPS (Social, Technical and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre (STEPS is a partnership between Sussex University and the Institute for Development Studies, IDS).

Hon. Prof Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya, delivers a Keynote Address on behalf of Hon. Henry Rotich, Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury, at the Launch of the Africa Sustainability Hub in Nairobi.

H.E Dr Perks Likoya, High Commisioner of Malawi to Kenya speaks. Looking on is H.E Dina Mufti, Ethiopian ambassador to Kenya

137 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN Prof Ian Scoones, Institute of Development Studies, Peter Odhengo, National Treasury Kenya, address- University of Sussex, and Director STEPS Centre/ ing delegates at the Launch of the Africa Sustain- Co-convenor Future Agricultures Consortium at the ability Hub Launch of the Africa Sustainability Hub

ACTS participates in a Special Session at 2015 Water World Congress

The International Water Resources Association held the XVth World Water Congress from the 25th to 29th May 2015 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr Joel Houdet, Senior Research Fellow and Head of ACTS South Africa Office ACTS was involved in the Special Session: Ten Years since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessments: A global perspective on water ecosystems services. Key speakers included Prof Bob Ferrier, Dr Julia Martin-Ortega, Prof Iain Gordon, Dr Kirsty Blackstock, all from The James Hutton Institute; Dr Rebecca Badger, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Dr Mark Mulligan, King’s College London, Dr Stephen Turner, Lincoln University and Dr Samantha Capon, Griffith University.

138 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN 3rd Kenya Climate Roundtable at the Intercontinnetal, Nairobi

Suresh Patel, Dr. George Ruthathi of ACTS Kenya Private Sector Alliance follows proceedings.

Participants in a discussion during one of Dr. Wilbur Ottichilo in a the sessions. discussion with delegates.

139 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN HUMAN RESOURCES By Susan Murunga, Human Resources Manager, ACTS

Two New Members Join the ACTS Governing Council In its meeting in January 2015, the ACTS Governing Council admitted two new members to the Council: Prof Norman Clark and Dr Simon Bransfield-Garth.

Prof. Norman Clark Dr Simon Bransfield-Garth Norman Clark is Emeritus Professor at the Open University Dr Simon Bransfield-Garth is the Chief Executive Officer, UK and a research fellow at the INNOGEN Institute Azuri Technologies and a World Economic Forum (Edinburgh University). Previously he was Vice Chancellor Technology Pioneer, delivering pay-as-you-go solar power of Kabarak University, Kenya, and before that Professor of on a commercial basis to rural communities in sub-Saharan Environmental Studies and Director of the Graduate School Africa. He holds a BA and Ph.D in Engineering from St of Environmental Studies at the University of Strathclyde John’s College, Cambridge UK. He is a former Fellow where he is also now an Emeritus Professor. of Cambridge University and a former Industrial Fellow He is a development economist specialising in science, of the Royal Society. He has over 25 years’ experience in technology and innovation policy issues with particular building rapid growth, technology-based businesses in sectors relevance to Third World problems, a field in which he has including semiconductors, automotive equipment and mobile published extensively. He has lived and worked in many phones. His career includes 7 years at Symbian, the phone countries including Kenya, Nigeria and India. Previously OS maker, where he was a member of the Leadership Team he held academic posts at the Universities of Glasgow and and VP Global Marketing. Sussex. While at Sussex he acted as the Founding Director of Graduate Studies at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) where he worked for some 15 years and now holds the post of Honorary Professor. He has also acted as Founding Director of the Technology Planning and Development Unit, University of Ife, Nigeria; Visiting Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Director of the Capacity Development Programme at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS). He was a member of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Task Force Team 10 on Science, Technology and Innovation and has acted as an adviser to the NEPAD secretariat in Pretoria, to ILRI in Nairobi and to the World Bank.

140 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN ACTS Welcomes Two New Research Fellows

Dr Aschalew Demeke Tigabu, Postdoctoral Fellow Mr Simon Wanda, Junior Research Fellow, Dr Aschalew Tigabu joined ACTS in January 2015 Information Economy as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Climate Resilience Economy Simon Wanda joined ACTS in January 2015 as a Junior Programme. He is also a Researcher with the Africalics Research Fellow, Information Economy Programme. He (African Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation, holds an MSc in African Studies from the University of and Competence Building Systems) project. Dr Tigabu holds Oxford, UK. a PhD in Economics from the VU University Amsterdam. His research interests are in energy, innovation and climate policy.

Visiting Research Student Lukhona Mnguni joined ACTS as a Visiting Research Student in May 2015. He is currently an MSc student in African and International Development at the University of Edinburgh. At ACTS, Lukhona is attached to the Responsible Natural Resource Economy Programme.

Research Interns Nereah Adhiambo, Carol Njoroge Alicia Olago joined ACTS as research interns in March 2015. Alicia is currently studying for a Masters in Environmental Security and Governance Climate Change Specialization at the University of Peace in Costa Rica. Carole is studying for a Master’s degree in Project Management at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Nereah is a Part Time Project Assistant at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP), University of Nairobi. At ACTS, they are all attached to the Climate Resilience Economy Programme.

141 THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN SUBMIT AN ARTICLE TO THE AFRICAN TECHNOPOLITAN!

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The African Technopolitan welcomes contributions that offer constructive, provocative and original ideas, analysis and commentary on how applications of science, technology and innovation can be harnessed to address Africa’s fundamental development challenges: enhancing agricultural productivity and food security; sustainable energy access for all; universal clean water access; sustainable biodiversity conservation and use; climate change adaptation and mitigation; industrial development; infrastructure and human resource development.

We invite submissions of not more than 3000 words from across academic disciplines and policy spheres. We are particularly interested in submissions that are multi or interdisciplinary, based on empirical work, advance original or alternative theories; and challenge conventional schools of thought on contemporary issues in science, technology and innovation policy research and practice in Africa.

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